Bushwalking in TASMANIA

On a trek along the Australian state's scenic coast, Jayme Moye discovers how connecting with nature can help protect it

- Jayme Moye

IT'S NOVEMBER, SPRINGTIME IN AUSTRALIA, and day one of my first bushwalk, a 20-mile journey that will trace the island state of Tasmania's remote Bay of Fires. Bushwalking is a national pastime in Tassie, more than half of which is protected in national parks, public and private reserves, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Locals here love experiencing the backcountry by foot, preferably over the course of several days, walking up to eight hours at a time between lodges and campsites built expressly for this purpose. The walk I'm on is arguably the most visually spectacular of the state's many beloved treks, with white-sand beaches and orange lichen-cloaked rocks that contrast with the omnipresent turquoise sea.

Brandon Hill, a guide and naturalist, leads our small group along a hard-packed sand single track through the coastal heathlands. Knee-high ferns, shrubs, and flowering kangaroo tail grass dominate the landscape. A raucous birdcall stops us. Hill gestures toward a stand of banksia trees where a flock of magnificently crested yellow-tailed black cockatoos have begun launching themselves into the sky. We wait and watch until the very last one disappears over the horizon. I understand then that bushwalking is, at its core, about connecting with nature. Unlike the treks I'd been on in the past, this one feels more like a moving meditation than a test of endurance.