I first experienced Tassie’s Wilderness World Heritage Area as a teenager on a tough two-week bushwalk in the south-west. It was a brutal, yet beautiful induction. Tasmania’s wild places are full of contrasts, both rugged and subtle, physically intimidating and spiritually uplifting.
I’ve ventured back many times since – as a ranger, a campaigner, and for personal adventure. I’ve wandered on and off track, camped out on sun-drenched beaches and freezing mountain tops, and swum flooded rivers and cold calm lakes.
There is something deeply moving about being immersed in the last places on Earth untouched by industrialisation. It puts our lives into context and reminds us that we are part of nature – not its master.