A rugged island sculpted by the wilds of the Southern Ocean and carved by the ice ages of eons past, Tasmania's Island Heritage is a landscape of beauty that leaves footprints on the heart of all who visit. Nature's finest work, cloaked by the earth's cleanest air, Tasmania's Island Heritage is a landscape of dramatic coastlines, rugged wilderness and snow capped mountains.

TASMANIA: WORLD HERITAGE

Tasmania's Island Heritage is as spectacular as it is diverse. Sea-scoured coastlines and gentle beaches abound with marine life offer wildlife encounters for all. Towering forests with flowing crystal waters entrance and entice the curious. With one of the last large expanses of temperate rainforest in the world, one-fifth of Tasmania was declared a World Heritage Area in 1982 with an international obligation to protect and conserve this wilderness of outstanding universal value.

TASMANIA: THE LAST REFUGE

Tasmania's Island Heritage is the last refuge for many animals, birds and plants that are rare or extinct elsewhere, such as theTasmanian devil,Tasmanian native hen and the 40-spotted pardalote-one of Australia's smallest birds. It is an island safe haven protected by isolation, lack of introduced predatorsand largely preserved habitats,offering the last chance for many species.

Now a Tasmanian icon,Tasmanian devils were once considered vermin in their own homeland. Early European settlers complained of raids on poultry yards, predation on lambs, its spine-chilling screeches and unsavoury temperament and the creature became known as the Tasmanian devil.

Driven to extinction on the mainland by an increasingly arid climate and the spread of the dingo, the devil is now under threat in its Tasmanian stronghold. Facial tumour disease, a fatal cancerous condition in Tasmanian devils, is spreading and reducing populations of the species.

In 2010, five Tasmanian convict sites were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.These include Port Arthur and the Coal Mines Historic Sites on theTasman Peninsula, the Cascades Female Factory at South Hobart, Darlington Probation Station on Maria Island and Brickendon- Woolmers Estates near Longford.

HUON PINE TREE: A LIVING RECORD OF THE DINOSAUR AGE

In cool temperate forests, deep within the wilderness of Tasmania's Island Heritage lies one of the oldest living organisms on earth: the Huon pine. Endemic to Tasmania and found only on the West Coast, Central Plateau and Huon Valley, this slow growing tree can live for up to 3,000 years. The Huon pine tree is a relic of the dinosaur age, surviving for 135 million years. During colonial times, the tree was a valuable ship-building material because it was impervious to rot. Today, it still remains a prized material for ship building and furniture making.

The Tahune Forest walking trail offers visitors the chance to encounterthe spectacular pine. On an air-walk suspended high above the forest floor visitors can view the Huon pine and the other unique tree species of Tasmania including eucalypts, celery top, King Billy pine, blackwood, sassafras, beech, myrtle and flowering leatherwood.