#prestigetravel | JULY 2019 PRESTIGE 189
The nascent light slowly
illuminates the tall
eucalyptus trees... with the
sounds of bees and birds,
and the wind enveloping me,
the feeling is transcendental
CRADLE MOUNTAIN HUTS WALK
Experienced trekkers will relish the
challenge of crossing glacial valleys, alpine
heaths, ancient rainforests and the World
Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain in this
six-day adventure on the Overland Track.MARIA ISLAND WALK
On this island off the east coast of
Tasmania, expect to spot dolphins frolicking
in the water, sea eagles gliding overhead
and the world’s largest group of Tasmanian
blue gum trees.WUKALINA WALK
Entirely aboriginal-owned and -operated,
and just over a year old, the Wukalina Walk
winds through the Bay of Fires on the
northeastern coast of Tasmania. Walkers
get the chance to stay in domed huts, learn
about local creation tales, and sample
indigenous dishes such as muttonbird
and wallaby.WILD WALKS
GO OFF-GRID ON THESE EQUALLY
AWE-INSPIRING TREKS IN TASMANIAThe next day’s early start is preluded by freshly baked bread, smooth
tangy yoghurt and crunchy granola. We set off in the clear morning air
and soon, I fall into the tempo of the walk’s pleasant metronomic crunch
of gravel underfoot. We learn about epicormic growth and how fire
helps the forest to regenerate (seed pods drop from trees when triggered
by heat and smoke). At times, the encyclopaedic guides point out
the different flora – candle heath, cheeseberries, dogwood, casuarinas,
blanket leaf, snow gums, sassafras, stinkwood leaf, mountain pinkberries,
a weird bush nicknamed bushman’s bootlace for its strong stalks – and
birds such as the flame robin, yellow-tailed black cockatoo and green
rosella. I spot a fern covered in small water droplets, and as the sunlight
hits it, it appears swathed in crystals. The Tasman Peninsula, one of the
guides explains, was created by epic tectonic shifts. As Gondwana pulled
apart, magma and sandstone rose, cooled and cracked, creating the
vertical igneous dolerite. The trail passes through microclimates,
including a section of cloud forest that feels like Tolkien’s Middle Earth
with its huge boulders covered in moss and lichen.
The next two nights are spent at Cape Pillar Lodge, set on a zigzag
walk above the track. The set-up is reassuringly similar to the first, except
that it comes with a spa and an on-site therapist. After a day of ambling,
we settle in with some olives and pineapple cake, followed by a dinner of
chicken pot pie with mushrooms, and some local riesling and pinot noir.
My favourite spot is the standalone pavilion, where I watch the sunrise
each morning. The nascent light slowly illuminates the tall eucalyptus
trees and coastline, firming up Cape Raoul’s shape with its strengthening
rays. Sitting on the outdoor deck and warming up in the sun’s direct
path with the sounds of bees and birds, and the wind enveloping me, the
feeling is transcendental.
By the third day, I am able to identify Tasmanian laurel and
pepperberry, though I continue to confuse black currawongs, an endemic
bird species, with ravens. As we tread a boardwalk winding through
undulating plains, one of the guides stops to discuss aboriginal history
and explains how people have lived on the island for 40,000 years. We
hug the coastline until the steep-cliffed Tasman Island comes into view.
From the Blade, it is a breathtaking sight – the windswept, precipitous
and forgotten outpost seems almost medieval in its austerity.
On the final day, the walk through a forest is immensely moving.
The guides space everyone two minutes apart and ask us to walk in
silence to better appreciate our surroundings. Devoid of distractions
from the presence of people, I see how the fallen trees provide growth,
marvel at the sculptural beauty of burned-out hollows and listen to the
creak of branches rubbing together in the wind, all bound by the
unnerving yet exciting feeling of being separated from the rest of the
group. It is an experience that can never be replicated by pixels,
notifications and updates. The walk ends at Fortescue Bay, where a few
of us swim in the bracing sea.
After drying off and raising glasses of champagne for a farewell toast,
we officially end the trip. In this place of inspiring beauty, my joy is
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES (MAIN); SANJAY SURANA (THE REST)doubled in the camaraderie of new-found friends.