South West Cape Circuit 2010 Part 3

10th Jan Window Pane Bay to Wilson Bight
A gradual ascent was made up on to the South West Cape Range after a half hour up and down walk over ancient dunes in the rainforest. There is a lovely track here and the final ascent begins at a strong flowing creek. Good to see considering the creeks were as low as we  have ever seen them and there had not been good rain for two weeks. As we gained height the Arthur Ranges including Federation Peak became visible. Precipitous Bluff and the Ironbounds were also clear to see. Previous trips had cloud that obscured these ranges from view.

From the peak at 690m we had lunch and viewed further south and east a group of hikers the first in three days that passed us. We caught up with them again at Melaleuca a few days later. Instead of walking over to Mt Karamu we walked down to Wilson Bight directly into a lovely campsite with excellent shelter. Nearby at the next camp site we met up with some members of the Gold Coast Bushwalking club.

South West Cape Circuit 2010 Part 2

Friday 8^th January Stephens Bay to Window Pane Bay

After 2 nights in a great site with great views who wants to leave. I left about an hour before the others to locate a route through the sand dunes with a minimum of scrub bashing. The theory that always works in navigation is that multiple groups of people have done just about every bush walk beforehand so find out where they went. A taped trail was located joining the Stephens Bay dune system to the Noyhener Beach system. Even in this remote area the signs of previous parties are easy to pick up.


Backtracking to Stephens Bay I met up with Kerry, Mary, Julie and Greg and we made our way to Noyhener with ease and then were delighted to have a low tide to make the rocky beach section interesting. The cairn marking the inland route was located but the track appeared overgrown. In hindsight we should have disregarded this issue and pushed through as the group was led further around the rocks past a waterfall and tried pushing in to the track from here. Bad move as the scrub was extremely thick here and it took us more energy and time to locate the real track than was expected.


We plugged on to the highest point of the day on a hill shaped like a semi colon on the map about 200m high. There were a number of steep gullies needing to be crossed on the way but we loved  the gully rainforest on these creeks and the water in the creeks is about the nicest around as it does not have the flavour of stagnated swamp water. Button grass plains sourced creeks all have this flavour which is not as nice as the tea tree and rainforest sourced creeks coming off steep hillsides etc.


There is a great view of Island Bay on the way down to Window Pane Bay (pictured) and we decided to use our rest day (next day) to explore this bay. Camping at Window Pane Bay was terrific. We were there two nights and had it to ourselves. Campers tend to gather rubbish off the beaches and make a pile at these camp sights with the vain hope that some day National Parks or Fisherman may try to clean them up with revenue raised from park passes or maybe because the government actually values these places. Perhaps the West Coast should be made into marine reserves in places like Island Bay as over fishing of abalone and lobsters according to locals are over-fished.

Saturday 9^th January
Island Bay was explored but it did take some time locating a safe route down to the beach as sea cliffs make most descent points quite difficult. The low tide exploration of rock pools and exploration of pebbly beaches and sea caves in the quartzite made the half day trip an interesting and enjoyable experience.  Lunch was enjoyed back at Window Pane Bay with Julie who explored the southern end of the bay in our absence crossing a couple of creeks. She had found a big abandoned fishing net at the end of the beach.

South West Cape Circuit 2010 Part 1

Another QBW club walk led after having two days break from walking in Hobart at the Mayfair Motel on Cavell. Whilst in Hobart Sue and I saw Avatar in 3D. This was a great movie to see between two excellent walks. Our previous walk in the Central Highlands from Walls of Jerusalem to Lake St Clair including the Labyrinth was sadly behind us but I have vowed to return.

Anyway we left Hobart on January 6^th from Cambridge airport in a small plane that could take 7 passengers with their hiking gear. The ride was beautiful and went between the Western Portal of the Arthur Ranges and Luckman's Lead on the way to Melaleuca. All those massive chunks of old growth forest clear felling just continues incessantly until the plane passes the Picton Valley. The ride was smooth and we landed got our fuel supplies and after an hour or so the pilot took us to Schooner Cove. We had to get into wet weather gear as Bathurst Harbour was really rough and the boat planed over a very choppy estuary.

