Sarah Island

Sarah Island and Hells Gates are visited on Gordon River cruises, which operate out of Strahan, with guides such as Davey welcoming visitors from the boats for a tour of the island.

The small island in Macquarie Harbour, known to Aboriginal people as Langerrareroune, was called Sarah Island by the British colonisers and was operating as a penal settlement. It also became a staging-post for west coast Aboriginal people or Toogee to be forcibly detained en route to Flinders Island.

Set in the most inhospitable place imaginable, this is the real-life and little-known tale of the Frederick, a ship built and stolen by the runaway convicts of Sarah Island, on the remote west coast of Tasmania.

As part of the massive Macquarie Harbour, Strahan is the gateway to the amazing Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. This thriving tourist town is the main stopping point for boat cruises heading up the Gordon River to take passengers to the immaculate rainforests beyond.