Paddling in Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park

West Tasmania holds some of the most demanding and most serene paddling in Australia within the same park boundary.

Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park sits in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, roughly two and a half hours northwest of Hobart, where high rainfall, tannin-stained rivers, and glacier-carved gorges define the water.

The park takes its name from its two dominant rivers, and the paddling here divides cleanly along that same line: technical whitewater on the Franklin, and deep-wilderness flatwater on the Gordon. The Franklin River is the park's defining paddle.

It runs 125 kilometres from the Cheyne Range to its confluence with the Gordon, dropping through remote rainforest gorges with no road access once you're committed. Trips typically put in at the Collingwood River bridge and run 8–10 days to the Gordon.

The only exits are downstream, by float plane, or by helicopter — a fact that shapes every decision on the water.

Rapid rises of up to a metre per hour are possible in the canyon during heavy rain, and the west coast receives over 2,000 mm annually in some catchments.

February sees commercial expeditions on the water; the season runs through the warmer months when conditions are most manageable, though "manageable" is relative on a river described as Australia's equivalent of the Grand Canyon.

The Gordon River is a different proposition entirely. Wide, calm, and flanked by ancient rainforest, it rewards sea kayakers and tourers willing to carry a full expedition kit.

Roaring 40s Kayaking runs a 7-day guided expedition on the Gordon and Macquarie Harbour — Australia's second-largest natural harbour — with the season running November through January. The tannin-dark water mirrors the canopy above, and the pace is the point.

Entry to the park requires a valid Tasmanian parks pass, issued by the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.

No additional paddling-specific permit is mentioned for day trips, but the Franklin's remoteness demands the same self-sufficiency as any multi-day wilderness expedition anywhere in the world.

Check current park alerts before any trip; conditions and access requirements can change. The Franklin was saved from damming in the 1980s. Paddling it now carries that history in the current.