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Strahan is located at the head of Macquarie Harbour, on the World Heritage-listed west coast of Tasmania, where there is nothing but vast stretches of wild ocean until the southern tip of Argentina.
In this hostile environment an isolated penal colony settlement was situated on Sarah Island, in the middle of Macquarie Harbour, and it was to here that the worst of the worst European convicts were sent to work and die felling Huon pine — so valuable for ship building — on the banks of the mighty Gordon River.
The harbor mouth is named ‘Hells Gate’, because of the fearsome reputation held by the penal colony within.
Exploring Strahan
Built up on the back of the local timber industry, Strahan is now one of Tasmania’s quaintest towns with its old timber buildings, scenic port and natural backdrop of weathered mountains and thick native bush.
Taking a cruise out of Hells Gate into the Southern Ocean and upriver into the World Heritage-listed Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is an awe-inspiring visit to pristine wilderness: a real highlight of Tasmania.
Strahan is also home to the restored 2896 railway, which steams 22 miles, across rivers and mountains, to the old mining settlement at Queenstown.
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Suggested itinerary featuring Strahan & Gordon River
This sample itinerary will give you an idea of what is possible when you travel in Strahan & Gordon River, and showcases routes we know work particularly well. Treat this as inspiration, because your trip will be created uniquely by one of our specialists.
Places near Strahan & Gordon River
- Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park 71 kilometers away
- Tasmania 116 kilometers away
- Mount Field National Park 118 kilometers away
- Deloraine 131 kilometers away
- Stanley 154 kilometers away
- Launceston 171 kilometers away
- Huon Valley 172 kilometers away
- Hobart 184 kilometers away
- Richmond 186 kilometers away
- Swansea 228 kilometers away
- Maria Island National Park 234 kilometers away
- Port Arthur 235 kilometers away
- Freycinet National Park 248 kilometers away
- Wilsons Promontory National Park 368 kilometers away
- The Great Ocean Road 401 kilometers away
- Apollo Bay 404 kilometers away
- Phillip Island 410 kilometers away
- The Shipwreck Coast 429 kilometers away
- Mornington Peninsula 433 kilometers away
- Queenscliff 436 kilometers away
- Walhalla 478 kilometers away
- Melbourne 481 kilometers away