At Schooner Cove we admired the campsite but pushed on with the assurances from myself that there was a better one coming and we could have our tents pitched for two nights. After a half hour ascent in the rain, the sun came out and the sunscreen went on. We cleared a low saddle and then picked a path to Hannant Inlet around the north most creek outlet (on the north side of this). Not knowing what to expect with the wading, we were surprised at the low tide and sandy beaches we could follow for at least 1 km - this was very pleasant walking.

Unfortunately the sand ended at a rocky point and boots were swapped for our wading shoes. Mostly the wading was ankle deep but we noticed that the beaches were a little more muddy the further south we went. The only serious wade was getting past Hannant Ck but we picked a good route to keep our packs dry. There were many black swans to see and we think that all the nutrient from black swan crap may be the reason for the strawberry algal type bloom we had to walk through as we neared the other end of the lagoon. It looked like rhubarb strudel squishing between the toes and had the consistency of pudding as well. Some of the party had camp shoes on that kept getting sucked off by the mud and so took their chances in bare feet instead without any concerns.

A bearing was made from the east side of the lagoon where we could see the closest point to sand dunes. There was however some significant navigating and exploitation of wombat tracks where we could find them to make our way to these sand dunes. When we did reach them the way was clear and we passed some very impressive and ancient aboriginal middens at Stephens Bay.

Our lovely campsite was reached at the north end of Stephens bay. Each of us had our own area to camp. Nice when camp sites offer personal space. Each of us had a view of the beautiful bay.

The second day was spent leisurely exploring Spain Bay which is connected to Stephen's Bay by a surprisingly seemingly well used trail. It was too cool for a swim but we did lie around for a while until the temptation to climb Going Hill was too much to resist. Most of us ascended this lovely 213 m hill with stunning 360 degree views. Wombat trails in the button grass plains are taken advantage of to make the going easier. Next time QBW comes here Sunset Hill should be explored - does it live up to its name sake? 

2009/10 Walls of Jerusalem to Lake St Clair Part 3

What a New Years Day! Leaving Windy Ridge it took some convincing to get everyone to agree on ascending to the Labyrinth as part of the days plans but we met a single girl (Genevieve) who had also camped at Windy Ridge on the same night we were there up at the Pine Valley Hut as we were taking our lunch break. Genevieve added weight to my case that we ought to camp in the Labyrinth at Lake Elysia and so we did. The ascent to Lake Artemis although not as far in altitude was much tougher as there was some effort to push through the blazed trail. The route up to the Labyrinth was an anaerobic push but we arrived at the top sooner than expected.

Once again beautiful blue skies gave us clear views to Lake St Clair and the Eldon Range to the west. The plan was to walk to Mount Massif the following day camping next to beautiful Lake Elysia tonight. I will make myself a poo tube next time I come here so as to not leave human waste in this beautiful alpine region in future. The hut at Pine Valley has a demonstration model and recommends any campers up in the Labyrinth to take them to preserve the pristine environment.

Arriving early afternoon we made camp at nice grassy locations but swarming with ants. Apparently they always swarm on the south west corner of Lake Elysia and may or maynot be indicators of rain as some in our group believed. My opinion is the jury is out on this one and as it will generally rain some time in the future how can any ant soothsayer ever be wrong! The day was very warm as we had experienced most of the walk so a swim in lake Elysia was a necessity. Our thermals and polartec fleeces proved on this entire trip to be unnecessary bulk but who can say in Tasmania whether the next day will bring a blizzard even in summer.

The ants were correct in this case and the next day had a few showers and so Mount Massif was called off. We went down to stay at Pine Valley instead. The next day was our last day of walking. This involved rejoining the Overland Track and getting a ferry from Narcissus Hut to Cynthia Bay. We camped one night at Fergies Paddock and met up with Lee from Tiger Wilderness Tours the next morning.

