Tarkine Trails

Tarkine Coast and Rainforest adventures

tarkinetrails — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:31:17 +0000

The Tarkine is an incredibly wild and remote corner of Tasmania that remains largely unknown to most people. I count myself lucky having walked the region twice with Tarkine Trails in a professional capacity as a photojournalist.
I was first introduced to the Tarkine rainforest accompanying The Australian’s Matthew Denholm in 2009 as he sought to discover what was special about the Tarkine in the wake of a controversial road proposal for the area by the Tasmanian Government.
Joining a group of Tarkine first-timers and Tarkine Trails guides we spent six days immersed in what must be some of the most beautiful and unspoilt temperate rainforest on the planet. Individually and as a group we were amazed at the diversity of the rainforest and the variety of landscapes that we passed through. The rainforest was so different in many areas that the six days was like walking through different rainforest ‘rooms’.
I feel I can speak for the group we travelled with in commenting on the fantastic wilderness experience provided by our guides and Tarkine Trails. Chris and Asako were professional, knowledgeable, patient, always helpful and good-humoured.
We were taken on a wilderness journey that was authentic, rejuvenating and transformative without being preached to or told what to think. Tarkine Trails have developed an admirable approach to group walking in that it is kept as closely to a genuine bushwalking experience as possible – everybody stays in tents, everybody carries their share of food and everybody looks out for each other.
We were never rushed and I always had plenty of time to gather photographs and connect with the wilderness. We fired many questions at our guides about the plants, animals, history and landscapes around us and were amazed at their breadth of knowledge and neutrality on prickly issues such as forestry, mining and the proposed road. During the evening we would often enjoy animated conversations about the area and our experiences, all accompanied by beautifully prepared and healthy meals.
Having grown up in Tasmania and bushwalked in many parts of it I had some trepidation about spending six days walking through rainforest – normally there’d be a mountain top or the coast as the target. I needn’t have worried however, as the Tarkine rainforest proved to be an incredible walking experience made even more enjoyable and enriching by Tarkine Trails, the route they’ve developed and their approach to providing rich wilderness experiences.
My personal experience of the Tarkine was enriched even further when in 2010 I joined Tarkine Trails on a six-day walk along the incredible Tarkine coast from the Pieman River heads to Sandy Cape. Walking again with a group of Tarkine newcomers and guides Darvis and Trevor my primary motivation was to put together an article and build up a bank of images on this little known part of Australia.
From the moment we left the Arcadia, after cruising the sublime Pieman River, to the very end of our journey we got to experience some of the most isolated, wildest and dramatic coastline in the world.
With relatively short daily walking distances we really had a lot of time to explore the beaches, rocky coastline, dune systems and aboriginal history of the area, enjoying time for solitude, swimming, beach cricket and photography.
The experience we had with Darvis and Trevor was totally memorable with plenty of laughs, the odd beach campfire and great food, but what really struck me about the coastal trip was the incredibly rich history we were exposed to, both Aboriginal and European.
Darvis was a magnificent storyteller enriching our walking experience with stories of the Tarkineer Aboriginals who occupied the Tarkine coast for thousands of years, their inevitable first contact with Europeans and the efforts of George Augustus Robinson in coaxing them out of the area in the early days of the Van Dieman’s Land colony.
These stories were woven for us often while looking over remanents of their civilization – middens, stone tool quarries and remains of shelters – allowing us to imagine what life must have been like on this wild and raw part of the world.
The walk was coloured by these stories building an atmosphere where many of us could transport ourselves back, in our minds at least, to a pre-European Tasmania.
This was made easier, of course, by the dramatic, unspoilt coastline wilderness along which we were walking.
As we approached Sandy Cape we came into increasing contact with recreational 4WDers. Under different circumstances there may have been potential for tension between the two groups, but our guides explained to us the long history of recreational use of the area and the rights of the 4WD users under current Tasmanian law. They also engaged the 4WDers in conversation, building a repore and diffusing any potential for tension or conflict.
Before our drive out from Sandy Cape in 4WDs ourselves Darvis took us to a small cove, complete with whale skeletons, sat us down and told us the story of the last Tarkineer chief. The whole group was mesmerised and silent as Darvis built a story of the demise of a once proud people. You could literally feel the heaviness in the hearts of all present.
With sensitivity such as this Tarkine Trails have built a walking company that is a fitting partner for the Tarkine. It is a very special part of the world and I believe it needs people like those at Tarkine Trails who can introduce other people to this remarkable landscape in a sensitive, intelligent and respectful way.

Chris Crerar

Freelance Photojournalist

Rainforest Adventure

tarkinetrails — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 07:24:32 +0000

We had a wonderful time at Tiger Ridge. Our guide Trevor was fantastic. We are an older couple, relatively unfit, but we were very keen to see the rainforest. Trevor allowed us to do the rainforest walk at our own pace allowing us to enjoy the rainforest experience in a relaxed and comfortable way. We really appreciated his beautiful cooking and the interesting insights he provided along the way. The evenings in the long hut were terrific and our accommodation most comfortable. Our time in the Tarkine is one that we will treasure and always remember.

