7th February - Queenstown (RAIN!), & heading East

7^TH FEBRUARY  -  QUEENSTOWN ONWARDS

left Strahan after brekky, headed for Queenstown.  Drizzling, misty rain most of way.  Climbed to top of lookout (in the rain), but 360 degrees views of de-nuded mountains and town were mostly marred by the mists and rain. 

Pouring rain, hard to see the mess ''man'' has made to this place  (Queenstown)

When you see what ‘’man’’ has done to all the mountains, as far as the eye can see, you get a sense of anger and shame….. over 100 yrs of intense logging, and mining, and what was left has been poisoned because of the chemicals in the smelting process. (Thank goodness Tasmanians woke up to this, but recovery is so slow.

These two pics taken up top of long walk which overlooks 360 degree view of Queenstown and all the ''nude'' mountains, stripped of their trees, and minerals, and then poisoned with the chemicals from the smelters.

Bought couple of long sleeve tops at Vinnies (so I don’t wear Michal’s all the time), then we headed off to Franklin-Gordon Rivers National Park to Nelsons Falls, but just as we pulled into carpark, police personnel  made us turn back.

Car accident ahead, - guy trapped in car – waiting for chopper to come and would be landing in the carpark. (That as at 2.15. It’s now 4.15, as I type, and we are still sitting in car up on the highway, unable to move anywhere).

Chopper landed long while ago, waiting for ambulance to bring patient back to here to airlift out to Hobart.  Hope they havent’ had probs cutting him out of car.  Salvage trucks and bull dozer went through well over one and half hrs ago.  (These roads are really winding, and we can imagine that there must be a lot of accidents on them around all the blind corners.

Well, 3 hours of waiting for the rescue to be over, ….. chopper has airlifted the guy out. (it was a milk truck).  Went on to Lake St. Clair, and set up camp on the river.

May get back to write more later, but if not, will post this tomorrow if I can.

Finally through the opened road after accident. This is burnt out ruins of the ''Hotel Royal'' at Linda, which was a proper place (from pics in the cafe), but now almost deserted by the look of it.

(O>K> - it’s tomorrow – 8^th, and I’m sending this off now, but todays (8^th) maybe tomorrow when I can recharge my puta…  xxx    Lots of pics from 8th..... will get some done soon as i can.