Up early this morning, went down to the mouth of the Arthur River to get some shots. Found myself on a log strewn beach; fallen trees that are carried down the Arthur River are pushed back onto the beach by the ferocious waves that pound this coast. It's not known as “The Edge of the World” for nothing. Looking west from these shores, the next land mass is South America; Tasmania is well south of the Cape of Good Hope.

Driftwood writ large

To my left was a headland, and I wanted to be on that headland. Between my place on the beach and that headland lay several outcrops of rocks that came right down to the water's edge. They were treacherous to walk on, but I managed to clamber over them and eventually scaled the headland.

The hill on the horizon is the headland where I wanted to be,
the rocks below the hill were my greatest obstacle.

For me it's a unique experience to take coastal shots in the morning with the sun behind me. The colours were magnificent, it was a great morning's photography. After a late breakfast I checked out of the caravan park and headed north to Bass Strait. I diverted to Murrawah and visited Green Cape beach, but the light wasn't so good as it had been earlier at Arthur River.

My real objective for the day was to visit the Tarkine Experience at Dismal Swamp on the road to Smithton. This was another magnificent experience, here visitors are whisked through the tree canopy on a 110 metre slide to the bottom of a sinkhole on the forest floor. The ride on the slide is 20 seconds of sheer terror; speeds of up to 40 Kph (25 mph) are reached as you twist and plunge into another reality.

The slide descends into the forest:
20 seconds of heart stopping terror

At the bottom you step out into Dismal Swamp, a natural blackwood forest sinkhole, believed to be the only one in the world. Formed over thousands of years by dissolving dolomite, the 40 metre deep sinkhole is a unique forest habitat supporting a range of plant and animal species.

There are a dazzling array of boardwalks to follow, or visitors may hire a bike for longer tours in the forest floor. I opted for a self guided boardwalk tour, but soon found the walks are interconnected, and soon I was hopelessly lost. The dense forest all looks the same, there are no distinguishing features, and no sign posts to guide the visitor. I relied on my ears and the voices of other visitors to guide me back to my starting point.

It's not true to say there were no distinguishing features, there were in fact quirky features, such as a very tall door across one boardwalk, weird works of art, skeletons of prehistoric animals, and distinctive carved seats.  Each told me I'd passed that way before, but offered no direction to the exit.  A maze in a forest in a sinkhole; at least it's something different.  In places the boardwalk was elevated, almost at tree top level; that too was unique. It really was a great experience, but not for anybody on a tight schedule. 

An unforgetable door in a forest
with no distinguishing features.

Admission included two rides on the slide, which meant two 400 metre climbs out of the sinkhole. My second ride was much faster, and more scary, than the first. My first ride was slowed by moisture on the slide (I never asked how it got there), not so on the second ride. By then many people had made the descent and the slide was bone try and much faster.

With hairnet and helmet in place, Mr Intrepid waits to be
shoved down the slide and into the sinkhole.

In all I spent about four hours at Dismal Swamp, I took 195 photos for the day, and I loved my visit to the Tarkine Experience. As a rule, I never buy souvenirs from my visits anywhere, for me my photos are my souvenirs, but today I bought a cap and a t-shirt. I loved every minute of it.

The latter part of the afternoon was an easy drive along the Bass Highway to Devonport where I'm staying tonight. My internet connection is slow and unreliably again tonight, but I'll do my best; lucky I'm with Telstra.