This was our destination: the M.V. George Robinson. We were going on a river cruise!

The boat was very cute. I think there were about ten passengers all up on the day, along with our two guides.

There were chairs inside as well as out in the open on the bow. (Also a toilet downstairs!) Captain Keith told us all about the various types of rainforest we’d be traveling through as we slowly chugged up the Arthur River into the Tarkine.

River selfie. We didn’t see a single other boat or person on the river that day. It’s very protected.

This is a white-breasted sea eagle’s nest! The thing was huge, and according to Captain Keith it had been reused over many years. We couldn’t find the eagles… yet.

A shot of our wake through the back door of the passenger cabin.

We made our way about 15km up the river, basically until we reached a point where we couldn’t go any further. And there we disembarked at Turk’s Landing!

Turk Porteous was the man who started the cruise by building the boat and clearing the landing. It was basically an shady area of picnic tables around a small barbecue/kitchen.

Captain Keith led us on a short rainforest bushwalk while our lunch was being prepared. He told us that you can gauge the age of these palms by how tall they are. This one he reckoned was several hundred years old.

I asked Captain Keith (as I asked every Tassie local) whether they had ever spotted a thylacine. He said he had. They all had. I’m not sure if that’s just a story they tell tourists, or whether they all really believe they’re still around.

Back at the landing, we had our lunch of hamburgers and sausages and salad (complete with wine in a box!). This cheeky currawong managed to steal a bit of someone’s bread off their plate.

Another silly photo of me. Our guide told us that they’d recently had a quoll coming around the landing, but we didn’t spot him.

Back on the boat for the return journey.

Captain Keith yelled for me to come have my turn at driving the boat. (He invited all the ladies to drive the boat.)

Being a riverboat captain requires CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

And a few more silly selfies to finish.

On our way back, we spotted one of the sea eagles by the riverside. We pulled up and our guide threw a fish out on the riverbank. As we backed slowly away, the eagle flew up from his tree and then swooped down to grab the fish. Very thrilling! Also very fast, which is why we didn’t manage a photo.

After the cruise we headed back to Stanley…

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