Forest country

Geeveston calls itself the gateway to the forests, and has a forest heritage centre (which we failed to take in in any sensible fashion). The road west from the town goes into forestry country, rises and falls a little, and crosses many forestry coups which have been cleared at various times in the last 50 years. This is still going on today, although as you might expect, the road to the jewel of forestry tourism, the Tahune Airwalk, remains forested on both sides. A short detour down many of the forestry sideroads reveals the nature of the business.

Our campsite beside Arve River last night was gorgeous, but the damp night and high wind in the treetops had well doused the fire. Still with all of that good firewood and bacon beckoning, our start was a little delayed (and a little damp).

We made our way direct to the Airwalk. An expensive admission, softened somewhat by a liberal family rate gave access not just to the airwalk, but also to a collection of short walks beside the Huon and Picton rivers. The highlight of the airwalk is a cantilevered section jutting out over the river giving a good view of the junction of the two rivers. An alternate loop back crosses each of those rivers in turn via wobbly suspension bridges.

All of the big Huon pines have been cut out of the area, and since Huon grows mainly on riverbanks because it likes having its feet wet, pretty much all of Tasmania has lost its big Huons because it is accessible from rivers. There is a short walk along the riverbank showing off a few smaller specimens, one of which is a mere 450 years old but was too small to interest “piners”. In the next 1000 years it should be harvestable size!

On the way in we had avoided a few side attractions so it was time to find these. One loop road was closed, because it was through an area recently clear felled. Another attraction, the “Big Tree” was also closed because, I suspect, it is dead at the top and the prospect of branches falling from 100m up in the air scares the lawyers. A third walk along a creek was also closed with no explanation.

After having been foiled on those options, we elected a side trip into the Hartz Mountains. What an unexpected gem! Climbing up to 900m we entered alpine heath country. The misty rain added to the atmosphere, but the low temps and biting wind certainly decreased the desireability. Two walks showed off the view to the distant hills, and the spectacular flowering heath covering the streams that join to make the Arve River which then tumbles off the plateau in a series of cascades. I would have loved to have done a third walk, to a high alpine lake above 950m, but lacking a walking companion in the rain and high winds, we elected to head back down.

And so to head south. Tonight we are at Cockle Creek, our most southerly campsite in Tasmania, and virtually the most southerly accessible one. There is a national park across the bridge which conveniently shut at 4pm, but that 200m extra would have cost us money anyway, so we’ve made do with the free camp on this side. And very pleasant it is too, although perhaps our site high on the creek bank is not strictly legal.Apple berry steamed pud – yum!

Tomorrow we may make an assault on the cape to make it to the legitimate bottom of Tasmania, then it’s back to Hobart.