Mount Field NP is a wonderful place with so much to offer. Russell Falls is up there with many we have seen on our travels, and Lady Barron Falls is much more gentle. We could not see Horseshoe Falls due to track repairs. There are some lovely walks in the park through lush rainforests. Our drive up to Lake Dobson was rewarded with snow – brilliant to see a little winter wonderland in Spring. And there was also Lake Pedder and the massive mountains providing protective shelter. We had a great couple of days.
We visited Mount Field NP on 26 & 27 October 2019
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
St Helens > Bicheno (76kms) > Coles Bay (38kms) ~ total of 114kms.
History
A short history of Tasmania, from pre-colonial times, to the arrival and growth of British colonial development, to the decimation of the First Nation Tasmanians, can be read here.
Mount Field National Park is located 64 km northwest of Hobart. The landscape ranges from eucalyptus temperate rainforest to alpine moorland, rising to 1,434 metres at the summit of Mount Field West.
The land that is now protected as Mount Field National Park is part of the homelands of the Big River nation of Tasmanian First Nations people. They knew this place when it was buried in glacial ice, and later as rainforests and eucalypt forests flourished. Cave sites, ochre mines, hand-stencil art, rock engravings, and stone tool quarries provide a glimpse of their lives here.
In 1885 the area around Russell Falls was set aside as Tasmania’s first nature reserve. Mount Field National Park was proclaimed in 1916.
To read more on the history of the Park click here.
In 1933 the last known Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) was captured in the area and in 1947 the tiny township was officially named ‘National Park’.
Day 1 – Sat 26 Oct – To Strathgordon & National Park
It looked another lovely day and was certainly not nearly as cold as it has been. We got away reasonably early as we were aiming for the 8:30 ferry to Kettering from Roberts Point. The ferry was waiting when we got there, with only three or four cars queued. I took a couple of photographs of the bay – it really is quite pretty.
The ferry we got was the two story model and they loaded the top deck with all the cars that were waiting. At Kettering we were quickly off the ferry and heading south. Our aim was to follow the coastal road down to Ninepin Point and then make our way round to Cygnet and Huonville.
It is a very pretty drive around this coastal area and the water is never far away. There are some really lovely bays and beaches, as well as a range of farms. The higher areas of the landscape were generally forested.
Ninepin Point near Verona Sands is a lovely bay. The Ninepin Point Marine Nature Reserve occupies almost 732Ha in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel near the mouth of the Huon River. The reserve protects a unique assemblage of plants and animals in an unusual aquatic environment where cold, nutrient-rich sea water from the southern ocean is overlaid with tannin-rich freshwater leached from the decaying organic matter in the Huon River catchment. This extensive system of reefs stretches about 100 meters from the shore, into the Huon River. We read that the tannin reduces light levels and seems to encourage deep water species to move into the shallows.
Moving north along the Huon River, pockets of farmland are seen on both sides of the river. There are also many bays with a variety of boats on Moorings. It really is a very pretty countryside so close to Hobart.
At Cygnet we were surprised to see in a couple of fields with large flocks of black swans eating the grass. And the town also has two or three great looking buildings. The town is well-named. Thee must be so very many cygnets at the right time of year.
Huonville is another nice town, although we did not have a chance to stop there. Just outside of town, we saw quite a few people working on a vegetable farm – seems very productive country.
We approach Hobart from a height, and can see the city spread out before us as we descend.
It did not take long to drive through the city, and then we were back along the river Derwent. Just before New Norfolk we saw quite a large industrial complex.
We really enjoyed New Norfolk – it has some lovely old homes, a great park in the centre of the town where little white daisies were making their presence felt through the lawn, and nice gardens as well. The market was on, which gave the town a really good atmosphere, despite the occasional shower. We found the tourist information centre and, as usual, came away with maps and brochures.
Close to the town centre we saw the Anglican church, and behind that a much smaller and equally lovely little timber church.
To the west of New Norfolk we pulled into a parking area next to the river. There, a couple of people were getting their kayaks ready and were about to hit the water. The rapids were underneath a nearby bridge. The rapids looked okay, but the river was flowing at quite a pace.
We again drove through some lovely looking farmlands – and some areas where there was quite extensive hedging using the lovely plants we have seen with the little white flowers.
We drove up to the town of Plenty, and took the B52 towards Westaway. Near there we got access to the banks of the Derwent River, which was quite wide and fast flowing.
We are also aware that this was hop country, and so many farms all wired up for the hops. This has been a major industry in the area for quite some time.
As we drove through the town of National Park, where we will be staying for the night, the weather changed dramatically and dark clouds were looking ominous. We really see we were in for a drenching.
The Gordon River Road parallels a small river called Ginger Creek. Quite pretty. But it is always frustrating knowing that there is a lovely babbling river next to the road but being unable to see it. Riverbank trees all along the river, which is good, but never a little viewing area.
Our aim was to drive out to Strathgordon to look at the current Lake Pedder. It’s a fair way – 91km from Westaway. It is a bitumen road all the way, although steep and windy in some parts.
