Preolenna is a dispersed valley settlement south-west of Wynyard, surrounded by farms, plantations and wet forest. It is not a conventional visitor town and has few services.

Settlement followed clearing and schemes

The district’s history includes small farming selections, road building and settlement programmes. Government reports and local records should be used together because promotional accounts often understated the difficulty of soils, access and markets.

Wet green valley in north-west Tasmania
High rainfall shaped farming, roads and forest growth.Gary Houston, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Roads serve farms and forestry

Expect narrow gravel sections, logging traffic, animals and poor mobile coverage. Use headlights where advised, keep left and never enter signed forestry operations or private tracks.

Dense temperate forest in north-west Tasmania
Forestry roads are working infrastructure, not informal touring tracks.Bill, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Carry what the trip requires

Fuel and reliable supplies are available in coastal towns rather than the valley. Check weather, tell someone your route and avoid adding remote forest roads as an unplanned shortcut.

Narrow road through remote north-west landscape
Remote routes need fuel, weather and communications planning.Steven Penton from Bakers Beach, Tasmania Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Research the wider district through Wynyard history and Burnie’s history.