SOUTH COAST TRACK

The biggest thing that drew me to a life in Tasmania was the fact that at least one third of the island is wild and inaccessible. Venturing into the Southwest takes preparedness for all the elements and a teaspoon of bravery…

Since arriving in Tasmania, I have dreamed of traversing the South Coast and when broaching the idea with a fellow kiwi and long time friend, Ella Poole-Crowe (who was craving a “holiday”) plans were set in motion. Given that no roads go this far, we chartered a flight and flew into Melaleuca. Despite my fear of flying, the birds eye view over the Eastern Arthur Range with Federation Peak front and centre was otherworldly. A range that Sir Edmond Hillary once labelled as “Australia’s only real mountain”.

Over four and a half days we donned our packs and covered 85km of waist high mud, spectacular coastline and completely untouched forest. We camped at the summit of the unforgiving Ironbound range for a peaceful sunset only to have our tent flattened by some of the strongest winds I’ve ever encountered at 2am so we packed up and descended in the dark. We skinny dipped, played hide and seek with spotted quolls and had intimate encounters with five hungry rodents.

All southern coastlines are rugged and beautiful, and this one was no exception. The sheer diversity of landscapes was overwhelming and even more special was the fact that not once did we encounter another human. We had the entire South Coast of Tasmania to ourselves and I cherished every moment of it.