IMAGES: JUSTIN MENEGUZZI; ALAMY; GETTY


took their custodianship very seriously and would only sell it to those they deemed worthy. Over coffee and a yarn, Anthony convinced Ian Bradshaw, the 93-year-old patriarch, to let him use the timber to make kayaks. “I really wanted to tell the story of King Billy and share


the history of the area. I think people like the idea that you’re sitting on this 1,000-year-old bit of wood and then you go to see its living relative,” says Anthony, recalling his winning elevator pitch. Over the next year, Anthony put his kids to bed each night and then retreated to his shed to make kayaks by hand, teaching himself by reading books and watching YouTube videos. With three boats now in the water, he plans to complete another two, which he expects will take around 400 hours to build. I’m yet to catch a glimpse of my kayak’s famous kin when


I glide into the shore, landing among the pebbles with a gentle thud. I wade out of the frigid waters to a sandy clearing where Anthony is already boiling a kettle over a compact stove. Raucous black cockatoos are busily tearing open gum tree boughs in search of juicy grubs, and celery leaf trees fragrance the air with the faintly herbaceous appeal of gin and tonic. After stretching our legs to work out the pins and needles


and enjoying a steaming hot chocolate, we leave the kayaks behind and continue our mission to find King Billy trees on foot. Fully prepared for a lengthy search, I’m scanning the ground for spiky branchlets that have fallen to the ground


76 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL


— a key sign that a King Billy is nearby — when Anthony pulls us up. A short distance from the track, obscured by the twisted limbs and boughs of other trees, we find an immense King Billy tree. “You could walk right past it and never know it was there — unless you know what you’re looking for,” says Anthony. From a throne of shallow roots, the majestic pine


reaches skywards, exploding into a vibrant emerald crown that ends in claw-shaped shoots. High above, grey-green lichen droops from the boughs like a wizened beard. And this king is not alone. As we walk deeper into the Ballroom Forest — so named for the cavernous canopy overhead — Anthony points out yet more King Billy pine trees, as well as lemon-scented boronia and various mushroom types. Once our search is over, we begin to make our way back


towards the kayaks when Anthony unexpectedly steps off the path and into the bush. I follow and find him standing next to a slender young tree with familiar shoots. Anthony says it’s a hybrid, the mysterious love child of a pencil and King Billy pine. It’s so new and rare, scientists are yet to give it a common name. Inspecting its lance-shaped branchlets, I realise we’ve just found a prince hiding in the woods.


HOW TO DO IT: Cradle Mountain Canyons offers canyoning and kayaking tours, including a three-hour paddle on Dove Lake from A$155 (£80) per person. cradlemountaincanyons.com.au


Clockwise from above: The Dove Lake Boatshed is an iconic site at Cradle Mountain National Park in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area; rafting on the Franklin River; a woman abseils alongside the Totem Pole, a column of rock that juts out of the ocean in Cape Hauy, Tasman National Park, Tasmania


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