11 Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
ring tissues on a nature cruise down the Gordon River, meandering through the lesser-visited western edge of Tasmania where the Franklin Dam project was proposed. You may well be brought to tears by the beauty of Huon pines rising from riverbanks, reflected in mirror-like stillness. Some of these conifers are aged at up to 3000 years, mere saplings at the time of Alexander the Great. They were nearly all lost to damming in the 1980s – cue more tears. This, and about one-fifth of Tasmania, is protected by the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It’s one of only two places on the planet to meet seven out of 10 UNESCO criteria. The zone also scoops up Cradle Mountain
