Dove Lake Circuit

From my old blog, 17th June 2006...

It’s the tail end of June school holidays in Tassie and I have had the past couple of weeks off work.  The break has been dominated by all manner of family activities with barely a day to spare.

With so much to do in the two weeks, I knew opportunities to head bush would be limited.  Therefore, with not much happening on the first weekend, it was time to plan a family trip into the mountains.

The weather forecast for Sunday and Monday was terrific.  One cool, crisp, still, clear sunny day followed by another.  The Cradle Mountain area was chosen for our family foray and a 2 bedroom, 8 bunk cabin behind Waldheim Chalet was duly booked.

After a pit stop at Railton, we bypassed Sheffield and continuing cautiously through the icy hairpin bends of the Cethana Gorge.  Next stop was my in-law’s ‘shack’ at Moina.

The ‘shack’ sits on a 5 acre clearing beside Lake Gairdner, which is formed by the Wilmot Dam at the confluence of the Iris and Lea Rivers.  On this particular morning, the frost was very heavy and sheets of ice had formed around the lakes shore.

Back on the road, we had a quick stop at the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre to pick up our key and then it was on to Dove Lake for our walk.

The walk starts by crossing the lake outlet where the Dove River is born.  The dramatic Glacier Rock is a worthwhile detour but care must be taken to keep children under a tight rein so they don’t get too close to the edge.

Along the eastern side of the lake, 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter jostled for the lead while our one year old son sang happily from his perch on my back.

Less than an hour’s walk brought us to a lunch platform situated amidst giant button-grass tussocks right below the part of Cradle Mountain known as Weindorfers Tower.

After lunch, the track changes as it sidles some cliffs with water lapping below the walkway.  The spectacular ballroom forest is a feature of the western shore where ancient species of alpine plants seem to cling impossibly to the steep slopes of the Cradle Plateau.  Once again, it was less than an hour of walking that returned us to the car park.

A short drive led us around to our accommodation.  It soon became apparent that a permanent electricity supply had been connected since our last visit.  A new walking track linking the Visitor Centre with Cradle Valley provided an opportunity a couple of years ago to bring services such as power, sewerage and communications into the park.

Once settled in our cabin, we strolled around the nature walk through Weindorfers Forest dominated by huge old Pencil and King William Pines.

Waldheim Chalet at Cradle Valley

Next day, we packed up and returned to the Visitor Centre where we walked around what the children call the ‘Wheelchair Walk.’  A 500 metre long ramp/boardwalk leads through several types of alpine plant community before arriving at a lookout beside Pencil Pine Falls.

The prehistoric looking plants at the back of this frosty scene are Richea Pandanifolia or Pandanis to us normal folk.  They are also called Giant Heath and are the world's largest heath plant.

From the Cradle Mountain area, we decided to return home via Burnie on the North West Coast.  The new road (about 15 years old) heads over the Black Bluff Range where we took advantage of the cloudless skies and walked to a lookout just a short distance uphill from the highest point on the road.  At the lookout, a plaque lists the major mountains and their distances.

Our final outdoor stroll was a brief visit to the ghost town of Guilford.  In the past, this was a busy spot at the junction of the Emu Bay Railway from Burnie to Mount Bischoff (Waratah) and its southern extensions to Rosebery and Zeehan.

One of the great things about bushwalking in Tassie is the wide range of bushwalks available.  The wilderness that provided such a challenge to early explorers is still largely intact and opportunities abound for the hard-core walker.  However, as this weekend illustrated, there is plenty of walking suitable for those with more tame ambitions such as families with small children.

Family Fireworks Fun and Bright Lights on the Bluff

From my old blog, 25th May 2006...

Yesterday, the 24th of May, was the old Empire Day.  When I was little I never realised what cracker night was celebrating.  Apparently it was Empire Day.  I'm still not much the wiser.  I guess it's celebrating the British Empire that was the predecessor to the British Commonwealth.

