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Enter the western wilds. This is where Tasmanian tigers roamed and pioneers forged rugged wilderness.  

Step back in time and unearth stories of convict courage and boom-and-bust mining fortunes. There are real-life ghost towns here.  

The west is a region of World Heritage-listed wilderness: cool-temperate rainforest, alpine plains, mountains and glacial valleys, wild rivers, deep lakes and windswept coasts.

Remote. Raw. Untamed. Like nowhere else. 

Best of the west coast

The journey

Plot a Western Wilds road trip: a drive journey full of detours and stories. Drive past buttongrass plains framed by snow-peaked mountains. Wander through mossy rainforest on the Franklin River Nature Trail. Stretch your legs on a short walk to gushing Nelson Falls. Descend the 99 Bends through a surreal moonscape into Queenstown.

 

The wilderness

Cruise into silence and sensation on a day trip along the remote Gordon River, cutting deep into Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Explore a nature trail, take one of the 60 Great Short Walks to a waterfall, or follow a historical rail track into forested former mining country with the West Coast Wilderness Railway.

 

The history

Visit Sarah Island, one of the harshest penal-colony settlements in Australia. Watch a play re-enacting a daring convict escape from the colony. Take a tour of Lake Margaret, a hydropower ghost town. Check out Zeehan, aka Silver City, with its pioneering history and heritage streetscape.

 

The waterways

Take a cruise past Hells Gates before basking in the serenity of the Gordon River. Spot rare Huon and King Billy pines as you raft the rapids of King River. Explore a glacial lake on a rowboat from a luxe retreat. Catch some trout at Lake Burbury. Kayak through ancient rainforest.

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