Strahan, Tasmania

Strahan was previously an important port for the mining at Queenstown, but is now a centre for fish farming and tourism. Strahan Backpackers YHA is on the edge of the town, about fifteen minutes walk along the waterfront to the main street. There are individual cabins set near the trees near a creek and bunk buildings for the more sociable.

You collect the key from the Discovery Caravan Park, down the road opposite the police station. There was a very elaborate WiFi antenna array on a pole in the middle of the YHA complex, but I was not able to get it to work (I had to sit in the caravan park office to get Internet access).

The main street of Strahan is on the waterfront with the jetty on one side and some historic building on the other. Most impressive is the Old customs house and telegraph office. This still carries out much the same function, housing the post office and branch of the State Library of Tasmania, with Internet access (the 21 century telegraph).

The town is set by the magnificent Macquarie Harbour, which the locals will keep reminding you is many times the size of Sydney Harbour.