

Today's post is brought to you from Tasmania's
North West, the Arthur-Pieman
Conservation area, and the Tarkine Wilderness.


So we'd
packed up the house we were living in for a year. We visited
Pillenger, something we should have done much earlier in the year as
it was enchanting and beautiful. We had finally climbed Murchinson's
Track near Lake Plimsoll. Now it was time to head up the West Coast.
We started making our way towards the Tarkine Wilderness – 450 000
hectares of wilderness, eucalypt and cool temperate rain forests. It
was getting towards the time of the last ferry across for the day so
decided to camp up for the night. Reece Dam, at the boat ramp, was a
nice place to call it a day.





The next
morning we were back on the road. We caught the ferry across the
Pieman River. The Pieman River is the southern boarder of the
Tarkine, Arthur River marks the north, the Murchinson Highway marks
the eastern boarder, and the ocean marks the west. Having lived in
Tasmania for a year we had things we wanted to check off in our two
weeks of travel before catching the Spirit of Tasmania back. We heard
two of the best cruises in Tasmania were the Pieman River that
departs from Corinna, and the Arthur River that departs from the town
of Arthur River in the North-West. After crossing the ferry across to
Corinna we learnt the cruise had just departed. It then started
raining. That made our choice easy for which cruise to do as we
didn't want to waste a day waiting around for it. We had a look
through the historic mining town now surrounded by rainforest. A
place to truly relax, get away from it all, bush walks, kayaking,
boating, fishing, bird watching, eco retreats, and wonderful, locally
sourced food, but alas we decided to keep moving and head for Arthur
River, to stay the night and catch the Arthur River cruise instead.




The
weather turned wild as we drove up the West Coast towards Arthur
River. Fitting, considering there is a lookout at the mouth of Arthur
River called The Edge of the World, sometimes rough and wild, as it
was when we visited, sometimes beautiful and peaceful. The 'Roaring
Forties' hits the west coast of Tasmania with great force. It is the
wind that develops on the Indian Ocean between South Africa and
Australia. There is no great land mass to stop it before it reaches
Tasmania, so the West Coast is rugged and wild. We took shelter in a
cabin for the night instead of the Troopy. I have never heard such
heavy rain! Thankfully the system cleared the following day. For the
time we were on the cruise, we had beautiful, flat, calm weather. The
wind didn't pick up again until we got back. That was the last of the
rain we had for the remainder of our trip around Tassie. Two weeks of
sunshine in Tas, I think that was a record!



There are
now two cruises on the Arthur River. The original red boat is the one
we went on, the other is white. The cruise was definitely worth it. A
small boat, run by husband and wife team. Due to the amount of rain
and the river level in winter the cruise does not run. We had a great
day cruising the only river in Tasmania that has not been logged at
any time. Just to clarify, there are areas in the Tarkine that are
logged, but not along Arthur River. The only 'logging' that you see
is natural, occuring mostly in winter when the water level is up, the
weather is wilder, and logs are picked up and thrown about as if they
were matchsticks. We also saw a pair of white-bellied sea eagles!
Lunch and wine was provided at a lovely sheltered area where Arthur
and Franklin Rivers meet called Turk's landing.


After the
boat cruise that finished at 3 we started our journey through the
forests of Tarkine, not before discovering a place called Nelson Bay.
Being from the Hunter Valley we found this amusing so stopped in for
a photo. The 'Roaring Forties' started picking up again, so it was
quite blowy. We were there long enough to take a few quick snaps
before we took shelter back in Rocky.
A nice
way to see the Tarkine is to do the driving loop. There are many
lookouts of rivers, mountains, forests, walks, and a couple of
camping spots too. The beauty of Tasmania in summer is the very long
daylight hours. After the cruise, we went to a few of these walks and
lookouts. We camped at Julius River, then finished the loop the
following day. My highlights of the Tarkine was the cruise, and
Trowutta Arch. Trowutta Arch had a Jurassic feel to it. A cave / arch
in the forest, and a giant pond underneath. Not many people visit the
North-West Tasmania. If you do make the journey, one brochure I would
recommend getting is 'The Tarkine Drive'. The map is great and helps
you to plan your stops.
Happy
Travels
- Jeni
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