Another day and another amazing adventure. Today it was a cruise on the Arthur River, we saw Sea Eagles that followed our boat along the river, and took a walk in the Tarkine Wilderness. Cruising on the Arthur River wasn't so exciting, but the scenery along the way was good. In Tasmania Button Grass leeches tanin into the soil and ends up in the water ways.  Water in the rivers, streams and lakes all have the colour of tea, while the surface appears to be black, rather than blue as we see on the mainland. 

The black surface on the water creates the most spectacular reflections at any time of the day. 

 

River reflections

Apart from the great river scenery with reflections, several Sea Eagles followed our boat for much of the day.  We watched them dive to pick up fish from the river and return to the trees to eat their catch.  While this was great, not getting any clear shots of them catching fish frustrated me a great deal, but I tried. 

A Sea Eagle seen from below

Our cruise included a wonderful lunch of fruit, cheeses, cold meats, sandwiches and cakes. There were nine varieties of wine for those who drank, along with soft drinks, tea and coffee. After lunch we had the option to take a self guided tour through the forest wilderness. 

Of the twenty people on the cruise, half of whom were from Perth, less than half chose to take the wilderness walk.  Most of the Western Australians declined to walk, perhaps because they had no idea what to expect. But why go on a wilderness cruise and miss the best part?

 

We who walked were issued with a guide booklet. Along the wilderness path are numbered places that related to numbers in the guide book. It helped identify plants and gave a brief explanation of each. The guide book was good, but it was the spectacular scenery I was there to experience, see and enjoy.

The path followed a small stream that led to a beautiful little waterfall deep in the forest. This was an enchanted world where my camera earned it's keep. It seemed impossible to take a bad shot, I had only tpoint it in any direction and press the button.  Following is a selection of shots from my wilderness walk.

Walla Falls

 

If the weather is good tomorrow (it's cloudy this evening, with a little rain) I'd like to spend at least another day in this amazing wilderness.  At this rate, I know I'll never see everything I want to see on this visit to Tasmania, but I've decided quality is better than quantity, so I'll make the most of the time remaining.