Vast areas of the region are open heathlands and buttongrass plains. “The play of light and clouds on these endless plains is mesmerising,” says Sarah Koschak, following her tour of the Tarkine. “And they are equally precious from a biological viewpoint.”

Sarah and her partner Andrew Skeoch toured the Tarkine to record a soundscape of the rainforest. The results are available for free through the pair’s business, Listening Earth.

The Tarkine is home to countless sacred Aboriginal sites, as well as hundreds of native species, including the endangered Tasmanian devil.

The Tarkine region, in north-west Tasmania, is home to the largest temperate rainforest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Cascading boughs of ancient myrtle are draped with mosses and epiphytes.

Tree ferns thrive under the shade of giant myrtle trees. Fossil records have dated myrtles, beech and tree ferns back to the time of the dinosaurs. “It is easy to imagine encountering a watchful dinosaur padding through this deep, evergreen world,” says Sarah.

Among the rainforests are river valleys and wild uplands.

In 2010, the Tarkine’s conservation status lapsed and World Heritage nomination for the region went unsupported. Conservationists have expressed fear for the region following the announcement of 10 proposed mine sites within its borders.

Sarah and Andrew hope their soundscape recordings will help to raise awareness for what they see as a precious and threatened wilderness.

“Buttongrass plains are as precious as the rainforest, home to just as much diversity, if not more,” Sarah says. Among the dense ground cover are rare plants and animals, including the last population of Tasmanian devils not yet affected by the deadly devil facial tumour disease (DFTD).

Man ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) create their own canopy at ground level, and can grow up to 15m high.

Tree fern buttresses and fallen logs can make parts of the forest difficult for human access.

Early morning on the Lindsay River.

A close up image of the tiny seed head of a button grass (Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus).

Tea-tree flowers (Leptospermum scoparium).

Dew on a bottlebrush flower (Callistemon pallidus).

Native sedges cling to the banks of the Lindsay River.

The Tarkine spring chorus begins with the song of the pink robin (Petroica rodinogaster).

Endemic to Tasmania, the tiny scrubtit (Acanthornis magnus) is often seen flitting among the ground ferns.

A male golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) in full breeding plumage.