THE END

2009/10 Walls of Jerusalem to Lake St Clair Part 2

30^th Dec 2009 Lake Meston to Lake Artemis

Low lying cloud gave the impression of rain that never eventuated. An hour of walking or so and Meston Hut was reached. This too held the promise of 3 - 4 tent sites for camping but not as nice a location as hut north end of Lake Meston. There is a turnoff at the hut for Lake Myrtle and at least two parties including a Tas Expeditions group we met were heading that way as part of a circuit back to Lake Rowallan. Our group followed me along false trails in the Mayfield flats area where we should have maintained closer proximaty to the Mersey River to Junction Lake.

We had some lunch at Junction Lake Hut before cruising to Junction Lake before back tracking to pick up the trail to Lake Artemis across the creek from the hut. In times past this was aparently a more utilised route but presently it was a cairned route that was overgrown in places. This suited me as I was hoping to get to locations that were less travelled. Even though the ascent was only 160 m, the bauera that grew across the track around the base of Mountains of Jupiter and the 30 degree heat made this early afternoon walk a tough section.

We arrived at Lake Artemis expecting a lovely open camp site to find barely a track at all. Greg went anti clockwise and I went clockwise around the edge of the lake. Both of us found somewhere to camp but as Greg made a big deal of how tough his progress was we moved to the other side of the outflow creek and camped where we could in the heath. The campsites were comfortable and the outlflow creek had some lovely pools to cool off in. I took an afternoon hike up to the top of Mountains of Jupiter and I strongly recommend the beauty of this range. There was a clear cairned route from the track just above lake Artemis and the way up was easier than I was anticipating. The summit gave 360 degree views including Walls of Jupiter, Lake Meston, Lake Artemis, The Du Cane Range and even Frenchman's Cap and I had it to myself. I hope I can get back here again with or without people.

I could just make out our tents down below and it was hard to descend again. But descend I did. After describing what I could see as an ascent into the Traveller Range, Kerry and Julie helped locate the best route for the following day.

31^st Dec - Traveller Range

Expecting a tough day of bush bashing we were pleasantly surprised with the openness of the Traveller Range. This was by all accounts one of the most exciting sections of the walk with fabulous views all day af the Du Cane Range, Mt Ossa and some of the north peaks of the overland track. Cradle Mountain was not in view as it was obscured by Cathedral Mountain and Pelion East. The whole day was trackless and yet there was plenty of dolorite slabs to reduce the need for any scrub bashing. The amount of ascending and descending was also mild and so it was a cruisy day past lovely tarns with great views and fun with a compass and navigation to make our way towards Du Cane Gap. At Du Cane Gap a good track formed and we comfortably descended to join the Overland Track. New Years was celebrated early at our camp site north of the new hut at Windy Ridge. There was a fierce storm with loud thunder and close lightning strikes. The same storm also hit Hobart about 200km away.

Up until now the wild life had left us unmolested but Mary had a bag of nuts that a possum put a bute mark on each nut and the others had some encounter with possums or pademelons. Greg claimed to have punched a possum to make it leave him alone. Next time I would recommend leaving all food in the hut. Having said all this I was left entirely alone as I slept with my food and was probably considered a harder target than the other campers from QBW.

2009/10 Walls of Jerusalem to Lake St Clair Part 1

Please note that this will be updated with an official entry for the QBW newsletter from Julie, Kerry or Mary...

http://www.tigerwilderness.com.au/ A website to keep in mind when trying this trip. Lee who runs tiger wilderness tours arranged with us to carry our city stuff from Walls carpark to Lake St Clair to meet us there so that we could be presentable in Hobart later. He also arranged fuel supplies and backpacker passes. I think 6 of us paid $120 each to get a lift to Walls and a lift to Hobart from Lake St Clair on top of fuel and passes. Had we arranged for lifts for other walkers it would have been cheaper still. We also had snack stops on each travel day.

