Tasmania's tea-coloured water

On our recent holiday in Tasmania, we took a boat trip from Strahan on Macquarie Harbour and along the Gordon River. The boat’s captain was eager to point out that the colour of the water in both the harbour and river comes from the local button grass. Tannin from the grass leeches into the water, turning it the colour of black tea.

Throughout our trip, we noticed that every river and creek we came across had this familiar tea colour, and in many, the water was still clear enough to see the bottom.

As an aside, we were lucky enough to see the Gordon River on a perfectly still day. The reflections on the Gordon River were stunning- like sailing through liquid silver.