Cataract Gorge...

The feature that sets Launceston apart from all other cities in Australia is the Cataract Gorge. Only 10 minutes' walk out of the centre of the city, visitors can feel that they have stepped into an ancient Australia. The steep dolerite walls of The Gorge contain the rushing water of the South Esk River - approaching the First Basin from the city along the Cataract Walk provides a sense of both nature's power and peace as you watch the river from the lookouts along the path. In winter after heavy rain, The Gorge flooding is spectacular and dramatic.

At the First Basin, an area where The Gorge widens out into a wide pool often used for swimming, the atmosphere changes again. The silence of the moist, ferny Victorian gardens of the Cliff Grounds is broken only by the call of peacocks and the laughter of children as they follow the nature trails. Over 70 species of flora natural to the area have been listed, as well as numerous bird species.

To get to the southern side of the river, visitors have three choices: to walk across the Alexandra Suspension Bridge, take the 308 metre chairlift, or walk across rocks forming a natural footbridge. The suspension bridge is known to the locals as the "Swinging Bridge", as it swings noticeably from side to side as it is walked upon. The Basin Chairlift has the longest single chairlift span in the world, and the views from it are breathtaking. The chairlift has operated since 1973. The only person to walk across this span was the high wire acrobat, Alfons Bugler, who did it in 1987.

On this side of the basin are many lawns, on which the locals sun themselves in summer beside a swimming pool. This is also the site of two annual events - the Basin Rock Concert and the Night In The Gorge Concert.

In all, the Cataract Gorge and First Basin is a spectacular recreation spot for Launcestonians. The area's beauty was recorded earliest in 1804 by William Collins, when he explored the Tamar River in his ship, The Lady Nelson. He wrote:

"Upon approaching the entrance I observed a large fall of water over rocks, nearly a quarter of a mile up a straight gully between perpendicular rocks of about 150 feet high. The beauty of the scene is probably not surpassed in the world."