Into The Wilderness

A day cruise on Macquarie Harbour takes us into the wilderness and close and personal with Tasmania's World Heritage area. To have an area listed as World Heritage, it must meet certain criteria and this area meets it in spades.

This area is particularly rich in exclusive and endangered flora. The area is heavily timbered with a number of unique rainforest species including rare and endangered.

Huon pine is common to this area, a slow growing tree that grows on average 1mm per year in circumference. The wood is dense and contains rich oils that make it ideal for marine projects like ship building as it is very strong and almost impervious to rot. When polished it has a rich warm honey gold glow with unique patterns. The smell of Huon Pine is rich and fragrant and I can't tell you how heady it was when we visited the Wall In The Wilderness

This area also features the Leatherwood tree in proliferation which is the key to the unique taste of Tasmania's famous Leatherwood honey. On the drive to the West Coast we noticed many patches by roadsides piled with dozens of bee hives. We were lucky enough to see one in flower.

The area is incredibly dense and damp as you would expect of a rain forest and many plants live together in parasitic symbiotic relationship creating unique micro climates

The mud mound with a hole in the top is the home made by the fresh water crayfish, a protected and endangered animal. The West Coast is also the home to the Orange Bellied Parrot which is sadly nearly extinction and there is only an estimated 50 left. 

Natural tannins leach into the water from the vegetation giving the water a brownish tinge hence enhancing it's reflective qualities. Sometimes when there is no wind and the surface is completely still, one can see the oil of the submerged Huon Pines slicking the surface.

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