A cup of tea with the Irish

We were just finishing frying our butcher bangers on the campfire when Mary and Steven jumped out of the darkness. Despite their 40 years in Melbourne this delightful couple still spoke with the softest of Irish accents when inviting us to join them for a morning cuppa in their school bus come converted motor home. Perched on the side of the beautiful Lake Burbury we talked at length about Tasmania, a state which the couple have visited for a month every year without fail. Their knowledge on the best places to free camp was priceless, backed up by a book full of years of notes and maps. So you can imagine our surprise when they thrust the book into our hands. “Just make sure you pass it on to someone else who’ll appreciate it when you’re done,” whispered Mary. Not a day later we got another dose of Irish charm on the banks of Lake William, an eerie sight to behold in the wake of mass tree felling (anti-hydro lobbyists succeeded in preventing yet another dam and flooding). There we sat putting the world to rights over chilled beer, the pounding sun sending the temperature gauge soaring into the high 30s! The lake separates the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers and Lake St Clair national parks, the former sitting in the world heritage area that makes up 20 per cent of Tasmania. Much of the park remains unexplored, its deep river gorges and impenetrable bush attracting just a handful of intrepid surveyors and hikers each year. Deeper in, the park boasts some of the world’s most untouched rainforest, most of which has stood tall since the dawn of time.

For us, the summit of Mt Rufus (1416m) offered magical views of both parks, but not before a sweaty and arduous trek through fly infested bush. The trail was hard going, with us seemingly the only people walking in the park. Such was the afternoon heat that we couldn’t stop ourselves from stripping off and diving into the undisturbed Shadow Lake. A further hour’s walk brings you to the serene Lake St Clair, which at 167m deep in Australia’s deepest freshwater lake.

Much like the northern end of this glorious national park, the southern end is breathtakingly spectacular, a testament to Tasmania’s diversity and beauty. But after six hours of hard walking, there was more on our minds than taking photos, so we bundled into the car and set off in search of a beer.