The photos show the beautiful fungi, Marg & Trevor, a typically huge fallen tree and the wonderful tree ferns.

Peter & Margaret

Mittagong NSW

Click to view slideshow.

Tarkine Explorer

tarkinetrails — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:57:46 +0000

Janelle Bray

QLD Australia

Click to view slideshow.

my Tarkine tour

tarkinetrails — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:30:15 +0000

To everyone at Tarkine Trails, just wanted you to know that I found the Tarkine rainforest hike a profoundly wonderful experience and I’d like to thank you so much for having me along. If generating an individual’s connection with and emotional response to the rainforest is what the tours hope to achieve, it certainly worked on me. The fabulous guides, the structure of the walk, the amount of information, the daily distances, the food, the camps… all hit the right note. And I’d like to especially acknowledge Colin’s natural talent for leadership. Can’t wait to go on another hike with you soon!

Elspeth Callender
Hobart TAS

Click to view slideshow.

My first walk on the Tarkine Rainforest Track

tarkinetrails — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 07:38:35 +0000

It was the summer of 2005 and I was asked if I would like to join some of my collegues on the new Tarkine Rainforest Track so we could familiarise ourselves with it and put up some signs. The trip was amazing, like walking through natures own cathedral. The ground was soft and perfect for walking, almost as though mother nature was saying, thanks for visiting, allow me to put a spring in your step. A swim at heaven (see photo) was one of the trips highlights, however it was not until I left the forest and travelled back towards Hobart that the full effect of the walk was felt. My heart was so open that the centre of my chest actually hurt, as though I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms. It was a beautiful experience, one that will stay with me til the end of my days, and has been repeated on numerous trips to the Tarkine since

