Calming influence ... the Gordon River,as smooth as a sheet of glass.Credit:Tourism Tasmania
Lee Atkinson goes beyond the reach of the cruise boats on the west coast of Tasmania.
Behind me is a gaggle of grey-haired ladies,tut-tutting and shaking their heads,gossiping about the wayward antics of their grandchildren back home,seemingly oblivious to the sublime beauty of the rainforest around them. Behind them trails a conga-line of 60-something men dressed in shorts,long socks and sandals,keen to get back on the boat where lunch will soon be served. Ahead of me stretches a long silent ink-black ribbon of water,glinting in the brilliant sunshine that is rare in this part of the wild and wet west coast of Tasmania.
Should I stay or should I go? The choice is easy and I climb into my kayak,push off from the floating pontoon and paddle towards the horizon. What follows is one of the most memorable Australian wilderness experiences I've ever had,paddling up the Gordon River,just me,my kayak and five new-found friends.
It's a serene sea-level view of the World Heritage-listed wilderness,the intense silence broken only by the call of birds hidden in the rainforest and the soft splash of my paddle. The dark tannin-stained water is as smooth as a sheet of glass,the perfect mirror-like reflections disturbed only by the ripples caused by my kayak and the occasional platypus at play near the bank or the swoop of a blue kingfisher intent on catching its dinner.
Our starting point is where all the other tours end,at Heritage Landing,the furthest point up the Gordon River that cruise boats are allowed to go and where the 200 or so passengers pile off the boat for a short boardwalk through the rainforest before getting back on board for the return trip to Strahan. It's a cruise through some of the most majestic river scenery you'll find on the planet but,to be honest,as breathtakingly beautiful as it may be it's a rather sedate (and sometimes crowded) affair that appeals mainly to the over-50s bus tour crowd.
And while I'm not saying the river cruise up the Gordon is not worth doing,it certainly doesn't compare with getting out there on the water. As we paddle,our guide tells us stories of the tough-as-guts piners who once worked the impenetrable forests,pulling out the ancient trees (Huon pine is one of the slowest-growing and longest-living plants in the world) that were so highly prized for ship building.
He also tells us about the environmental blockade in the 1980s to save the Gordon and Franklin rivers and we paddle up tributaries where the protesters'boats used to hide from the police patrols,marvelling at the bravery and commitment of the people prepared to risk their boats and,quite possibly,their lives to save the rainforest.
We paddle upriver for about 90 minutes and pull up at a sheltered crescent of sand on a bend beneath beautiful moss-covered myrtles and sassafras,where our guide lays out a picnic lunch. As I lazily watch a sea eagle ride the thermals above me and reach out for a second helping,I spare a thought for those back on the boat,queuing at the buffet table.
We're only there for about 45 minutes or so when the stillness of the day is blown apart by a sudden change in the weather and we soon find ourselves battling an unexpected headwind on the way back,replacing the promised"lazy drift and paddle back downstream"with an arm-aching,gritted teeth,will-we-ever-get-there effort.