The weather for this trip was my warmest driest experience. Most of us were unfit as we climbed 600 m to Trappers Hut marking the beginning of the Central Plateau. From here the rest of the walk was absolute magic. Due to a lack of fitness and packs full of food this was probably the hardest part of the walk (at least for me). Until we reached Herods Gate (the west entry into the Walls of Jerusalem) the walk seemed most populous. We were anxious for the people retuning to their cars as some had been broken into. Anyway Walls was beautiful with the duck board track past lake Salome under the West Wall keeping us awe struck.

We were most pleased to reach Dixons Kingdom Hut beyond the Temple. The camping area is extensive here and there is an entire Pencil Pine forest of 0.5km² to find somewhere peaceful to sleep. 6 of us arrived for our 9 day odyssey. We decided to get an early night and arise at 4 am to climb Mt Jerusalem to watch the sun rise. Not used to the long days I actually woke up at 9:30 thinking the sunset was a sunrise and nearly woke up Mary and Julie before realising the glow was in the west and not the east.

Mt Jerusalem at dawn without a cloud in the sky is one of those 100 things to do before confinement to a nursing home. The walk was about an hour if that and we watched the sunrise for at least an hour. Those hundreds of sparkling blue lakes with the red dolorite sunrise is a sight not seen anywhere else on earth. I had a brief walk up The Temple before a mid morning walk of our group lasting several hours up Solomons Throne and on to King Davids Peak. On the way back I led the group along the high plateau of this mountain to the Wailing Wall over creeping pine, dolorite bolder fields and past some lovely tarns. The wailing wall descent to Damascus Vale and through the pencil pine forest to our campsite for lunch was a worthwhile half day walk. The afternoon was one of rest and tranquility with a little port and zumbucca. Two nights camping in the Walls area is a recommended minimum amount of time needed to see the sights.

On the 29th of December we all packed up slowly and ambled down Jaffa Vale along rough tracks to Lake Ball where a good track forms near the base of Mount Moriah. There were some good camp sites along Lake Ball particularly on a little peninsula near the hut but the walk to the Walls from here is too far to use it as a good base for exploring. Only half an hour after leaving Lake Ball we reached Lake Adelaide. This too is a beautiful lake but is much bigger than Lake Ball and takes a few hours to pass. We arrived at the north end of lake Meston in the early afternoon and were mesmerised by how nice and inviting the water was in the hot weather we were experiencing. Setting up our tents on what is a large camping area we went for some ejoyable swimming. The water was warm up the end of the lake due to the shallow sandy bottom absorbing the heat from the sun over the day. A great swim time was had by all. This site turned out to be as popular as Dixon Kingdom with several other groups arriving over the day. This is due to the various routes one can take in the area that include Lake Meston. My impression was that here as well as The Walls even without toilets, people had looked after the area.

Mt Bangalora

Mt Bangalora is a small mountain (820m altitude) located on the Boonah side of the junction between the Great dividing Range (Main Range National Park) and the Border Ranges. Access is fairly easy and 9 members of QBW left Brisbane at 6pm to see some of the highlights Mt Bangalora has to offer.

The walk began with an assault on the western face which builds to a steep ascent in the last 300m. Nearing the top we veered to the north shoulder of the peak and then moved on to a large clearing over a basalt platform where the views of Glucose Ridge, Lizard Point, Mt Roberts and Panorama Point was very impressive. The Reynolds Gorge catchment looked well worth exploring as a base camp at some point in the future. A good half hour morning tea break was had by all.

Mt Bangalora was then summitted and passed over as there isn't much to see here but a small cairn. Over the Southern side a superb cliff lookout was located for some superb views to the south and east. We then traversed over to the Mt Bell and Bangalora saddle before a steep descent into Bangalora Gorge was negotiated. Lunch was had in the gorge and an hour or so later we made our way back to the cars. It was good to see Richard had a tracking device in his GPS to record this journey so that others can lead this walk in the future as it is a rewarding experience. We were back at the cars by mid afternoon so I had lived up to the promise of leading a more accessible version of the Bangalora experience.

Thanks to all fellow travellers.

David