Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Aboriginal culture
- Natural features
- Native plants
- PWS 1300 135 513
- Gordon River Cruises 1800 628 288
- Lake St Clair Visitor Centre (03) 6289 1172
- Queenstown Field Centre (03) 6471 2511
- CRUISE the waters of the Gordon through majestic riverine forests
- TAKE in the splendid views from several lookouts on the Lyell Highway
- MARVEL at Heritage Landing’s 2000-year-old Huon pine
Introduction
Franklin–Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is at the heart of Tasmania’s 1.38-million-hectare Wilderness World Heritage area, and spans a vast region of pristine temperate wilderness in the centre of western Tasmania. Emblematic of the area’s beauty is photographer Peter Dombrovskis’s iconic image of Rock Island Bend, which helped to save the picturesque waterways and amazing gorges from destruction in the conservation battle of the 1980s.
Fact file
Access
From Hobart via Lyell Hwy
Best Season
Summer
Location
190 km north-west of Hobart
Park Information
Permits
Park entry fee payable
Size
446 480 ha
Where to Stay
Strahan (03) 6471 7622
A look at the past
For most of the 19th century the west coast was seen as untamed wilderness, too rugged to develop. There was one rough track to the coast and the European presence was centred around Macquarie Harbour’s penal settlement on Sarah Island, and pine cutting along the Gordon River. Even after the discovery of the world’s richest tin deposits at Mount Bischoff sparked a mining boom, leading to the opening of Mount Lyell mine in 1896, there was still no road to the area until 1932. Following a proposal to dam the Gordon River and flood the Franklin Valley in 1977, Australia’s greatest conservation battle was waged here in the summer of 1982. In 1983 the federal government stepped in and saved the Franklin.
Aboriginal culture
For at least 39 000 years before the arrival of Europeans, the wild rivers country was occupied by the Lowreenner, Minemegmer and Lumnermareerme bands of the South West tribe. Animal bones from ancient shelter sites show that herbivores such as Bennett’s wallabies and wombats were important sources of meat. In settlements on the coast and plains, animal grazing was promoted by firestick farming – the park’s buttongrass plains are a living legacy of Aboriginal land management. Tasmania’s Aboriginal people retain strong cultural ties with the Franklin–Gordon region and accept considerable responsibility for its management, with Kuti Kina Cave on the Franklin River one of a number of sites returned to the community.
Natural features
The national park takes in 450 000 hectares of untracked, forested river valleys, buttongrass plains and alpine ranges, from south of Macquarie Harbour across western Tasmania to the Gordon Range in the east. A series of parallel mountain ranges – Nicholls, Prince of Wales, Denison and Gordon – traverse the park, divided by tributaries of the Gordon River. The park’s southern boundary is the massive Lake Gordon hydro-electric impoundment, and to the north a more rugged landscape is dominated by the 1443-metre white-quartzite peak of Frenchmans Cap.
Native plants
The park’s rainforests are dominated by myrtle beech. Elsewhere are stands of the rare and slow-growing Huon pine, its soft, workable and fragrant timber favoured by boat builders for two centuries.
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
There is a range of activities on offer but weather conditions can deteriorate rapidly and roads are subject to ice and snow. There is no fuel between Queenstown and Derwent Bridge (90 kilometres).
Bushwalking
The Franklin River Nature Trail (25 minutes) is a wheelchair-accessible walk through rainforest beside the Franklin River. The Nelson Falls Track (20 minutes return) winds gently to a 40-metre-high cascade with a beautiful rainforest-rimmed pool below. One of Tasmania’s most challenging bushwalks is the Frenchmans Cap trek (4 days), only for the fi t and well equipped as the track is exposed, boggy and steep in parts.
Canoeing and kayaking
Rafting down the Franklin is one of the greatest river adventures in the world, passing through the Irenabyss and the Great Ravine, and over rapids such as the Cauldron, Thunderush, the Churn and Big Fall. Paddlers must be well equipped and experienced or led by a skilled tour guide. The Franklin passes through remote, inaccessible terrain and there are considerable dangers in the river, which have resulted in a number of deaths. Trip (7–14 days) details (03) 6230 8250.
Scenic flights
Fixed wing and helicopter flights from Strahan will give you an aerial perspective on this magnificent wilderness: Wilderness Air (03) 6471 7280; Seair Adventure Charters (03) 6471 7718.
Scenic views
The King William Saddle roadside lookout next to the 1324-metre Mount King William has views to Mount Rufus in the north. Donaghys Hill lookout platform, a moderately steep 20-minute walk from the Lyell Highway, has views to the upper reaches of the Franklin River and Frenchmans Cap.
Campsites
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