Minimal impact techniques are used to reduce the effects that people have on the environment. Tasmanian Safaris will operate its tours with minimal impact plans and procedures in place as this will allow our clients to enjoy their natural surroundings without causing environmental degradation. It’s all about walking, camping and driving softly. There are various minimal impact policies around and this one has been specifically prepared for our Tasmanian Safaris tours. This policy should be read in conjunction with the Tasmanian Safaris operations manual.

The key to minimal impact is to plan for it before we go.

Each tour should contain briefings as to how to travel softly and leave a minimal impact. You will find a briefing schedule in the operations manual.

Campfires can be used for cooking where and when it is permit able to light a campfire. The campfire should  be set  where a campfire has been set previously  or in designated areas. The area around campfire will be kept free of obstacles and all fire wood will be stored to one side of the fire. In the event of declared high or extreme fire danger a campfire will not be set. Camp fires are to be kept small and only be allowed to grow to the size as required by cooking needs. During the day, never leave a fire unattended and extinguish it on vacating the site.   Remove excess ash, leave a clean fire pit. Don’t create any new fire pits. Firewood collection must not destroy any live vegetation and care should be taken not to disrupt animal habitats. Escaped campfires can lead to disastrous bushfires. Half of woodused will from waste/recycled sources.

In parts of Tasmania including the entire Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area have been declared Fuel Stove Only Areas, this means campfires are not permitted and fines apply. When using a fuel stove take care to place your stove and any hot pots on hard surfaces.

Take all of your rubbish out with you! Why? Littering spoils the experience for others. Most rubbish won’t decompose and causes pollution. Animals may try to eat your rubbish; this can seriously harm them. Rubbish includes food scraps, twisty ties, sanitary pads and tampons, condoms, and any other bushwalkers’ garbage you can collect off the track!

For your own safety and the environment’s sake, please stick to the formed track. If the track is braided or wide stay in the middle. If there is no track, fan out and do not follow in each other’s footsteps.Never create a track with tape or cairns. This is illegal and fines apply. When walking on beaches, please be aware that you are sharing the beach with shore-nesting birds. Walk below the high-tide mark.

Keep noise to a minimum.

Set up your camp on an established site rather than creating a new one. Once camp is established minimise your movements. Collect your water once for the evening rather than making repeat trips. Make sure you leave no trace of your visit.

To help take the pressure of the more popular camping areas avoid these areas in times of high use such as the summer school holidays. We are developing exclusive camp sites which will further reduce demand for areas at busy times.

Minimise your impact on the local wildlife populations. Don’t disturb or feed nesting birds or browsing animals. Ensure clients and staff are not introducing weeds or seeds into new areas by thoroughly cleaning boots tents and other equipment before and after each trip.

The root rot fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi is present in Tasmania. This microscopic fungus istransmitted in mud and soil and can kill native plants. To help stop the spread of Phytophthora make sure you start the walk with clean gear including boots, tent pegs, gaiters and tent floor. Make sure you use wash down stations when they are provided on track. At the end of your walk thoroughly wash down all of your equipment.

If a toilet exists please use it! This will help reduce the risk of Giardia, which can cause an intestinal illness. If there is no toilet then walk 100m away from water, the track and campsites and dig a 15cm hole and bury your waste and the toilet paper as well.

When  cleaning  and  washing,  wash  well  away  from  the water  source.  Soaps,  detergents,  Insect repellent, toothpaste and sun lotion are harmful to water life, avoid using these substances in areas where they can cause damage.

Keep a low profile in public areas keep noise and the group’s visibility to a minimum. Growing interest in outdoor activities means the areas we visit are shared by a number of commercial companies and private individuals.  There is no room for animosity in these remote wilderness areas and we always, irrespective of the circumstances, offer help to anyone who needs it. Leave any inter-company rivalry at home, and don’t criticise other companies or private groups in front of clients.

Encourage and promote an understanding of conservation. Encourage through interpretation natural and historic values and ensure our presence has no effect on historic, Aboriginal and archaeological locations.

Group sizes will be kept to a sustainable level, small groups only will be taken into remote areas.

Camping areas will be thoroughly cleaned and inspected for rubbish after each use. Always leave campsites better than you found them. When the amount of rubbish found at a new nights campsite  is far greater than your capacity to take it out, a note and a report needs to be written and passed onto the next guide visiting that area so he or she can have extra rubbish carry capacity available so the rubbish can be collected on the next visit.

Leave things alone and where they are, shells driftwood etc make great souvenirs but the should be left in place for other to enjoy.

Don’t buy products with excess packaging. Bring your own bags the shops and supermarkets.

We have moved away from the use of 4X4 vehicle, but in the case we do use them. Keep to formed tracks  and  follow  the  Cruising  without  Bruising  guidelines  laid  out  in  the  Tasmanian  Safaris Operations Manual.

Be careful with shoes gaiters and socks that you are not transferring weeds to new areas.

Ask permission, close gates and leave the places in better conditions than you found.

From its inception Tasmanian Safaris has been firmly committed to actions and operations that are sustainable and will safeguard the environments, ecosystems and cultures that we visit. We are committed to reducing green houses gases generated by our business and have adopted policies to actively reduce these emissions. We believe that climate change caused by increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a threat to the long term sustainability of the environment and to the ecosystemswhich we operate.

The majority of our contribution to greenhouse gases arises from vehicle use and to a lesser extent power use and product packaging.

In our aim to reduce our emissions and work towards a better future we have adopted practices and procedures:

1. Where possible we use and allocate vehicles in relation to the size of the group using the smallest possible.

2. We use the lightest smallest trailer possible for each group so as we are not dragging heavy trailers around with small groups.

3. We thoroughly pre plan our tour pick ups and coordinate our clients transfers to ensure minimal vehicle use.

4. We have fine turned our tour itineraries so that they have as little driving as possible, but enough to complete the journey and the emphasis is on walking and being out amongst nature.

5. We recycle all possible items and provide various recycle bins on tour.

6. We buy in bulk where possible to reduce packaging.

7. We use re usable containers for lunches and food storage so we don’t have to use plastic bags.

8. We provide fresh rain water for drinking and to refill drink bottles to eliminate any need for our clients to need to buy new plastic mineral water bottles.

9. Our equipment and linen is washed in cold water and hung on the line to dry.

10. Vehicles are hand washed and brooms and brushes are used.

11. We carry compost bins and compost all organic waste on tour.

12. Where possible we are phasing out printed brochures in line with our distribution requirements.

13. We recycle paper and printer cartridges.

14. Our cooking fires used on tours are kept as small as possible and used only very sparingly.

15. Our timber used in fires is sourced from sustainable well managed suppliers.

16. Our food and menus are planned and sourced with seasonal and local produce in mind and where possible we purchase locally grown and produced goods.

17. We use refillable cartridges for our printers.

18. We use recycled paper for any printing required and out Tasmanian Safaris brochures.

19. We use discarded juice containers as ice bricks instead of purchasing cooler blocks.