Today we boarded the big red river cruiser at Strahan and headed out to where Macquarie Harbour meets the Indian Ocean, before turning back to cruise the Gordon River.

We disembarked at Sarah Island where our actor guide with admirable voice projection brought to life the miserable existence of the convicts who lived there.

It was not so easy for them to just hop on a boat and head back to comfortable lives.

At Heritage Landing we saw the famous Huon pines and other native species.

An old sawmill was in action on the dock when we disembarked and a nearby gallery features woodcraft using Huon pine.

Late afternoon saw some of us going to see a local theatre group tell the fascinating story of some convict absconders. There was plenty of audience participation and hilarity with clever use of props and the rigging of a ‘ship’.