TASMANIAN BEAUTY // Gerd Ludwig
Known worldwide for its pristine wilderness, about one quarter of Tasmania is contained in national parks, and most of this has world heritage status.
It is a place of great contrasts: much of the interior consists of rugged mountain ranges, bordered by delicate alpine moorlands and thick rainforests, with untamed rivers and picturesque waterfalls. By comparison, the beautiful coast holds charming coves and wild beaches, shallow bays and broad estuaries, while the Tasman Peninsula in the south is know for its spectacular sea cliffs.
Tasmania is home to unpolluted skies. It has some of the cleanest air in the world and its sparkling clean ocean waters support a healthy fishing industry and even exports pollution-free, bottled rainwater. Its economy is based on agriculture and mining. Farming produces a diverse range of goods, such as wool, cheese, fruit and lavender, as well as a large percentage of the world’s legal crop of poppy seeds for medicinal purposes.
Known as the Valley of the Giants, the Styx Valley is one of the most precious ancient forests in Tasmania and houses some of the world's tallest and oldest trees. However, these ancient forests are under threat as plans have been approved for the Styx and other forests to be clear-felled for the export of woodchips to Japan.
While Tasmania today is known as a remote wilderness destination, past atrocious environmental decisions have left deep scars: The discovery of minerals (gold, silver, lead, copper) around Queenstown lead to decades of exploitative mining. Trees were cut down to fire the furnaces, and pollution from the mining was killing any remaining vegetation. Deep eroded gullies and multicolored naked hills left no chance for any re-growth. Only during the past few years the land has begun to repair itself.
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