Twice now we have been to Strahan and twice we've left with the sensation that we have been deftly conned. And we don't like that at all. Both times we've arrived mid afternoon. Both times we were unable to find a vacant camper site, so we might, one of these days, learn to book in advance if we ever think to go back to Strahan, as our very basic accommodation, this time, ended up costing us a clean $200/night. Others we spoke to suffered a similar fate. Basic motel rooms being on offer for a minimum of that price. So, now that we are fully aware of the game, it is unlikely we will return for more of the same.
What makes this worse is that you have the sense that it is all quite easily avoidable. That campsites could flourish on fallow fields on the outskirts of town, sufficient to cater to this overflow. But that is not happening in Strahan. Not part of the grand plan.
Which is not surprising. Strahan is totally a tourist town. It exists only because tourists go there. If the tourists don't come the few locals who actually do live in the town all year have a holiday themselves. Others simply head on out, employed only for the season.
Strahan is pretty much in the hands of the Federal Group which runs practically every tourist spot in Tasmania including the Wrest Point Casino, Freycinet Lodge, Cradle Mountain, Gordon River Cruises and the West Coast wilderness railway. They own and run Strahan Village in its entirety: plus most of the other operations that tourists in Strahan are likely to spend money on, including some of the cruise boats and the tourist railway.
The Federal Group have the monied monopoly in Strahan. They hardly need to share. Or offer more campsites. But, we'll likely not go back to discover if the situation ever improves. The only reason to return a third time is not for the views, the food, or the cruise commentary, but for the sheer delight of hearing, one more time, the actor, who takes you off their lacklustre cruise boat and treats you to an hour's delightfully drawn reincarnation of the notorious Sarah Island penitentiary a la Marcus Clarke. What an entrancing and intriguing tale he tells!
He then turns around at the end of the day when we are back onshore, and with just one other actor as cast, presents magic in a unique production of The Ship that Never Was, using clever and creative props, and any audience member who cares to participate as one of the ship's collection of crazy historical characters, telling one of the great escape stories of Tasmanian convict history.
It is amazing fun and cleverly researched effort that is hugely enjoyable.
Alone among the offerings in this company town is this excellent draw card production which could, like Louisa's Walk in Hobart, hold its head high in the most sophisticated cities on the planet.
But b'ware the tourist traps!
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| Strahan - a tourist town and company owned |
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| Enroute to Sarah Island across Macquarie Harbour |
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| Sustainable fishing on Macquarie Harbour which has turned into an ecological nightmare |
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| Sinister lies the forest floor |
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| The earth here is new, moist and fragrant |
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| Fungi as beatiful as art |
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| The dense rainforest of western Tasmania |
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| Cast and characters on The Ship That Never Was |
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