The icon of Tasmania – Cradle Mountain mirrored by the still surface of Dove Lake.
January 1997:My brother David and his girlfriend Naomi along with myself flew to Launceston earlier in the day.The night before we gave a concert at Wabarton.We were picked up at the airport by one of David’s university classmates.After stopping at a bushwalking store to purchase stove fuel we arrived at Dove Lake to begin our journey south along the Overland Track.Our packs were loaded, water bottles filled but the fuel was missing.David had left it tucked safely in a pocket of the vehicle. . . .
A quick walk back to the visitor centre aided by a kind driver to look for fuel.I know of no other National Park Visitor Centre which sells camp stove fuels, sleeping bags and even tents.Ten years later they still provided a limited but complete selection of backpacking equipment.
Our first night in Tasmania was spent in fitful sleep sheltered beneath the Boat Shed on Dove Lake, not on the Overland Track.
October 2007:I have returned to Cradle Mountain.It captured a small corner in my heart during my first visit.I intended to do several short walks around Dove Lake.Instead I hunkered down in my shell; visiting with a few backpackers planning to use Traveler’s Auto Barn for their campervan hire, while watching rain squalls and snow flurries sweep across the valley.I could have registered for an overnight walk then spent the night in the Boat House again.Instead I registered at Cradle Mountain Caravan Park just outside the park.The highlight of the stay was seeing brush-tailed possums in the men’s restroom.A constant stream of men and women, girls and boys paraded through the restroom watching the wildlife.
As night descended, the showers became a steady rain.I hoped for a break by morning.It was not to be.I bagged my plans for a day of hiking.My prayer is for better weather before I have to leave the island.
I had a dilem’r.How to fill a day without getting wet.I spent most of the morning hunkered in the kitchen at the caravan park with my feet on the hearth warming to the fire.
By afternoon change was needed.
I saw it on the way in:Wilderness Gallery.
It sounded interesting but I drove on.
This afternoon I investigated.
After four months existing from a backpack and the back of a variety of well-traveled vehicles I felt vaguely out of place rolling up the drive to a 4 plus star resort – Cradle Mountain Chateau.Backpackers too need the treat of luxury once in a while.Offerings include a day spa and massage if you are not able to pamper yourself with the King Spa Suite . . .
Across from reception was the conference centre and gallery – no ordinary gallery.Australia’s largest privately owned photographic gallery.A gallery completely dedicated to wilderness photography – the only one in Australia...
Wilderness Gallery.
A few striking photographs lined the walls of the foyer.A few more graced the conference rooms.
After fetching my wallet from the vehicle I gladly offered my $5.00 entry fee.
With this introduction I knew I had to see the collection – 10 rooms of photographic prints by Tasmanian, Australian and World Renowned photographers known for their ability to evoke passion and protection of Wild Areas through the photographic medium.
I have long appreciated photographic galleries dedicated to the landscape.Whenever opportunity presents itself I make an effort, even create time, to stop and absorb the message of the images.I have been to galleries and exhibitions featuring some of my favorite photographers:Galen Rowell,Ansel Adams, David Muench, Robert Glenn Ketchum,
Never had I been to a gallery which housed its own collections from great wilderness photographers. Each photographer has a personal style which through the photographic process transfer the emotion they experienced while composing and capturing every image.Displaying images of several artists in adjoining rooms or even side-by-side enhanced the conservation messages.
Wilderness Gallery, throughout its gallery, has created the atmosphere needed to appreciate the images in a peaceful and relaxed pace.Other galleries seem darkened, almost gloomy, to create the setting needed to light the images.
Wilderness Gallery uses natural light throughout the exhibition.The gallery surrounds a courtyard of native landscape.Natural light enters the gallery.As the clouds give way to sun and shadows pass the images dissolve through a variety of moods; as if I was truly standing in the outdoors, in the environment being portrayed.Within the gallery soft, indirect lighting is used to highlight the images.
I was particularly moved by the gallery titled, “Endangered:Tasmania’s wild places.”By melding into a single exposition the works of several photographers the change from an unexplored Tasmania 200 years ago through to the development and industrialization of today shaped a desire to promote protection for what remains.
Photographers have played an important in shaping the state, creating awareness of its natural heritage, and motivating the greater public in influencing politicians to preserve large tracts of the state.
Some battles have been lost – others won.
Poignant images by Tasmanian photographers have changed politics.
Tasmania is unique in Australia.Although small, it is a rich state.Extractable resources abound.Drought is almost unheard of.Water flows from the high mountains towards the sea through deep gorges and canyons.Industrialization needs power.Hydro power is among the cleanest and least expensive to produce.Challenged by nature – engineers dream of dramatic concrete and rock structures to divert and impound water; using gravity and pressure to turn massive turbines capable of powering their mines and mills.Industry is a powerful lobby.It is industrialization which drives our economy; makes our lifestyles possible.
Unfortunately the human ‘progress’ is often at the expense of the landscapes we treasure.
There is no exception to this rule.
Without passionate photographers many people would be unaware of the atrocities changing our landscapes, impacting our lives.
Photographers evoke strong emotion – images of fashion, culture, disaster, war, hunger, malnutrition, starvation, death . . .
What are you now thinking of, seeing in your mind . . .
What influenced your thoughts . . .
Wilderness Gallery at Cradle Mountain Chateau does this for our great wild places, rugged landscapes – particularly Tasmania and the Antarctic Region.
Do not miss Wilderness Gallery.
Take your time.
It will make a difference in how you view Tasmania and the ecosystem we each depend upon for our existence.
http://www.wildernessgallery.com.au
