Rainforest Walk

On this walk through the Tasmanian forest and rainforest you will have the opportunity to see a variety of forest communities. The rainforest is dominated by ancient myrtles and has been protected from fire and forest exploitation for hundreds of years.

This is an easy grade walk through and can be tailored to suit all levels of fitness and people of all ages. If you don’t feel you are fit enough to undertake more adventurous bush walks in Tasmania this may be the walk that suits you.

This walk follows a west to east transect along the base of Quamby Bluff an outlier mountain of the Great Western Tiers. It takes you through approximately 5 forest ecosystems and a number of sub variants. The transect goes from drier to wetter starting with Damp Sclerophyll Forest dominated by E. delegatensis, E. obliqua, E. viminalis and E. amydalina this forest has a complex and variable under-storey and a multi-age class structure. Close to this there is a small community of Leptospermum lanigerum swamp forest. The next section passes through Wet Sclerophyll forest dominated by either E. viminalis and OR E..delegatensis this contains a number of very large old-growth trees. These communities were burnt about 80 years ago in a fairly hot fire. The walk ends up in a small post glacial remnant of old-growth rainforest dominated by Nothofagus cunninghamii. Parts of the forest have been logged historically but the main disturbances are associated with fire.

The route enables the interpretation of the relationship between fire and the environment particularly as it relates to to the evolutionary history of the Eucalyptus flora and the older Tasmanian rainforest. We also discuss climate change, geological history, pre and post european human impacts and any plants, birds or animals of interest that we might encounter.