It's ironic that the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, the epicentre of Tasmania's acclaimed World Heritage Area, is perceived by most people as the Island State's most remote and inaccessible wilderness when in reality it's just the opposite. Certainly, reaching much of the wild splendour of this park is beyond the endurance or the willpower of the average family, but, on the other hand there are worthwhile portions of it which are literally a few minutes easy walking from your car.

Photographs of the beauty and untamed nature of the Franklin, Gordon, Jane, Collingwood and other major rivers within the park helped convince decision makers in the 1980s that this was indeed a place worth preserving.

Frenchman's Cap National Park for many years contained not just the famous mountain but much of the spectacular land around it. The park was expanded and had its name changed following the well known High Court Dam decision. It is also listed as a World Heritage Area.

The Franklin River especially has captured the world's imagination - an article describing a rafting trip down it has been published in America's prestigious Sierra Club Magazine. The Gordon River annually attracts thousands of visitors who visit it on cruise boats or land on it by seaplane from Strahan.

For a close up view of one of the Gordon's most fascinating botanical features, the cruise boats now call in at Heritage Landing for the short walk to a 2,000 year old Huon Pine tree. Huon Pines, along with myrtles, sassafras, King Billy Pines and leatherwood trees, all thrive in the temperate rainforest environment.

Few are ever able to appreciate the park in all its immensity, at 440,000 hectares, making it Tasmania's second largest. Those who climb its most celebrated mountain Frenchmans Cap are rewarded with unparalleled views.

But for most visitors, a stop or two at a walk along the Lyell Highway as it passes through the park's northern end provides an ideal short wilderness experience, one that won't cost them muddy boots, sore muscles or pillowless nights in a tent.

Driving west from Lake St Clair there are three of the best short walks, all provided by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.

Franklin River Walk

They don't get any easier than this one. You turn left into a visitor area complete with toilets, an information booth, picnic tables and a car park. From here you walk about five minutes through some very nice rainforest down to the Franklin. The river, which rages and roars farther down stream is pretty placid here. A loop walk adorned with the small signs naming the various native plants takes you back to your car.

Donaghy's Hill Lookout

About a 40 minutes return walk, this site has two attractions - the quality of the mixed forest you stroll through and the stunning view from the lookout at the end. For such a short walk, you'll be surprised at the variety of forest types, from dense rainforest pockets to eucalypts. It's an easy walk that anyone in the family can do.

Near the end you come out onto an open plateau and ascend a set of steps to a large wooden platform atop of Donaghys Hill. From this superb vantage point you can gaze out onto the Franklin and Collingwood rivers, and to Frenchmans Cap and other peaks to the south. Turn facing the east and you are looking at the King William Range. To help you get your orientation, rangers have provided handy signs illustrating which mountains are which.

Nelsons Falls

This walk has quite justifiably been termed the most romantic in Tasmania. The forest is quite lush and pretty - bridges along the track cross little creeks and take you past tall manferns. Along the way you can read about the Allosaurus dinosaur (kids love these illustrated signs) which ruled the land 120 million years ago. At walk's end is an exceptionally attractive waterfall and a handy viewing platform.

One fascinating and lesser known way of seeing some of the park's best rainforest is to drive about 30 kilometres south of Queenstown to Bird River Track. Once used as a small railway, the track today is enveloped by the rainforest canopy. You might be able to take a family sedan as far as the Bird River Bridge, but a 4WD might be more comfortable.

Once at the Bridge, it's about a two hour walk to Kelly Basin at Macquarie Harbour. Along the way you'll experience the rushing turbulence of the Bird River and the tranquillity of the open country near the harbour. It's one of the many great but undiscovered scenic locales of Tasmania's Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.

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