Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park

The Franklin and Gordon rivers run through some of the least accessible country in Australia, cutting gorges through quartzite and limestone in temperate rainforest. In 1982 and 1983 a proposal to dam the Franklin for hydroelectricity drew a blockade, mass arrests and a High Court case that stopped the scheme and reshaped Australian environmental law and politics. The river remains undammed. Rafting the Franklin takes seven to fourteen days through serious whitewater and is one of the more demanding wilderness trips in the country. For everyone else, the Lyell Highway crosses the park with short walks at Donaghys Hill, Nelson Falls and the Franklin River nature trail.

What you actually see

• The Franklin River - the undammed river at the centre of the 1983 campaign.
• Donaghys Hill - a short climb to a view over the Franklin and Frenchmans Cap.
• Nelson Falls - a fall reached by a short boardwalk from the highway.
• The rainforest - myrtle, sassafras and horizontal scrub along the roadside walks.

When to go

November to April for walking and rafting; the west coast is wet in any season and rain should be expected. Rafting trips run in summer only and require experience or a commercial operator. Winter brings snow to the highway.

Honest expectations

Most of the park is inaccessible without a serious expedition. Rafting the Franklin is expensive, physically demanding and genuinely risky. The roadside walks are short and give only a glimpse. Rainfall here is among the highest in Australia.

Nearby

Queenstown lies west; Lake St Clair and Derwent Bridge are east.