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

Great Ocean Walk

The walk was completed solo. It was a walk I was determined to do solo or not and as it turned out there was no one else using the campsites when I went through. The weather was wild and it only got fine on the last day. The campsites were pristine except for Aire River and Johanna which I suspect are too close to where morans can get to and make a bit of a mess. The coastal views were terrific and the beaches needed to be well timed to be able to do all of the low tide routes. I would do this walk again but probably not alone. I saw an overpopulation of Koalas at Blanket Bay and Cape Otway campsites and the Manna Gums in these areas were distinctly damaged by the overforaging by the bears. The rock formations were quite special and the views were stunning. I would reccommend this walk for anyone - it is easy, well marked and well set up for hikers.

The low tide routes are often along wave break platforms so not recommended unless the seas are calm and the tide isn't high.

Eagles Ridge By Circumstance

The aim of the day was to climb Short Leaning Ridge but a large thunderstorm struck at about 8:30 and kept us pinned under a large bolder overhang in Barney Ck for at least an hour. With the rain easing we progressed slowly up stream as Barney Ck was slippery and flowing very fast. To avoid crossing the creek one more time I made the decision to climb up a little and move towards Barney Water Fall but the ridge we were following was misleading and offered no opportunity to cross to the next ridge beyond which was Barney Falls. We decided to do a modified Eagles Ridge and ascended to Tom's Tum. Trying a new ascent up the summit of TT was problematic and wasted a good hour or so just helping people get up. The rock all day was a bit greasy from the rain so it was fortuitous we did not do Short Leaning as it would have been tough in the conditions. As it was after descending down isolated peak to the ridge going up to North Peak we found the descent from here agonisingly slow as the creek was just so slippery. We got back to the cars at 6pm after commencing walking at 7:30 am. It was a great day of walking and Short Leaning Ridge will now be scheduled for the 9th of August.

The second photo has Eagles Ridge in the centre with Short Leaning Ridge on the right.