Thursday 17th March 2011

Day dawns overcast, rather cool with misty clouds but it is the day for our Wilderness Railway trip.  Seats are allocated for you and we were on the right hand side of the carriage.  The ‘tourist’ coaches are air conditioned…the glass is missing at the top of every window, and they are also heated……there are rugs in the racks if they are needed.  First class has all the glass in the window.

Our carriage was lined with Tasmanian Blackwood as were the slatted seat backs.  The seat was cushioned and surprisingly the seats were comfortable.  As we were rugged up in our 1R jumpers and coats we had no call for the heating elements of the carriage.  We had also packed a thermos and some nibbles so we enjoyed our cuppa as we chugged along.  The engine is oil fuelled so the traditional smell of the steam engine is missing along with the cinders.  In sections of the track the sides of the cuttings are so close that it is clear why we are constantly being reminded not to put our cameras or hands outside the windows. 

Our first stop is Lynchford where gold had been mined back in the late 1880’s.  Passengers could also try their luck with each offered a bag of soil and a pan.  One of the staff demonstrated how to ‘pan’ the soil and a couple of the passengers found their own speck.  One elderly ‘rogue’ decided to be smart and shouted Eureka and claimed to have found a one dollar coin in his pan.  Gave all around a bit of a chuckle. 

Here we could see the Queen River which is biologically dead from 75 years of mine tailings being allowed to run into the river.  This practice stopped 15 years ago and the water quality is slowly recovering.  I remember when we were here 18 years ago the water in this river which we saw in Queenstown was just like grey sludge, thick and gooey.  At least now it looks like water albeit coloured orange.  The banks of the river showed the effects of the pollution with the soil being a yellow orange colour such as we saw at our stop outside Roseberry.

After leaving Lynchford the train then started the climb to the summit Rinadeena which is a 1 in 16 climb.  Meaning that for every 16 metres forward, the train is actually climbing 1 metre.  The little engine puffed and puffed and steam was billowing out either side of the train.  Speed was about walking speed.  

Refilling water and the ratchet system rail

The decline down the other side is at a grade of 1 in 20 and again the ratchet was engaged.  At the next stop, Dubble Barril  we have our supplied picnic lunch consisting of a fresh salad roll, crackers and Tasmanian cheese, chocolate truffles and an apple.  All produce of course is Tasmanian.  Yummy.  This is where we also change trains.  The steam locomotive and carriages do a return trip to Queenstown with the passengers who travelled up from Strachan while our diesel engine with it’s carriages take us to Strahan.  The engines are changed over for the return trip by use of a turntable operated by the engine crew. 

This part of the trip follows the King River down to the mouth into Macquarie Harbour.  We are continually coming down in altitude and the many bridges and cuttings provide continual glimpses of the river through the vegetation.  We see vegetation successfully being re-established along the banks after them previously being destroyed by the mine tailings.  The Queen River runs into the King River and of course the mine tailings also transferred and the King River in this area has also been declared biologically dead.  The water does start to look more normal as you get closer to the mouth and at our last stop at Lower Landing looks much better.

Original bridge washed away by floods.

Our train journey ends in Strahan the picturesque village on the edge of Macquarie Harbour.  This area of water is 4 times the size of Sydney Harbour and has a narrow entrance called Hells Gates.  The weather from the Southern Ocean rolls in here and creates the cold wet weather that can be encountered throughout the year.  As we were informed on the train, the west coast of Tasmania receives over 3 metres of rain a year however this is spread over all 12 months not like the wet season in the mainland where it is spread over only approximately 5 months. 

Our return bus to Queenstown does not leave for just over an hour so we have time to wander and check out what might be available.  Of course all the usual tourist souveniers are available for all those taking the harbour cruises and sea plane flights that are on offer.   The village looks very similar to when we last visited and it is obvious that tourism continues to flourish and be the lifeblood of this location.

We meet up by chance with one of the couples we camped with the night before last so we all head for the fish café to escape the cold and sit for a chat and a snack until our bus arrives.  They are also heading down to New Norfolk in the next few days so there is every chance we will see them again there as we leave tomorrow and plan to stay for a week.

All in all a great day and we would recommend the trip on the Wilderness Railway to everyone.