I\u2019m listening to the beating heart of the Australian rainforest \u2013 a symphonic chorus\u00a0of tweets and croaks against the low drone of cicadas \u2013 as I paddle down the slow-moving Pieman River in a kayak. It\u2019s a soundtrack that\u2019s about as pleasant to the ear as the surrounding forest is pleasing to the eye. Jumbles of vegetation cling to the river bank next to exposed tree roots that reach like bony fingers into the chocolate-coloured water. As I paddle closer to the river\u2019s edge to catch a closer look, I fall under the shade of a thick forest canopy of myrtle, leatherwood and pine trees \u2013 their leaves hanging like stars in the sky. It\u2019s as if I\u2019ve been painted into a John Glover watercolour.<\/p>\n
In actual fact, I\u2019m in the Tarkine Wilderness Area<\/a> in the North-West corner of Tasmania<\/a>, a 447,000-hectare tract of land that\u2019s actually Australia\u2019s largest temperate myrtle-beech rainforest. It\u2019s also a site of significant aboriginal history and home to more than 400 species of flora and numerous species of fauna, including Tasmanian devils, eastern pygmy possums and wedge tailed eagles.<\/span><\/p>\n