CAMPSITE # 68 - In the woods with the hippies

Site : Teds Beach, Lake Pedder

Camping Ground Rating : 5 / 10

Facilities : Listed as a free campsite in our book, only to once again arrive and find it was actually $10 per night. Good undercover area with BBQs & running water, flush toilets but no showers.

We had given in & realised that it was quite unlikely that we may actually see a Tasmanian Devil in the wild. Something Wild isn't a zoo, it's a rehabilitation centre for orphaned and injured animals. Any animals that are brought to the centre are nurtured and  returned to the wild wherever possible.

The reason why Tasmanian Devils are on the verge of extinction is mainly due to a contagious cancerous disease called "Devil Face Tumour Disease". The cancer is passed through the devils by biting. Sadly, they are yet to find a cause or a cure for this disease and therefore the only way to really save these little guys from extinction is to isolate the healthy from the sick. 

There is a huge state wide campaign throughout Tasmania to try to save these little devils. For more information on their cause, visit... www.tassiedevil.com.au

Earlier that day, we heard on the local radio station that a Tasmanian logging truck was stopped from shipping its timber off to China by a group of activists who chained their necks to the underbody of the truck. We were shocked, kind of impressed by the balls of the person but also amazed by their courage.
We've found since arriving in Tassie, just from reading the local rag & listening to the radio that there seems to be an ongoing battle between the Tasmanian State Government and the Greenies / Hippies / Activists / Heros (call them what you will) to stop logging in Tassie.

We made route along a dead end road towards Lake Gordon. Half way there, we found ourselves approaching some sort of commotion hidden amongst the woods of Gordon Forest. We slowed down to gaze at the shanty village, strangely located right in the middle of the woods. A dirt track that lead off to the right hand side, what you would assume to be road for access by the logging tracks, was built up with a giant man-made blockade.
Tom and I were seriously impressed, this structure that they built was huge, and extremely sturdy, built of just logs and rope. Any trucks that attempted to drive along this road would find themselves either 6 feet under in the moat they had built or with a giant spear shaped log catapulted through their windscreen. Holy Moly, they mean serious business. I know, in this day and age it's considered rude to stare, but we just couldn't help ourselves. Afterall, that's exactly what the hippies want, to draw attention to their cause.

Two men standing at the front entrance gave us a friendly greeting and waved us in to have a look. Are you kidding me? Of course, we were both dying to know what they were getting up to. Only to very quickly be told what we thought to be a possibility, that the cops could arrive at any time to arrest us all. We weighed up our options, the likelihood of that happening considering these hippies had been camping here for over 5 years against seeing with our very own eyes what exactly they were doing and how they were living... bring it on!
Our hippie,  (now, I'm not being politically incorrect by calling them that as that was what they were calling themselves), who wishes not to be named, proceeded to take us for a walk around their camp, through their living quarters, out to their kitchen (which were all under about 25 scattered tarps with a huge campfire in the middle - you can imagine the stench) and out to the back of the road where the loggers had began their destruction. 

The above picture was taking in the logging trucks "turnaround area" where they don't even bother to recycle or preserve any of the trees & wildlife. We were then led along a track that anyone would think is a nature walk preserved by the National Parks. We realised, these guys weren't just working to preserve any old trees, these trees were hundreds of years old with lichen & moss happily growing amongst it. Apparently, a recent survey conducted submitted this forest to the World Heritage society to be listed as number 6 of World Heritage Areas in Tasmania. But once that was submitted to the Government, according to the Hippies, they turned a blind eye to it because of the income it generates.

It was very interesting to hear what they had to say. We asked them what their alternative solution would be, would a plantation forest be a more viable solution? When our hippie proceeded to tell us that he also didn't agree with plantation forests as they too destroy the world but that hemp would be a much more appropriate alternative. Now this is where I draw the line. When we walked through their camp, what did they expect these couches they were sitting on to be made out of? The hundreds of books that they had cluttered up on their bookshelf, where did they expect the paper inside of the books to come from? It is all just a vicious cycle. I agree with them, Gordon Forest should not be touched. It is far too glorious and beautiful for any trucks to come through and destroy all of the flora and fauna in a matter of hours but surely they must have to understand that without an alternative solution, how can they expect it to stop? Because the demand certainly isn't going to stop. These Tasmanian forests, truly are sacred, they contribute to making this state so amazingly beautiful and their importance in the cycle of this state is paramount. What these logging companies are doing is not criminal, even though we think it should be.

Either way, they were lovely people and we were both really impressed by what they were standing up for. As Tom and I got in the car to drive away, Tom asked me a question that I think is very interesting. If the logging companies walked into that camp and lay 8 briefcases on the table all with $10,000 in each, where would their priorities lie?

We also stopped into Gordon Dam for a little peak. Turns out, this dam houses the highest arch dam wall and largest mass of water in all of Australia. It was kind of spooky, when you walk to the centre of the wall and look down, the wall actually arches underneath you, all the way down... 140metres down that is!!