The sixth edition was a major upgrade from earlier editons - the guide has 224 pages (fourth edition had 192) and has 141 colour photographs (previous edition had 75 black and white photos). New additions are colour topographic maps for all major tracks and routes and gradient profiles for all major tracks and routes. New areas included are the Picton Range and also an expansion of brief notes of harder or lesser known walking routes. Overall the new guide describes almost 200 days of walking (the previous edition described 125 days). Previously published in 1976 (note form on A4 paper), 1978, 1983, 1990, 1998 and 2008. Covers all the main tracks and routes in South West and Wild Rivers National Parks in Tasmania. This covers the southern half of the Western Tasmania World Heritage Area. Track notes for the northern half are in another guide, Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park. Contains comprehensive track notes, brief background notes on history, botany and geology, comprehensive planning and preparation notes and access details. Walks described are South Coast Track, South West Cape, Port Davey Track, Huon & McKays Tracks, Precipitious Bluff (Southern Ranges), Picton Range, Federation Peak and approaches (Eastern Arthurs and Farmhouse Creek), Western Arthur Range, Mt Anne, and Frenchmans Cap. Included as brief planning notes are the West Coast (Strahan to Port Davey), the Frankland Range, the Denison, Spires and King William Ranges and also a new section of Other Routes which includes Mt Hopetoun, Old River to Federation Peak, White Monolith Range, Vanishing Falls, Mt Norold and the Prince of Wales Range. If you are intending to walk here then I recommend you read the literature provided by National Parks. Travel has changed and Tassielink no longer run scheduled buses - the only regular provider to Scottos Peak, Cockle Creek, the Huon Track etc is Evans Coaches.. For first time visitors to the region, be careful how you use the suggested walking times. The times given are the normal range for fit experienced walkers who are used to the conditions (experience elsewhere often means little in Tasmania as you will find out). The times are only walking times and most groups should add an extra 1 to 2 hours to each section to account for rest and photographic stops. Walkers not used to Tasmanian mud and scrambling with packs often find they take much longer than the suggested times and this is normal. Some writers have stated the times in the guide are fanciful but they are not, as I have beaten every time in the book, but also have taken longer myself at the start of a trip when I am less fit and am loaded with 14 days food. Once you have done 1 or 2 days, you will know how your times compare to the given times and will be able to adjust your estimates accordingly. To suggest a time range of 2 to 7 hours would be not very helpful so I hope readers understand why I have given the average range (example - 2.5 to 4 hours) for fit experienced walkers.

Contains comprehensive track notes for walking the South Coast Track in Tasmania. The guide has 9 -1:50,000 colour topographic maps of the entire track, 50 colour photographs plus gradient profiles of the track. This is an all colour production with full track notes for both directions along the trail. The colour topographic maps and notes have been colour coded for each direction to reduce confusion about which notes are currently being followed. This is one of the world's great wilderness walks and takes 6 to 8 days to walk. Most plan for 7 days and it is suggested to carry one spare days food in case of river floods causing delays. For those wishing to explore further than the South Coast Track, then the larger guide book South West Tasmania which also includes the South Coast Track should be considered. This book is actually a subset of that larger guide and we would expect walkers to use one or the other but not both. Note that the maps in South West Tasmania for the South Coast Track are a smaller scale (1:100,000) and there is less detail in the track notes as that book is designed for more experienced walkers.

"Tasmania's old-growth forests, its wild, untamed rivers and its remote, rugged mountain peaks are etched in the minds of most Australians but these wilderness areas have been the focus of bitter conflict between government, big business and environmentalists for the past 30 years. Although told mostly from an environmentalist's point of view, this book is a factual record of events. Beginning in the 1970s with the flooding of Lake Pedder, it takes the reader through the heady days of the Franklin River blockade and the more recent battles for Tasmania's old-growth forests, culminating with the controversial proposal for the Gunns pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. Unfolding events reveal something of how politics is done in the island state and why a climate of suspicion and mistrust persists among the various interest groups. These battles also have had ramifications for the whole of Australia. They have played a defining part in the shaping of the Green party as well as The Wilderness Society and The Australian Conservation Foundation. Never before has Tasmania been examined through the prism of conflicting values over wilderness. This approach shows what influence this single issue has had upon Tasmania's recent history."--Provided by publisher.

The Wilderness of South West Tasmania contains some of Australia's most spectacular scenery and is a mecca for bushwalkers from all over the world. Jagged peaks, massive cliffs, tannin-stained lakes, open plains and deep gorges are intermingled, with forest and scrub for which the region is famous. Equally beautiful are the sandy beaches, sharp headlands and tranquil lagoons of the rugged coastline.

"Ian Johnston has been navigating the oceans for more years than he'll care to admit. He has a penchant for the wild places where few people go, and in The Shank he describes some of the wildest. The Southwest Wilderness region of Tasmania is remote, strange and lashed by the savage weather of the Roaring Forties, but it is also one of the most beautiful and unspoiled places in the world." - Paul Cullen