As we drove towards the plateau, we came across large tracks of land they had clearly been destroyed by the bushfires earlier this year. This does look like a real disaster area, particularly as the rain had persisted and the clouds were dark and low over the mountains. Check it out in the video as well, click here. I get stressed thinking how many native animals, particularly koalas, get killed in these fires, especially ones al large as this. Horrible thought.
We then pushed on towards Strathgordon, with the mountains not much closer.
Then we got our first views of Lake Pedder and some distant snow capped mountains with a hint of blue sky.
For many years I had a framed poster of the original Lake Pedder hanging on the wall of my office. I had seen the new reservoir before, many years ago, but wanted again to visit those magnificent mountains in the area.
The Lake was once a beautiful, isolated lake formed about 10,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. The shallow, small lake was ringed on its eastern shore by a beautiful white quartzite beach and sand dunes. It lay in a large, flat valley, the source of the meandering Serpentine River, surrounded by spectacular mountain ranges.
Until the 1960s only the avid bushwalker had ventured into this rugged wilderness. The protection provided by its National Park status, granted in 1955, was revoked by the Tasmanian government in 1967. It allowed the Hydro-Electric Commission to dam the Gordon River and flood the valleys of the Serpentine and upper Huon Rivers, to create a backup reservoir for the Gordon Dam and Power Station.
By the early 1970s, Lake Pedder had become Australia’s most controversial length of water and the bitter environmental debate started Australia’s move towards environmental awareness. Despite the protests and demonstrations, more than 240 square kilometres of Tasmania’s wilderness were drowned and the original lake is now 20 metres underwater. The new, artificially created reservoir was also named Lake Pedder.
Miraculously the rain stopped, and we had about half an hour before it returned. We had a good look around Teds Beach, before going up to the lookout. It is a massive reservoir, but nothing like that gorgeous poster that I had on my wall for so long. Lake Pedder wasn’t at all what I was expecting – still hoping to see that white sandy beach I guess…..
On the way back out, despite the rain, we were able to see in better light those lovely cliffs that I remember so well from this area.
We stayed overnight in a B&B in National Park – nice and close to the NP which we visited the next day.
Day 2 – Sun 27 October – Mount Field National Park
We drove the short distance to the Mount Field information centre – it was a good day weather wise.We really have been remarkably lucky with the weather.
Unfortunately, we found that we were unable to do the three falls walk. We could get to Russell Falls OK, but the steps between there and Horseshoe Falls were being repaired and the area was unpassable. To get to Lady Barron Falls we would have to walk in from the Tall Trees Walk parking area.
The walk to Russell Falls is quite short, and we quickly came upon a family of padimelons – gorgeous little creatures. We saw that the mother had a baby in its pouch and we could just see its face peeping out.
It is a lovely walk in to the falls, passing majestic trees along an easy path. Some of the trees are truly massive. There are also little mini falls in the babbling brook.
The falls themselves are brilliant, with the top section almost looking like a bridal veil. All in all, they are quite superb.
We drove up to Lake Dobson, the alpine part of the park, on what is a fairly good gravel road. The roads get steep in parts and quite twisty and windy, so care is needed. Then we got to an area where, unexpectedly, there was plenty of snow on the trees and on the ground. This was delightful and we got out to have a look. It was only light snow, and would probably disappear in a few days time, but it was nice to see again. Like driving through fairyland again, but thankfully no ice on the road. Check it out in the video, click here.
Driving on, light snow started to fall – it really was an unexpected bonus. We could see on some of the mountains that there had been quite an extensive dusting of snow overnight. All very pretty
Lake Dobson is a very pretty little lake, especially backed by snow topped mountains. At one section, the timber boardwalk was delightfully covered with snow. And incredibly slippery ice – so much for doing that walk.
We had intended to walk around the Lake to Pantani gorge to look at the unusual vegetation there, but with the light snow falling and ice around, we decided to return to the warmth of the car. But it was really great to have been up there in those conditions.
On the way back down we stopped at Lake Fenton, and found this to be a constructed lake for town water supply with a weir across the river.
We parked at the Tall Trees Walk car park – actually there was no room in the car park and we had to park on the road and squeeze the car in as far as we could. The walk down to Lady Barron Falls was through another beautiful forested pathway. More gorgeous trees, little bridges over small babbling brooks, and ferns and moss everywhere. It is a really good walk, although some of the steeper uphill sections tested Kerrys troublesome leg. It probably took about 40 minutes to walk to the falls and return. A very pleasant peaceful walk with some magnificent big trees.
Lady Barron Falls was pretty impressive, although not nearly as large as Russell Falls.
I walked around the Tall Trees Walk which took a bit less than half an hour. These impressive trees are the giant swamp gums, which can have a height of up to 98m – at least that’s the highest one recorded in Tasmania. These are the tallest hardwoods and the tallest flowering plants in the world. The tree I was looking at was around 79m tall. The first branch is at 37m, not even halfway to the top.
From there we drove on to the next stopping point – Hamilton.
To see photos from this post, click here
To see photos from this post, click here