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Tasmania Conservation project - A Walk In The Wilderness
Tasmania is Australia's only island State, and, like many visitors, I decided to volunteer there - the perfect way to see this unique part of the country! The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area is one of the largest conservation reserves in Australia, covering 1.38 million hectares, or about 20% of the island. It conserves a diverse range of natural and cultural features of outstanding global significance, and provides habitats for plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the world, including many rare and endangered species. The World Heritage Area combines rainforest and alpine vegetation with scenery that just gets more stunning as you venture further in.
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We are going to a very special part of the World Heritage Area, the famous Cradle Mountain - you'll see it on many tourist brochures and thousands of postcards, it's a real Tasmanian highlight. The mountain itself is a jagged, dolerite peak which dominates the area. Its name, supposedly, is derived from the mountain's resemblance to a miner's cradle.
The mountain is surrounded by stands of native deciduous beech, rainforest, alpine heathlands and buttongrass. In front of the mountain, Dove Lake is glacial remnant and on a still, clear day, the mountain is reflected in shiningly clear detail. |
The drive down from the office in Launceston takes two and a half hours, and we enjoy the fabulous scenery on the way - it gets more spectacular with every twist and turn of the winding road.
On arrival, our Team Leader, Jim, gives us a full briefing and introduces us to one of the park rangers, Belinda, who manages the site. As well as a comprehensive safety briefing (we're in the wilderness, after all), we learn just what makes this area special enough to be declared a World Heritage Area, and hear about the special plants, animals and birds that live here as well as some information about the aboriginal history of the area. We're fascinated to find out that the three largest carnivorous marsupials in the world - Tasmanian devil, the Spotted-tail Quoll and the Eastern Quoll can all be found in the World Heritage Area. We are told that we will almost certainly spot macropod marsupials such as the beautiful Pademelon (sometimes called a Rufous Wallaby) and Tasmanian Bettong (unique to Tasmania) during the week, and we do!
Our first task is to clear a culvert under a track which has become blocked, and is causing erosion of one of the many walking tracks within the Park. We then set about repairing the track, and we are give expert instruction by Jim, our Team Leader. We finish our day's activities at about 4pm, and return to the accommodation. After some free time, we start to prepare the evening meal - we all take turns with cooking and washing up during the week.
Next morning, we awake to a crisp covering of frost on the ground, even though it is the height of summer. The ranger tells us there are still the occasional blizzards and falls of snow even at this time of year. It's lucky I brought a jumper and my other warm gear!
Today are working on one of the track huts provided for walkers, which is in need of some paint. It has been here since 1934, and the grey paint preserves the timber structure and blends with the environment. We split into two groups, with some of us removing weeds around the hut and bagging them to prevent seed dispersal while the others paint. Around morning tea we swap tasks. At lunch time, a few volunteers wander a short distance down the track to explore the area - they come back to tell the rest of us that they have found a strange looking animal with spikes wandering along near the track. We all go and investigate. Jim tells us that the animal is an echidna - a spiny anteater - and asks us not to get too close, and to observe quietly as it will dig itself in the ground if we disturb it. We take lots of photographs of it. Jim explains that echidnas spend their time foraging for ants' nests and other insects to feed upon.
Our accommodation is basic but comfortable - it's a bunkhouse used for volunteers and track workers, with showers and toilets, a communal living area, and a kitchen. The other volunteers come from Germany, Japan, South Korea, England and mainland Australia. We all get along really well - it's great to spend time with people from such a range of nationalities. By the end of the week we have all swapped email addresses and promised to keep in touch. After dark most evenings, we enjoy playing board games and cards. Strange how Jim always wins - he's had a lot of practice!
On two nights, at dusk, we go out with the rangers to spotlight for animals. On the first night, we spot wombats feeding in their favorite haunt. The second night we experience what everybody agrees is the highlight of the week - two Tasmanian Devils feeding in the wild. Not many people are lucky enough to see these animals, and we feel very fortunate and privileged.
It's summer, and the sun does not set until around 9 o'clock each evening. This gives us the opportunity to go for walk around Dove Lake, a spectacular photo opportunity and we all capture plenty of pictures to remember this place when we are back home.
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We are busy every day with a whole variety of tasks, and we learn lots of new skills such as repairing boardwalks, seed collection, track drainage (I didn't know there were so many different methods), weed control and - best of all - feeding a baby wallaby who has been orphaned and is being looked after by one of the rangers.
Between Jim and the rangers there is a wealth of knowledge and they are only too pleased to tell us about the animals and plants living in the park and what we must do to ensure their survival. |
I could stay here forever, but the week is up and we'll be starting another project next week. Jim thanks us for working so hard, and the ranger confirms that the work we've done will help preserve the ecosystem in this fragile Alpine area as the tracks prevent walkers wandering over the sensitive lichens, mosses and other alpine plants.
I'm sad to leave Cradle Mountain, but I have brilliant memories and hundreds of photographs to remind me of my week here - and how many people get the chance to spend a week working in a World Heritage Area? Next week we're off to the Nawrantapu National Park project which I hear is another spectacular area of coastal dunes on the Tasmanian North Coast. Jim tells us we will learn how to build fences and help tackle dune erosion - more new skills for this conservationist!
 Further information on the Conservation Volunteers Australia Project
Return to CVA Travel Stories
Return to Australasia Travel Stories
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