My extended family used to get together at our cousins' house, secluded in a quiet country gully behind Burnie and have a bonfire and cracker night celebration.  Sometime after that (I can't remember how long ago) safety regulations made it much harder to get hold of crackers.  Family cracker nights became a thing of the past.

The little town of Westbury where I live now has a population of about 1300 people.  Last night I reckon 250 of them turned up at the showgrounds for a bonfire night with a fireworks display and sausage sizzle.
It was a great night and the fireworks display was beyond my expectations.  My children are aged 7, 5 and 1.  We all had a ball.  For a small town, Westbury seems to be able to celebrate rather well.

During the day, there was an odd celebration of another kind.  Quamby Bluff is a mountain just behind Westbury.  There has been an arty focus on the bluff in recent months.  Yesterday, someone had the idea of taking a large composite mirror up on the mountain and flashing it to a photographer circling the mountain in the helicopter.  I think this was all done in the name of art.

Someone at Weegena, a good 40km away called the hikers on top of the mountain and asked them to aim the mirror that way.  Another phone conversation confirmed that they had seen the flash and taken photographs.  It will be interesting to see the results.

Quamby Bluff is a moderate half day walk with a little bit of rock scrambling on the way up.  I've climbed it a few times before.  I'll blog about that another time.

Old Blog is Sick

It appears my old blog at http://blognow.com.au/tastrekker is dying.  When I tested this evening, the last few posts appeared but older entries would not display.  I was able to log in and start copying the entries from my earliest posts but after grabbing a few the site stopped responding.  I'm about to have a go at grabbing the source from one of those old posts and uploading it here...

Cathedral Plateau

Twin Spires

Last weekend we had planned to do another overnight walk with the whole family. The plan was to set off after our children's soccer games in the morning and walk in to the Scott-Kilvert Hut at Lake Rodway in the afternoon. On Friday night, a couple of our children showed signs of having nasty colds. We decided this was not a good start so we abandoned the family walk idea. Instead, we decided I would toddle off on my own for a solo walking treat.

Grail Falls

As these opportunities are rare, I thought carefully about my destination. The forecast was fine so a mountain walk would be very appealing. There was also some snow left on the higher peaks. Even better! After some contemplation, I eventually chose to walk up the Moses Creek Track to the Cathedral Plateau.

Lunch spot beside a frozen Challice Lake

In my first few hours' walking, I climbed steadily out of the Mersey Valley into the picturesque surrounds of Chapter Lake. The dark silent waters of the lake contrasted to the brilliant white gushes of Grail Falls as they crash into the valley with a mighty roar. A cairned route leads up to the ledges above the falls and then on to my lunch spot where I could see Convent Hill over a mostly frozen Challice Lake.

Cathedral Mountain

My original plan was to setup camp at the lake and take a couple of half day walks exploring the Cathedral Plateau from there. Instead, as I was feeling fit and the weather was great, I decided to continue on with my full pack. A small rise took me to Tent Tarn where I lost the cairned route.

Sunset over Pelion East

I tip-toed through the fragile cushion plants south of the Tarn and then headed up hill towards Twin Spires. I did not go far before the thick scrubby vegetation was starting to get me down and for the first time in the walk, I could feel the weight of my pack. The scrub looked marginally better further south so I sidled a bit and much to my surprise, I came across the cairned route again. It must have recommenced at some point after Tent Tarn.

The moon watches over the pre-dawn sky as Pelion East, Barn Bluff

and Cradle Mountain peek out from their cotton-wool blankets.

My reunion with the cairned route was timely as I had just reached the snow line. As I got higher, it became apparent that the route was leading me to a high point on Cathedral Mountain itself. This point turned out to be almost 500 metres back from the edge of the escarpment. The views of the surrounding plateau and mountains were terrific but I was looking forward to seeing the view over the brink to the Mersey valley below.

First light catches Mount Ossa

Rather than heading directly to the cliff tops, I headed towards the Twin Spires, the northern peak of which is the highest point on the Cathedral plateau. There was just enough snow cover for this to be a very easy traverse. The last serious snowfall was almost two weeks ago so the compact icy surface was almost like walking on a footpath over or between the shrubs and boulders.

