Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/142338
outtahere D ense moss blankets everything before me. It's as though it has been sprayed on, thick and green. I don't think I've ever been anywhere quite so green. Dark, shiny tree roots twist out of the leaf litter and fallen tree logs are covered in lichen, new tree shoots and bright yellow fungi. Gigantic man ferns hundreds of years old, some standing a metre above me, are all around and warm morning sunlight is starting to pierce through the canopy of the forest's huge trees, adding bursts of emerald and causing spirals of steam to rise. Dazzling water droplets from last night's rain add brilliance to the scene and I'm half expecting a fairy or two will appear – it seems like the right kind of place for magic. I'm in the Tarkine, a huge 447,000 hectares of forest on Tasmania's rugged West Coast that is the Southern Hemisphere's largest temperate rainforest. At its southern end is a place called Corinna on the bank of the Pieman River, two-and-a-half hours of winding road south-west from Burnie. Corinna feels worlds away from anywhere; there are no TVs here, no internet, and no phone or radio reception. The isolation and rugged natural beauty that stands out today must also have struck the settlement's earliest residents. Payable quantities of gold – including a fourkilogram gold nugget – discovered near Corinna in the 1870s sparked a gold rush to the area that lasted around a decade. Looking around today, it's hard to believe this was once a thriving town of some 2,500 people, complete with post office, butcher's shop and a couple of pubs. Today, there are still some historic buildings at the site, and these have been converted into unique accommodation. The old butcher's shop is great for families and the old pub is available for visitor stays, too. There are also 14 freestanding eco cottages that back onto the forest, built in Australian miner's cottage style, each with fireplace, kitchenette, little verandah and native garden, in which families of pademelons spend time hopping about and feeding on the grass. The Whyte River Walk is just minutes from my cottage door and is one of many in the area; some are full-day adventures that traverse mountains and fields of button grass and others are short strolls. Scratch the surface and there are numerous stories, old and new, to share, from a Corinna staff member's solo night under the stars by a waterfall, to sassafras-tea and beer-fuelled nights in which rowdy locals would fight and swim between the town's two pubs some 200 years ago. Corinna's nightlife these days takes place almost exclusively at the Tarkine Hotel, a rustic bush pub that also acts as the Tannin Restaurant and reception for the site. It's cosy and almost homely, with a fireplace, lounges and bookshelf in one corner. Grounds and maintenance manager Brendan Hirst likes to host regular barbecues for guests, too: everyone gathers under a shed by a roaring fire; the staff cooks up a feed and serves drinks; and visitors and locals mingle. One such local is Peter Stewart, officially Corinna site supervisor but "jack of all trades, really", he tells me. Peter was a police officer at nearby Waratah, an hour or so up the road, in the late '90s. After spending a bit of time in the area, he says he "basically fell in love with it". "It's remote, it's rugged and the scenery is amazing. It's probably the last proper wilderness place in Tassie "The area maintains its pristine ambience – with the bonus of a rich history, making this little patch of wilderness all the more special." 15