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Tarkine: Arthur River and the Edge of the World

The Tarkine is a very large wilderness area in north west Tasmania, covering the land between the Arthur River in the north, the Pieman River in the south, and the Murchison Highway which connects Burnie to Waratah & Corinna. The region is known for sweeping landscapes over Australia’s largest stretch of continuous rainforest, as well as tall eucalypt forest, buttongrass plains and fast flowing rivers, such as the Arthur, Pieman and Rapid Rivers. My trip earlier this month was based at the northern end, photographing the Arthur River-Couta Rocks area, with a day in the South Arthur Forests. I also photographed Philosopher Falls set in magnificent forest near Waratah – but for the moment, here are some shots of the coastline in the Arthur River area.

Tarkine Coast near Arthur River

Rocky Tarkine Coast near Arthur River, north west Tasmania

Day 1 literally did not stop raining – as I neared Launceston the rain started and 4~5 hours later at Arthur River it was still coming down. As the end of the day got closer, however, there was a break in the weather. The clouds of the coast were looking quite thick, and my hopes weren’t high for a west coast sunset, but through a small gap between the clouds and the horizon, some brilliant orange light broke through.

Tarkine Coast near Arthur River

Sunset over the “Edge of the World”

The rocky landscape is also full of great lichen and fascinating and wildly shaped rocks, particularly further down toward Couta Rocks. These areas allowed for some great abstract rock texture & lichen pattern photography.

Tarkine

“Triplet Collection” Abstracts – Rocky Tarkine Coast

The Tarkine is one of the places that really set me off on the path of a photographer here in Tas – when I was still living in Melbourne, and made a trip through the Tarkine a lot of years ago, the images of what I saw stayed very vividly with me, and all of a sudden it has been a few years since I last went back. I’ll be posting again shortly with some more photos of the other areas I visited this time, but in the meantime please feel free to drop by the Landscapes Gallery in Hobart – we have just celebrated 1 full year in Melville St – and are looking forward to continue sharing my photographic travels with you over the coming years!

Tarkine Coast near Arthur River

Tarkine Beach Panorama

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About Luke

Luke O'Brien runs a stall at Hobart's popular Salamanca Market every Saturday where his prints and cards are available for purchase. Follow Luke's photographic adventures on Twitter at @lukeobrienphoto, at his Facebook page or by subscribing to his email newsletter.

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