Simon Townsend – Owner/Manger of Tarkine Trails

Hobart, Tasmania

A Five Star Tarkine Experience, N-W Tasmania 4 – 10 January 2011

tarkinetrails — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:54:20 +0000

Click to view slideshow.Five Star? Well it’s all relative really isn’t it? Most people think of expensive ritzy hotels with jacuzzis, hot and cold running waiters, huge beds, lots of soft fluffy towels and of course wildly exotic food immaculately presented…. My recent 6 day-five night Tarkine experience had little of the above but for me it was absolutely Five Star. I was collected from a Launceston backpackers at 8am by Trevor and Michael – our guides, chauffeurs, cooks, waiters, nurses and companions for the trip. Already aboard the 13 seater van were a family of 5 from Adelaide and a Tasmanian now living in London: these 8 people became my family for the next 6 days. After a gear check in Burnie we headed south along the Murchison Highway, the eastern boundary of the constantly threatened Tarkine wilderness. The name Tarkine is a recent one and originates from one of the three Indigenous tribes who lived here, the Tarkiners. The northern boundary is the Arthur River, the southern boundary the Pieman River and west is the great Southern Ocean – an area of roughly 100,000 hectares containing the largest rainforest in Australia and the greatest concentration of aboriginal sites. During the journey Michael and Trevor took turns to point out trees and places of significant interest and told us the history of the area and about the recent proliferation of plantation forests. After lunch, where a currawong patrolled anxiously awaiting our departure, we pulled onto a gravel forestry road and headed west across a button grass plain then up towards the Meredith Ranges. The day was sunny and clear and to the east we could see Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff. We parked the van and trailer and listened to the blissful silence of the surrounding forest. Carrying only our sleeping bags and change of clothes we walked a kilometre up to our basecamp, through ancient mixed rainforest of massive myrtles, blackwoods, giant eucalyptus oblique, tree ferns, filmy ferns and fungus. Apart from the squarking of black yellow tailed cockatoos the quietness was deafening, the air pristine. We spent two nights there, sleeping on comfortable camp cots in 2-man canopied tents, eating vast quantities of sumptuous Tasmanian food and delicious wine, carried and prepared by the wonderful Trevor and Michael. The birds woke us gently at daybreak, pademelons made occasional guest appearances and after breakfast of fresh fruit and yoghurt we walked through rainforest down to the icy-cold Huskisson River. There, in glorious sunshine, we had billy tea and, yes, more food – just us, the river, the birds, the trees, the rocks, the fish – how could it get any better? Trevor and Michael enthusiastically shared their considerable joint bush knowledge of the tree ferns (grow 1 metre per 100 years), sassafras trees, totem poles, burrowing crayfish and the history of this precious place. Hugging the enormous trees farewell we retraced our steps to the van and headed for Waratah, singing loudly along with the Beatles Ob La Di Ob La Da Life goes on Yeah – our family had certainly bonded at Tiger Ridge! The bleak mined landscape of Waratah was a dramatic change after our rainforest idyll but we appreciated the history of the Mt Bishoff Tin Mine (in 1871 the largest tin deposit in the world) and the hard life of its pioneers. Although the road to Corinna is rough and its edges decorated with bottles and cans, the day was brilliantly clear and fine and there were spectacular views in all directions from the scenic lookouts. We nudged past the vast open cut Savage River iron ore mine which sends vast quantities of slurried iron ore to the rest of the world via a high pressure pipe to the north coast and brings in vast quantities of dosh to its owners and, presumably. Tasmania. Corinna is where the Fat Man barge crosses the Pieman River. It is a restored historical village, an oasis of delightful colonial cottages with hot showers and comfy beds where visitors can take a break, have a meal and refresh before joining the famous controversial Road to Nowhere. There are a number of short walks around the village and a 1000 year old Huon pine! After several hours of driving the van along the dirt road from Waratah, Trevor joyfully cooked us a delicious BBQ, including Wallaby sausages. It must be said, though, that we had earned it, having spent the afternoon kayaking the Pieman River to visit Lovers Falls where an impoverished newly married couple found a knob of gold which set them up for life (they bought a pub!). After dinner we split into two highly competitive teams and our brains were severely tested by Michael’s Tarkine quiz. At six the following morning we joined Phil and Helen on the MV Arcadia II, made from Huon pine in 1939, for a breakfast cruise to Pieman Heads – the celebrated tree reflections along the river were just as good as the photos and a white-bellied sea eagle watched our progress downstream. On the other hand, the Southern Ocean, where we expected to encounter rain, wind, 9m swells – on this day was as flat as a tack, but remote, yes it was definitely remote. We walked a coastal track to Rupert Point through ti-trees and past spectacular rock formations curled and bent over millions of years, the colours were superb. The Indigenous people lived there, nomadically, like kings for 40 thousand years before the white men came. Trevor showed us the remains of their middens and respectfully told us their story. We headed north the next morning on the Western Explorer, more famously known as the Road to Nowhere. A short walk at Longback took us to the lookout from where we could see the massive extent of the devastation caused by bush fires which lasted for 4 months in 2005. They were started by a careless traveller and only extinguished by storms. It had all been cool temperate rainforest. The regrowth is impressive and very pretty but it will take a long time to regain its former glory. After lunch at the picturesque Donaldson River we continued north to the Arthur River and “The Edge of the World”. The Southern Ocean was still flat. Our tents for the last night were hidden amongst the ti-trees on Geoff King’s property just north of the Arthur River. Before sunset Geoff came to pick us up in his ute and took us to his beachside shack for an eco-experience none of us will ever forget. Geoff’s ancestors came here from England in 1880 and ran cattle on the 843 acre property until 1997 when Geoff met Nick Mooney, an environmentalist who explained the uniqueness of his land – its indigenous heritage and the amazing diversity of its flora, fauna and birdlife. Now, with a staggeringly stunning coastal sunset as backdrop, Geoff proudly walks us around along his ‘beach’, acknowledging the indigenous owners, showing us remains of their middens and where their huts would have been and points out local birds. Wallabies graze peacefully. Before the sun sets we go inside the beach shack where a curtain covers a panoramic window and Geoff explains that we while we can talk quietly, we must be careful not to make any vibrations by, say, moving a chair loudly. A table full of nibbles, cheese, bottles of wine and soft drink is at the centre of the room surrounded by chairs. Geoff turns on the baby monitor and we sit down, a million and one questions to be asked and answered. Earlier in the day Geoff has collected some roadkill, sadly most abundant in Tasmania, which he has staked outside his beach shack. Lured by the smell, the local Tassie Devils (which have not been infected by the facial tumours affecting the Devils on the eastern side of Tasmania) come to feed. Geoff sits here regularly, quite often through the night, and charts their numbers and their comings and goings. Eventually our patience is rewarded by a juvenile devil very cautiously approaching the carcass. He turns back several times before finally “latching on” enthusiastically to his dinner. Only then can we turn up the lights to watch him more clearly. We are all mesmerized, especially 10 year old Louis who had nodded off in a corner armchair and had to be woken. Returning to our clandestine tents the night sky was absolutely the best I have ever seen, the land seethed with wildlife and, to our great amusement, a wombat tries unsuccessfully to hide behind a slender shrub. How sad to drive back to Launceston the next day! It was quite a long day but our despondency was broken by Marianne’s wonderful re-writing of Ob La Di Ob La Da incorporating us all and the story of our Tarkine Trail. For further information: www.tarkinetrails.com.au

Marilyn Naylor

Queensland, Australia

Tarkine Trails Video

tarkinetrails — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:40:41 +0000

Hi everyone,

here is a video of the Tarkine that we made a few years ago

Enjoy

Simon Townsend