As we got some more elevation I reached a clearing and was able to drop my pack and take some photos. All the while yet more choppers could be seen approaching. Over the next twenty-odd minutes we counted 14 or 15 helicopters in total swing in from the north, bank sharply over bushland and land on that beautiful wild place we’d just spent two days exploring and respecting.
After they got out of their machines, we surmised they were tourists of some sort. They were dressed inappropriately for the location, wandered about looking at each other’s shiny toys and then started leaving.
The whole show lasted less than an hour. Their “Wilderness Experience” continued down the SW coast and out of sight. All they left us with was a strong smell of jet fuel and a sharp severing of that carefully planned escape we had executed from cities and machines. A week of hard won wildness melted in moments. It took us several days to process the disruption we had just encountered.
The people on those choppers probably spent a day or two in Tasmania, they bought a bit of fuel, had a couple of meals, maybe even stayed in a hotel for a night. But what did they really give Tasmanians? Some anxiety perhaps?
Although I seek deep wilderness immersion to “escape” the trappings of a busy life, others retreat to their rural property on the Tasman Peninsula or their shack on the east coast for their slice of solitude. Maybe a spot of fishing or a wander in their local bushland to wind down. We are all spending lots of money all the time and are deeply invested in the essence of what makes Tasmania unique.
A single act from well-heeled ignoramuses in helicopters damages a lot more that it will ever build.
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area is unique for its true wilderness nature. We are currently at a tipping point, where certain interests are prepared to forever compromise its integrity.
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Bushwalk
