Over the course of several wintry weeks, I was fortunate to be able to join the Bookend Trust's Andrew Hughes for yet another amazing Expedition Class. Andrew has been linking up with primary school classrooms across Tasmania while exploring this marvelous planet, and conducting a unique educational program regular trip reports and curriculum-based lesson plans.

For the Treehouse Challenge, we set up a fantastic hanging tent provided by Tasmanian-based  Big Wall Gear, and Andrew used this treehouse as a hub for connecting with classrooms. I joined along to help set up the treeclimbs and to serve as one of the forest scientists answering questions from students online.

We climbed into a veteran brown-top stringybark at Hollybank Reserve near Launceston, into an ancient rainforest myrtle in the Tarkine, and into the giant Eucalyptus regnans of the Southern Forests.

You can see Andrew's excellent trip reports online, and you can enjoy some of the photos I snapped along the way!

A complex treetop world In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessA giant Nothofagus In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAerial ferns in an ancient myrtle In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAncient fungus In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAndrew appreciates the view while descending In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAndrew ascends In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAndrew heads up for the evening In the Hollybank dry forest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAndrew relaxes while Steve Pearce sets up the shot In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessAndrew in the lower branches In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessBase Camp In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessDan Haley ascends In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessGardens in the branches In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessHanging out In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessNicole Anderson on the ropes In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessLittle Leonard and Andrew scout a giant gum tree In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessOn the ropes In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessSteve Pearce ties into a branch In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessSetting up with Andrew In the Hollybank dry forest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessSarah Abbott from ABC at work In the Hollybank dry forest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessThe Nothofagus treehouse In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessWild cave systems In the Tarkine rainforest on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessTwo giant trees grow close together In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar NessYDB enjoying a Huon apple In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by Andrew HughesSteve Pearce traverses the giant trees In the Southern Forests on Expedition Class by YD Bar Ness

Expedition Class

Believe it or not this is our tenth year of adventure here at Expedition Class. To celebrate we tackled something that scares us witless. Climbing way up into really big trees. The Tree House Challenge explored forest types and what makes them different and special by climbing the trees that grow in them.