a Tasmanian ‘safari’ on the Swan River | Australian Markets

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The wild banks of Tasmania’s Swan River are home to tens of millions of flowers, hundreds of bugs and a whole lot of birds. White-bellied sea eagles and three species of cormorant are as common as pigeons in a public park, drawn by the abundance of fish in its waters. High on the ridge strains, more cautious than the birds, Bennett’s wallabies ship their unmistakable silhouettes bounding via skinny woodlands.

Rising on the flanks of Mount St John, the Swan runs for about 45km, meandering south to Moulting Lagoon, the place grebes, herons, egrets, geese and mighty Australian pelicans collect in unusual abundance. Satisfyingly, it’s also home to hundreds of black swans. It’s their presence, and annual moulting, that offers each river and lagoon their names.

Finally the lagoon empties into Great Oyster Bay, the now brackish river water mingling with the cold expanse of the Tasman Sea. Having piloted me via the fecund river’s meanders and the lagoon to the sea, Mat Routley cuts our small boat’s engine and drops a fishing line. “What a day!” says the Tasmanian, as if it’s occurred by chance. Broad-shouldered and good-looking, he appears like he may take a punch with out flinching.

The exploration of these lovely, bountiful waters is an element of Routley’s Tasmanian “safari”, which he leads from the Swan River Sanctuary, his newly opened lodge on the riverbank. The property lies at the edge of his regenerative beef farm and sleeps personal teams of up to 6, full with wood-fired sauna and a platform for leaping into the river.

A pair of occasions a month, Routley takes friends on his safari, an immersive tour of the area. For me meaning a morning out on the river, catching half a dozen sand flatheads — a scrumptious bottom-dwelling fish — then anchoring at Hazards Beach on the east facet of Great Oyster Bay for a short hike over to the white sands of Wineglass Bay. Other guests who’d simply accomplished an arduous trek to achieve the identical level checked out us with bare envy.

The safari description is no accident. As a youthful man, Routley made repeated journeys to Africa and took inspiration from its high-end lodges, with some of these concepts making their approach back to Tasmania. As nicely as some of the decor (although there are no zebra prints) and the open fire in the lodge’s principal lounge, Routley’s rotational method to his beef farm was partially impressed by watching migrations of animals on the great plains of east Africa.

“This is a culmination of a bunch of experiences, but this farming and tourism model was for sure drawn from those experiences in Africa,” he says. “I loved some of the lodges I stayed in. I was walking around taking photos of how it all looked and worked, while other people were out searching for animals.”

Like many African lodges, Swan River Sanctuary is off-grid, with water coming from rainfall, energy from the solar. Routley has resisted temptation to put in WiFi, though at simply over 100km north-east of Hobart, most cell phones nonetheless work. Routley initially constructed the lodge as a vacation home for his household however, after a separation, determined to open it to the public.

When it’s not booked, he nonetheless brings his daughters right here. “Trips down the river, kayaking, a bit of birdwatching — this is how we live on the east coast of Tasmania. Your weekend is basically how I’d be living with my family.”

The branches of each side of his household tree are Tasmanian. Many males in his place — a white landowner — would ignore the Aboriginal historical past on the island, however not Routley. During our return boat trip, he purchased oysters from the Melshell Oyster Shack, then berthed us in some reeds to learn tales of pre-European life on these lands.

After a long, graphic account of a bloody battle that was fought simply yards from the place we have been, he stated: “I’ve been influenced over time to realise that it’s just the white history that’s taught, but to me the Aboriginal story feels more authentic and important in this particular place.”

Perhaps this all sounds a bit too good to be true, a bit too earnest. But that afternoon we puttered back up the Swan River accompanied by dozens more birds trying to roost, exhibiting us the approach home. Routley and his girlfriend and business companion Alex Hurley then set about cooking our morning’s catch, whereas I used to be left to drink a native beer and take into account the newly put in sauna as the solar set. I considered what I’d do otherwise if I owned this place as a substitute — and failed to come back up with a lot in any respect.

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