All AT reviews are conducted anonymously and our writers pay their own way – so we experience exactly what you would.WHEN BUZZ ALDRIN STEPPED onto the surface of the
moon and gazed across its stark surface, he couldn’t help but put his
emotions into words. “Magnificent desolation,” he exclaimed, in some
ways eclipsing Armstrong’s famous first words. It’s a little how I feel
gazing back at Thousand Lakes Wilderness Lodge – a tiny speck of
white on the horizon, at the end of a vast expanse. There must be a
fair few kilometres of wind-blasted tundra between our position and
the lodge’s comforts, and no paths to lead us there. It’s exhilarating, like
we’re cast adrift; detached from humanity. We’ve ‘free-walked’ out
here, picking our own way through the dense scrub of the Central
Highlands Plateau – part of Tasmania’s seemingly endless Central
Highlands World Heritage Area.A former ANTARCTIC expedition TR AINING FACILITY
is the perfect place from which to explore a unique portion of
TASMANIA, finds DANIEL DOW N.
MOON BASE
PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS CRERARWEEKENDS | Reviews
Indeed, it was precisely these isolated, moon-like conditions that
made the Central Highlands perfect for an Antarctic research base
here in the ’80s. The Bernacchi Lodge, as it was called, had to bow
to its harsh environment, its roof angled to deflect savage winds
hurtling across snow-covered tundra. Abandoned to the elements
in 1999, it was eventually bought by V8 Supercar racing star Marcos
Ambrose, who relaunched it as Thousand Lakes Lodge last year as
a base for anglers and walkers. As soon as my wife and I arrive,
Marcos, who happens to be visiting with his family, tells us to get
out there and explore, handing us maps of the region that look like
the pockmarked surface of the moon owing to the thousand or so
lakes that give the lodge its name.