Strahan is the small harbour town where Tasmania's west coast becomes accessible without becoming tame. It sits on Macquarie Harbour, a huge sheet of dark water cut off from the Southern Ocean by the narrow, dangerous entrance of Hells Gates.
The town began as a port for mining and timber, but it now works as the main base for the region's wilderness trips. Gordon River cruises cross the harbour, pass the old convict station on Sarah Island, and nose into temperate rainforest. The West Coast Wilderness Railway leaves from Regatta Point for the old mining line toward Queenstown.
Strahan is not a polished resort. It is wet, far away, and often moody, which is part of the point. Walk to Hogarth Falls through rainforest, then drive out to Ocean Beach to watch surf roll in from the open Southern Ocean. If you have one spare day on the west coast, this is the place to spend it.