Back in August, I had the opportunity of going for a holiday in Tasmania, somewhere I have never visited before. We had a wonderful 11 day self-drive tour of the island with our accommodation and car rental organised and pre-paid through a travel agent.

One of the highlights of the holiday was a cruise along the Gordon River, which is a truly amazing place. The cruise included a stop at Sarah Island where a guide led us through the ruins of what had been one of the most severe convict settlements in the colony.

There were very few escapes from Sarah Island, because if you got across the water to the mainland, where would you go? One convict did escape, and walked through the rugged highlands all the way to Hobart. This was a marvel of bushcraft, when you consider there were no tracks, signposts or maps. He was captured on the edge of the town and assigned to a survey team that was tasked with exploring the very country he had just passed through.

For a while, Sarah Island became a centre of boat building because of the natural properties of the Huon Pine. After this enterprise wound down, a group of convicts stole the last boat and sailed it as far as Chile. Eventually the British caught up with them and returned them to Tasmania. Again, this episode represented amazing skills for these men to navigate a small vessel that far.

Although these men were in very isolated places, they were never alone. In Psalm 139 we read:

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

 even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

Whenever you feel isolated or alone, know that God is always with you. Even in the loneliest places, He is there with you. He will never leave you.