WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
When it comes to immersive nature experiences, Tasmania’s Western Wilds region offers an exhilarating and otherworldly odyssey that’s hard to beat,
The scenery on the way into Corinna, in Tasmania’s northwest, is crazy beautiful. Stretching through the ancient rainforest of the Tarkine wilderness area, the road rollercoasters through an ever-changing landscape. At times, the forest is so dense it’s like driving into a colossal hedge maze. A few twists and bends later, it turns into a valley filled with tree ferns. And then it crests into an alpine scene of rocky outcrops and wildflowers.
The last section of the route is unsealed but it’s not your ordinary dirt road: the local gravel is white quartz, so the road unfurls like a white ribbon – magical! It’s an exhilarating ride and everyone in our car – two adults, two teenagers – is awed by the vastness. “It feels like we’re on another planet,” says our 13-year-old. She’s right. There is something otherworldly about this giant wilderness.
It’s been only a matter of hours since we arrived in Tasmania aboard the Spirit of Tasmania following overnight passage from Melbourne to Devonport. We decided to take the journey by sea so we could travel with our own car, and we quickly appreciate the benefits of having a familiar vehicle on these adventurous roads.
The trip from Devonport to Corinna takes about three hours, travelling firstly along the north coast to Burnie then dipping south-west through towns such as Waratah (there’s a waterfall in the centre of town) and the evocatively named Savage River.
Corinna is a former gold-mining town now reinvented as an eco-tourism venture called Corinna Wilderness Experience.
Located at the southern end of the Tarkine, on the banks of the Pieman River, the ‘town’ is now a collection of wilderness retreats set within the rainforest. The old pub has been converted into a guesthouse and there’s a constellation of self-contained cabins built to replicate historic miners’ cottages, each with its own verandah and rainwater tank. We fall in love with our cute two-bedroom cottage, which is as cosy as it is stylish.
The eco credentials of Corinna are impressive. It’s 90 per cent solar self-sufficient, utilises rainwater (guests are asked to be waterwise) and no waste is disposed of on site. Blessedly, there is no mobile or internet service here, which is exactly what I’m seeking from a wilderness experience. Miraculously, even the teenagers can appreciate this. Their only lament is that they can’t instantly share the many Instagrammable opportunities, including the sight of potaroos and wallabies cavorting around the cottage, and the myriad “aesthetic backdrops” identified by our 15-year-old.
Nature is the hero here. There are various walks, ranging from easy to challenging, and it’s possible to lose all sense of time as you stroll through these forests of ancient Huon pines. For a complete immersion experience (metaphorically speaking), we go kayaking down the majestic Pieman River. We find ourselves paddling silently, with no other humans – or human-made elements – in sight, just revelling in the silky, silvery water and the ancient landscape around us. Amazingly, in the midst of this isolation, Corinna also offers delicious hearty meals in the Tarkine Restaurant, with the focus on seasonal and local produce, a welcome luxury after a day of exploring the wild side.
Travelling south from Corinna we drive via the coastal community of Trial Harbour and feel the full force of breezes coming off the Southern Ocean. Further south is Strahan, a port town on the shores of Macquarie Harbour and the gateway to the
World Heritage listed Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. For a real taste of the west coast, we take a dinner cruise with Gordon River Cruises. The six-hour guided tour explores the region’s indigenous, convict and ecological history. At first I wonder how our teenagers will cope with six hours on a vessel, but my fears are unfounded: there is enough visual wonder and informative commentary to keep them engaged. The trip includes a journey
down the pristine Gordon River and the cruise boat switches to an electric engine for this hour-long part of the trip, to ensure a silent and eco-friendly passage through this precious piece of wilderness. All on board head to the open-air upper viewing decks to admire this beautiful ancient tributary edged by 3000-year-old Huon pines. I give silent thanks to the environmentalists who fought for the protection of the river in the early 1980s.
We also visit Sarah Island, a former convict settlement reportedly more brutal than the infamous Port Arthur. Walking around the convict-built ruins, we learn about the lives of the convicts, brought to life by a theatrical young guide. Everyone is enthralled by the history lesson. Back on board, generous platters of local, freshly caught smoked salmon with cold meats and mountains of salads are served for dinner. The cruise ends with a tour through Hell’s Gates – the entrance to the Southern Ocean – before returning to Strahan harbour as the sun sets. We overnight in Strahan Village, staying in one of the hilltop suites overlooking the harbour.
Completing our journey of the Western Wilds region is a visit to Cradle Mountain, 150km north-east from Strahan, through the Alpine Plateau. In the foothills of the mountain, we pass through the Vale of Belvoir, a valley of native grasslands unchanged for thousands of years, making it a wonderland of World Heritage significance. The valley is surrounded by a solid wall of old-growth rainforest: poignantly, the last credible sightings of the now-extinct Tasmanian tiger were made in these forests.
Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, luxurious lodgings on the edge of the wilderness, is our home for the night. We’re booked into two spa suites – private timber cabins, each with king-size bed, nestled into the bush with balconies in the treetops. Within minutes of arriving, we have our first encounter with the local wildlife: an echidna waddles towards us as we’re unpacking the car. In the next hour here, we excitedly record sightings of wombats and wallabies.
There are many walking tracks around the lodge, all boardwalked to protect the native fauna, and all achievable in an afternoon. We marvel at the carpets of alpine grasses and mosses dotted with wildflowers and sculptural alpine gums. It’s all so picture perfect it looks like a vast cultivated garden.
To learn about the local endangered wildlife, we head to Devils at Cradle, a not-for-profit conservation sanctuary caring for Tasmanian devils, spotted-tail quolls and eastern quolls, all species threatened in the wild. We get up close to these unique marsupials and learn about their social and feeding habits. It’s hard not to have a soft spot for the devils, with their cute puppy dog faces and cockatoo-like screeches. It’s good to know our entrance fee is contributing to their conservation. Tours run at 5.30pm every evening (year-round), with an additional after-dark feeding tour in summer.
Next day, a hearty buffet breakfast provides the perfect fuel for walking. There are myriad walking tracks on offer in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, catering to all capabilities and time schedules, from the six-day Overland track to 40-minute scenic loops. A Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service ‘Parks Pass’ is required to gain access to all walking tracks, and includes a shuttle service into the National Park. We opt for the 24-hour family pass ($41.25) and take the shuttle to Dove Lake, where we walk the six-kilometre circuit, one of Tasmania’s most iconic walks. It’s a picturesque track extending around the lake, beneath the twin spires of Cradle Mountain, and it’s boardwalk most of the way. On this crystal-clear day, the lake is a gleaming mirror, the wildflowers fluorescent. We finish the loop in two hours, including mandatory photos of the famous shingled boatshed on the foreshore.
There’s so much ‘wild’ to explore and we’ve only scratched the surface. We begin planning a future trip on our return to the car.