Sunrise over the Walls of Jerusalem

It was not until I reached the very highest point of the Twin Spires that I gave myself the satisfaction of looking down to the valley below. The roar of the Mersey River drifted up and the grassy flats of Lees Paddocks looked like a giant golf course. The private hut at Kia Ora stood out with the peaks of the Du Cane and Pelion ranges providing a stunning backdrop.

First light reaches Twin Spires

With light starting to fade, I quickly found a level patch of snow about 15 metres from the summit where I could pitch my tent, cook dinner and settle in for the long dark night. In the morning I woke an hour before sunrise, cooked a delicious breakfast and headed outside in the pre-dawn light. The moon smiled down on the peaks to the north-west which rose out of valleys filled to the brim with layers of cotton wool fog.

Twin Spires camp site starts to thaw

Cradle Mountain was the first peak to be set ablaze by the rising sun. A few minutes later as the sun eased its way over the Walls of Jerusalem, Mount Ossa was the next peak to glow. As I watched in awe, one by one the other mountains caught the suns rays. In the meantime, the dense fog was starting to rise out of the valleys. To the north, upward-flowing waterfalls of cloud were pouring over the cliff-lines of Deans Bluff and Bishops Peak. Soon, I too was enveloped by the rising blanket and my sunrise show was over.

Fog pours out of the Mersey valley over Bishops Peak

On my return, I foolishly headed straight down towards Tent Tarn and predictably got buried in the scrub I had encountered 20 hours earlier. A detour back to the cairned route to Cathedral would have been quicker and far less scratchy. Oh well, never mind. I shouldn't complain. The scrub here is no where near as bad as other parts of the island.

Looking from South Twin Spire to Mount Ossa

After descending past Grail Falls, I returned to the car via a taped route which follows Moses Creek down from its Chapter Lake outlet. I had done this route as a day walk previously but again found myself marvelling at the amazingly steep path taken by Moses Creek as it plunges over an almost constant succession of waterfalls before suddenly leveling out for its final approach to the Mersey River.

North Twin Spire from South Twin Spire

My walk finished on an uncertain note. When I last went to the Moses Creek waterfalls, I branched off the Moses Creek Track after it crossed Jacksons Creek to pick up the taped route. This time, heading in the reverse direction to my previous visit, I followed the tapes expecting them to swing east any minute to join the other track. They didn't! When I finally reached the confluence of Jacksons and Moses I came to an unpleasant realisation. By following the tapes all the way to the end, I now faced a very steep climb back to my car as I had descended more than I needed. The short, sharp climb to the car was not the ending I had expected but my sense of satisfaction and achievement overpowered my aching muscles and before I knew it, the car park was upon me.
 

Chapter Lake

Mount Wellington

Zig Zag Track near the summit of Mount Wellington

I have never lived in Hobart but if I did, I would love Mt Wellington on my doorstep. Recently when Mrs TasTrekker had a workshop at the university, I took the opportunity to be dropped at the summit ready for a leisurely downhill trot.

Mount Wellington's Organ Pipes

While there are probably more interesting and obscure walks on the mountain, I am a Wellington Walks newbie so I picked what looked like the most direct route down stringing as many features together as I could. I'm organising a camp for people heading to Tassie from all over Australia in a few months time so this was a test-drive for one of their activities.

Sphinx Rock

My selected route took me down the Zig Zag Track from the summit. As I left the howling wind and frozen puddles behind, the track soon lived up to its name. Before too long, I diverted onto the Organ Pipes Track for closer inspection of the dolerite columns so many Hobartians must take for granted.

The Octopus Tree

The Sawmill Track then took me down to Strickland Falls via short detours to Rock Cabin (not really worth the detour), Sphinx Rock (kinda cool on top but even cooler underneath where some rock climbers were dangling from the overhang) and the Octopus Tree.

Strickland Falls