It is a remote haven, sometimes misty and mysterious, and other times offering a cool and welcoming refuge from the heat.
You have to wonder why it is seldom visited, even by the locals.
The forests of East Gippsland, Victoria are home to all sorts of treasures, not least giant old growth trees measuring tens of metres around the base.
It is this sort of vegetation that a small group of locals are now fighting to protect.
The bush in this part of the world usually hits the headlines due to anti-logging protests.
But the Emerald Link project, championed by the Goongerah Environment Centre and the Wilderness Society, aims to protect the untouched forests through tourism.
It would see natural wonders like a giant manna gum in a proposed logging coupe opened to tourists, allowing people to see the natural beauty for themselves.
One part of the project has already gained support. In a 2018 election commitment, the Victorian government committed $1.5 million to plan a 120-kilometre hiking trail linking Mount Ellery with the coast at Bemm River.
A government spokesperson said market research for the Sea to Summit hike was completed last year and would be released "soon".
This information is expected to flow into a "feasibility process" over the coming six months.
World traveller champions Gippsland bush
Isaac Carné appreciates the area's isolation and natural beauty.
He is the Emerald Link's communications advocate, but has travelled a long way to be in that position.
Mr Carné grew up in Spain and came to Australia nearly 10 years ago.
"I grew up going into the mountains with my dad, and living in nature was something that I had never done," he said.
He now lives in Goongerah, a town of "50 people max" and surrounded by bush.
"I think the best way to describe what it is like living here is to tell people that the closest shops are 70 kilometres away through a really long winding route," Mr Carné said.
"I think that makes you more resilient."
Mr Carné said living in Goongerah has brought him a sense of comfort and belonging.
"Travelling around Australia in a campervan before living here showed me the incredible places that this country has," he said.
Mr Carné said the Emerald Link project was a feasible response to the decline of the logging industry.
"[It's about] looking at a future of possibilities rather than a future of problems," he said.
"Let's come up with a proposal that still utilises the natural assets we have, but in a way that's really inclusive and in a way that we can maintain them for future generations."
