West Coast Wilderness Way

The journey through Strahan uncovers a unique post-settlement history that includes convicts, piners, miners and railway men and their families.

This four-day route takes you from Cradle Mountain through towns steeped in industrial history. Next stop is the fishing village of Strahan, where the main street hugs a broad, picturesque harbour that is the gateway to some of Tasmania’s most pristine forest, on the banks of the Gordon River.

Strahan is also the terminus of the West Coast Wilderness Railway from the state’s most significant mining settlement, Queenstown. From here, you drive through World Heritage forest on the way to Lake St Clair, at the end of the Overland Track, Australia’s premier multi-day bushwalk.

Exploring Tasmania’s west coast brings you face to face with the hardship of colonial life. In the early 19th century Van Diemen’s Land was a long way from anywhere, but banishment to Sarah Island on its far western coast was the ultimate in isolation. This tiny island in Macquarie Harbour – the location of Tasmania’s oldest penal settlement – had a reputation as one of the severest places of incarceration in the history of transportation.

The convicts mined coal on the shores of the harbour and felled trees on the Gordon River, floating them to the island, which became the largest Australian shipbuilding yard ever to have existed. The slow-growing Huon pines that were so prized for their water-resistance are today rare and protected – you can see examples at Heritage Landing on a Gordon River cruise.

In addition to tree felling and coal mining, the west coast has a long history of mining silver, lead, zinc, copper, tin and gold. You can trace the evolution of these mining towns from communities dependent on working mines to those that have reinvented themselves either entirely or in part as tourism destinations amid the harsh beauty of this challenging environment.

• Tasmanian Visitor Information Centres
  
• Parks and Wildlife information
  Phone: (03) 6289 1172

Having satisfied your soul with Cradle Mountain’s magical walks and natural experiences (see Cradle Country Touring Route) perhaps make your next stop Tullah, a town with a chequered history of mining and hydro development that now caters for visitors. Stop for refreshments or extend your stay for a trail ride, a horse ride into old mine workings or a fishing trip on Lake Rosebery.

The town of Rosebery, a short drive farther south-west, is a working mine township proud of its environmental management. Tour the mine’s surface infrastructure and a 10,000-year-old Huon Pine located on the mining lease. Nearby, a three-hour return walk along a railway embankment will reward you with a spectacular view of Tasmania’s tallest waterfalls, Montezuma Falls. Or perhaps take in a game of golf on a nine-hole rainforest course.

Zeehan was once Tasmania’s third-largest town and boasted a number of gold and silver mines, numerous hotels and more than 10,000 residents. Now it is at the centre of west coast mining heritage, with the West Coast Pioneers Memorial Museum, the unusual Spray Tunnel and the Grand Hotel and Gaiety Theatre the major attractions.

Take a guided tour with one of the locals to hear all the myths and legends.

Strahan is the departure point for cruise boats into the Wild Rivers National Park. Along the way, step back in time on Sarah Island, the infamous penal settlement that, over a number of years, was the colony’s largest ship-building centre. The dark and silent Gordon River will hypnotise you with its mirror-still reflections, and afterwards there’ll still be time to enjoy a fishing excursion on the harbour, a scenic floatplane trip up the Gordon or an exhilarating jet boat ride on the King River. Perhaps a leisurely stroll around the foreshore walking track and a cup of coffee is more your style.

Almost every afternoon at the Visitor Centre there is a performance of The Ship That Never Was – the longest running theatre show in Australia, telling the story of convicts who stole a small boat and sailed it halfway around the world.

Join the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Queenstown or Strahan and take a ‘totally wild’ trip along river gorges, across 40 bridges and over 35 kilometres of mountain ranges on a unique Abt rail system (named for its Swiss inventor) that has been rebuilt after 40 years.

The starkly beautiful barren hills that encircle Queenstown and the verandahs that line its main street give the town a ‘wild west’ atmosphere. The smelting and mining practices of the early 1900s that resulted in the deforestation of the slopes ceased long ago and plants are slowly recolonising the slopes. Take the time to talk to the locals, tour the Mt Jukes Rd to Bird River, or descend 1.5 kilometres underground and explore more than seven kilometres of drives and workings of the Mt Lyell copper mine, still operating after more than 100 years.

The west coast produces world-class furniture and craft timber – the famed Huon pine, sassafras, blackwood and myrtle – most of which can be viewed and purchased at sawmills in Queenstown and Strahan. If you’re not a craftsperson yourself, select beautifully crafted finished products from local outlets.

Depart the west coast via Lake Burbury, then cross 60 kilometres of World Heritage Area on your way to Lake St Clair. The Franklin River is just off the road, but Frenchman’s Cap is clearly visible in fine weather, and short walks to a waterfall and a spectacular lookout are a great way to break the drive.

Lake St Clair marks the end of the West Coast Wilderness Way and the start of the Rivers Run Touring Route.

Pause a while to view wildlife or take another short walk. If fishing is your passion, be warned that you are now entering an angler’s paradise of 3,000 lakes and world-class brown trout fishing. You may never want to leave.