Our Latest News

Better protection for Pitt Water wetlands

10/05/2013

Improved stormwater management is one of a number of strategies that will help the long-term conservation of the habitat and migratory birds of the Pitt Water Nature Reserve between Cambridge and Sorell.More

Planned burn for Flinders Island

02/05/2013

The Parks and Wildlife Service wish to advise that fire management burns are planned to be undertaken when conditions are suitable, during May 2013, at Badger Corner, Strzelecki National Park on Flinders Island.More

Strategic fuel reduction burn for the East Coast

16/04/2013

The Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) advises East Coast residents that a large fuel reduction burn is planned at Douglas-Apsley National Park on Wednesday 17 April, and Thursday, 18 April, subject to weather conditions.More

Savage River National Park

Introduction

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Savage River National Park is a wilderness region in the north west of Tasmania. The park protects the largest contiguous area of cool temperate rainforest surviving in Australia and acts as a refuge for a rich primitive flora, undisturbed river catchments, high quality wilderness, old growth forests, geodiversity and natural landscape values.

The western portion of the park includes the most extensive basalt plateaux in Tasmania that still retains a wholly intact forest ecosystem. The upper Savage River, which lends the park its name, runs through a pristine, rainforested river gorge system. The park contains habitat for a diverse rainforest fauna and is a stronghold for a number of vertebrate species which have suffered population declines elsewhere in Tasmania and mainland Australia.

The parks remoteness from human settlement and mechanised access, its undisturbed hinterland rivers and extensive
rainforest, pristine blanket bog peat soils and isolated, elevated buttongrass moorlands ensure the wilderness character of the park. Like the vast World Heritage listed Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area to its south, the area is one of the few remaining temperate wilderness areas left on Earth.

Unlike other national parks, Savage River National Park remains inaccessible. In keeping with its wilderness character, there are no facilities and no roads or mechanised access to the park. However, the park is surrounded by the Savage River Regional Reserve, in which a number of rough 4WD tracks provide limited access. To the north of the reserve, a number of State Forest Reserves can be accessed by standard vehicles. They offer an insight into the magnificent rainforest ecosystem that lies to the southeast within the Savage River National Park.