{"id":1212,"date":"2017-02-16T13:17:07","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T02:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns?p=1212&preview=true&preview_id=1212"},"modified":"2019-03-25T16:24:02","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T05:24:02","slug":"trees-vs-timber-tasmanias-great-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/trees-vs-timber-tasmanias-great-divide\/","title":{"rendered":"Trees vs timber: Tasmania’s fundamental divide"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve never caught a wild trout before\u2026 it\u2019s a patience game\u2026 maybe that\u2019s the issue? We\u2019ve spent hours standing on the edge of a beautiful lake or wild mountain stream in Tasmania<\/a> searching for the illusive prize.<\/p>\n

And as I stand here (again) \u2013 I find myself reflecting on the last time I went fishing with my sons. We found ourselves in the company of two other gents from Hobart, talking about\u2026 well\u2026 fishing mostly\u2026 but also about life in Tasmania and the type of people that live here.<\/p>\n

The two types of Tasmanians<\/h3>\n
\"Tasmania

Image c\/o Tasmania Tourism<\/p><\/div>\n

Whilst it’s dangerous to generalise too much, it seems to me that there are two broad types of folk in Tasmania: those that have recently been attracted to the island, and those whose families have been here for a long time.<\/p>\n

The recent arrivals (and by recent, I mean arrived within the last generation) are usually here because of their attraction to the wilderness. They’re the campers, the hikers, mountain bikers, fisher-folk, beach-combers, photographers \u2013 in general, the nature lovers. It\u2019s easy to see why they are attracted to the\u00a0island. Its natural beauty is stunning. And Tasmania<\/a> knows it.<\/p>\n

Wilderness preserved<\/h3>\n

Over 20% of the State has been set aside as national park land. The parks and wildlife people have even created a list of Tazzie’s \u201c60 Great Short Walks\u201d, which, for a state the size of some cattle farms on the mainland, means there are walking trails everywhere. The great short walks are pretty easy to access, designed to showcase the range of natural beauty the state possesses\u2026 through towering trees in old-growth forests, up rugged mountain paths or along beautiful white sandy beaches. Some of these walks take you on a journey through the landscape, some showcase the flora and fauna, others take you to picturesque lakes and rivers (with trout…allegedly) whilst others simply take your mind for a wander while your legs do the hard work. And that\u2019s just the short walks \u2013 there are some treks that can take up to a week.<\/p>\n

\"Tasmania

Image c\/o Tasmania Tourism<\/p><\/div>\n

But as I sat here rod in hand, my reflections aren\u2019t just on the natural beauty of the state \u2013 but on the people that preserve it. Sure, these people include the quintessential hippies with dreadlocks, earthy clothes, peace-loving jewellery and a tendency to chain themselves to trees when the situation requires it! But mostly, they are everyday Tasmanians whose weekly lives include a heavy dose of nature loving. People who probably travelled here on holiday, fell in love with the place and decided to up and move for good. People who need to connect with nature and feel the silent pull to protect it.<\/p>\n

There are many of Tasmania\u2019s<\/a> beauties that are accessible to the general public. And then there are huge tracks of land (mainly in the south-west) that are only for the dedicated, intrepid traveller. I can just imagine the arguments amongst the nature lovers, debating on whether to make these wild places accessible. And right now, it seems that that the \u201cno-s\u201d have it\u2026 a philosophy that clearly centres around the concept that these areas should be left as untouched as possible. The odd four wheel drive or fire management access track is about as developed as it gets.<\/p>\n

\"Tasmania

Image c\/o Tasmania Tourism<\/p><\/div>\n

These areas are only for those in the know, for those that really want to go. And you have to respect a state that reaches the conclusion that less is more: there are parts of the world where they would have ‘eco-developed’ these forests beyond all recognition.<\/p>\n

The other side…<\/h3>\n

Which brings me to the second group of Tasmanian inhabitants \u2013 the long term inhabitants. I\u2019m not talking about the traditional owners as, sadly, almost all Aboriginal folk in Tasmania were wiped out\u00a0during European colonisation. Instead, I am talking about whose connection with the land stretches back several generations at least. The old colonialists, the early settlers.<\/p>\n

\"Tasmania

Image c\/o Tasmania Tourism<\/p><\/div>\n

There is still a large contingent of Tasmanians who carry within them the ingrained drive of these early pioneers. They see the land as needing to be conquered, to be tamed. These folk are the miners, the foresters, the intensive land famers. They too see the natural resources of the state \u2013 but to them, they see these resources\u00a0as something to be used.<\/p>\n

(Side Note:\u00a0There seems to be\u00a0a competition amongst many Tasmanians to see who has the most impressive wood pile. \u2026 they stack the fire wood like badges of honour\u2026 long, evenly cut rows of wood, several stacks deep in various shades from beige to grey depending on their vintage. These horizontal totem poles signal the household\u2019s devotion to the hearth, placed in very visible parts of the garden so passer-byes can see, and neighbours can admire: a man with a big axe and an even bigger chainsaw resides here!)<\/em><\/p>\n

These farmers and developers aren’t gun-toting, cousin-romancing, chainsaw-bearing motor heads \u2013 these are Tasmanians that are prepared to roll up their sleeves, develop industries that feed, clothe and house Australians with high quality products. And I have to be grateful for the fact that their early years of sweat and toil\u00a0have opened up the land. It’s part of the reason families like mine can enjoy Tasmania’s\u00a0sights in relative comfort.<\/p>\n

A new perspective<\/h3>\n

The battle between the hippies and farmers\u00a0in Tasmania<\/a> has raged for nearly two centuries. As a newly arrived traveller to this land \u2013 I reckon the results of this tension is fantastic. It was my nine year-old son who first made this observation: \u201cTasmania has a great balance to it \u2013 between the farmlands and the national parks, there seems to be heaps of both\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Tasmania

Image c\/o Tasmania Tourism<\/p><\/div>\n

And I reckon he hit the nail on the head as to why we\u2019ve enjoyed ourselves so much \u2013 the balance between the modern and the untouched. Two opposing forces, the yin and the yang, their combined philosophies give the apple isle one of the best combinations of wildlife and civilised developments in Australia.<\/p>\n

As we said our goodbyes to the two trout fisherman from Hobart, they left us with a couple of kind words of advice – best not to broach the issue of logging trees with most Tasmanians: it\u2019s a polarising topic. Nowhere in the State does the conflict between the hippies and the farmers\u00a0meet in a more pointed, fiery way. To some its life or death, literally.<\/p>\n

So best to avoid the topic, enjoy the landscape and focus on catching that illusive trout\u2026<\/p>\n

Feature image c\/o Tasmania Tourism<\/em><\/p>\n

Want to check out some of Tasmania’s most beautiful spots? Get all the info on our Taste of Tasmania tour.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve never caught a wild trout before\u2026 it\u2019s a patience game\u2026 maybe that\u2019s the issue? We\u2019ve spent hours standing on the edge of a beautiful lake or wild mountain stream…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":1178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[225,87],"class_list":["post-1212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-responsible-travel","tag-tasmania"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1834,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions\/1834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}