Today Keith, Libby and us were booked on a flight in a 10 seater light aircraft to the western wilderness complete with cruise, hike and lunch. Keith had suggested this trip during our first conversations and it was something we’d all be looking forward to for months. To be at the airfield by 0830 we arose early and went down to breakfast to be greeted by a deeply disappointed Libby who’d received a call earlier on informing her the trip was cancelled due to poor weather. With true british stoicism (and a hint of Aussie anger) we sat around the breakfast table making alternative plans eventually deciding to visit the Tahune Airwalk, a walkway suspended in the canopy of the tallest bush trees.
The drive to the airwalk followed the coast south then turned inland for the last 17km winding up the mountainside through the forest. The reception was a rather grand affair with a ‘woody’ look and feel and after studying the map of the park we crossed the fast flowing, peat stained river Huon and entered the forest of giant trees. As a result of chasing the sunlight all the trees are tall but their girth varies from 30cm to over 5m. The large trees are truly huge and make one feel insignificant when standing next to them but the real miracle is how the spindly ones remain standing when they are so tall.
The walk after the bridge begins as a track meandering through the trees up the side of the valley but once 30m above the river we joined the steel walkway and set off horizontally back the way we’d come until we were 35m above the ground and amongst the canopy. It was only here that the true size of these monsters could be appreciated. At this height they still looked like ordinary trees and the foliage that had looked disproportionate from the ground now seemed appropriate. Effectively a normal tree sitting atop a huge trunk.
We wandered along the elevated platform looking at the different varieties of tree until we came to the ‘cantilever’, a section of walkway extending over the river supported only by cables from the last tower. With the small viewing platform at the end swaying gently in the breeze we overlooked the confluence of the Picton and Huon rivers.
A combination of the sun hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds and the altitude made the air temperature pretty chilly so we adjourned to the cafe for large mugs of hot chocolate and the ladies selected a table right by the overhead heater and log fire (yes, it is summer here!), then returned to the car for our picnic lunch. Now warmed we set off on a circular walk to the two suspension bridges that cross the two rivers just above their confluence. The walks themselves were not especially noteworthy but the bridges were long bouncy affairs that made walking difficult if we got out of step with the oscillations. Indeed two youngsters from a group of bikers that crossed before us set about bouncing as heartily as they could and made it very difficult for the older members to keep their footing. Much fun all round.
Once back at the car we drove a few more miles to the end of the coast road and the pretty bay of Southport then returned to the slightly larger village of Dover for a cuppa - a real English day out. Then it was back home for pizza’s and our last chance to set the world right before packing and retiring to bed.
 |
| Yvonne on the Airwalk |
 |
| Libby at the end of the cantilever |
 |
| One of the suspension bridges |
 |
| Southport bay |
No comments:
Post a Comment