A Brit in Tasmania: Adventures

The Springs Track

The Springs loop starts from Fern Tree on the Pipeline Track, as previously blogged. Walk the route to Silver Falls and when reaching the waterfall, take the tight right hand turn up some steps, onto Silver Falls Track. The route from here, whilst flagged as easy-moderate in a few books we have, might be considered tricky for those with short legs, or those who tire easily. It gets narrow, slippery when wet and steep in considerable sections. See the map below in the Fern Glade blog for route.

Shortly after taking the turn up the steps the ground is relatively stable and the walking is pretty easy going. You have to take a left turn off this route onto Reid's Track which is a much steeper section, that looks like it regularly gets flushed with water and it essentially looks like a waterlogged rainwater gully. It is steep here and in places needs a bit of a heave to get up to the next part. In my experience, it is worth taking a few breathers as you go, maybe stop for a drink because its tiring work. This may have all seemed much harder on the day we walked as it was very wet out and we were getting pummeled by the rain, so much so that even my water-proof became less water proof. When you have reached the top of this section, you then take a left turn onto a much bigger looking track, Radford's Track that leads ever upwards towards the springs.

When we arrived at the springs, cold and wet, we saw the carpark, and information stand and smoke in the air. We looked across and saw a hut, and sought refuge from the rain. We went in to get dry and lo and behold, there was a raging fire! We stopped to warm up and have something to eat. We don’t know who had lit the fire as there was no one around when we got there but to say that it was a relief to have a fire, is an understatement. It instantly lifed our spirits and made having an Easter Egg even more enjoyable. So to whoever lit the fire for our arrival that day, thanks again. Of course we stoked the fire a little before heading off, so that the next half drowned adventurer might benefit too.

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When we’d had a break, we went off from the Springs, back onto Radford's Track that we’d come up, except rather than fully retracing our steps back down Reid's Track, we remained this time on the wider Radford's track that headed down the hill. At this point there is a small sign that prompted the way to Fern Glade. When we headed down further, there was a small monument on the left that signaled that Radford, a young man, had died there during a hill run many years ago. It was at this point that we took a right turn off this track down into Fern Glade.

From this point to the bottom of Fern Glade is a short but excellent walk, even with little kids. Don’t miss this one! See the Fern Glade blog for further detail. (Point to note, this track comes out on the main road just along from Fern Tree where you might have parked). Walk along the road to the right for approximately 5 minutes as you come down the steps in order to get to Fern Tree.

Fern Glade Track

Fern Glade Track is located on Mt Wellington, and can be taken either from a drive up to the Springs and walking down for 10-15 minutes until you see Radfords Monument and turning right onto Fern Glade Track, shown in PINK below, or start from Huon Road at the bottom, just before Fern Tree, and walk up towards the springs. There is parking in both of these spots but needless to say, if you have the ability, a quick car shuffle, would be ideal so that you can drive to the top, walk down and still have your 2^nd car available at the bottom to ferry you back to the top to pick up car number 1.

Fern Glade Track is part of the larger Fern Glade Circuit and is relatively easy if you want to do a circuit, it is shown in GREEN below. This loop leaves Fern Tree on the Pipeline track (as blogged here), head up to Silver Falls then onto the Silver Falls Track, then take a right onto Fern Glade Track, this then loops back down, eventually to the Fern Glade access on Huon Road at the bottom, or a minor detour will return you to Fern Tree (GREEN LOOP).

(I take no ownership of this map, it's just really good, find all of the Mount Wellington tracks map here, this one is the 'Eastern Face Map')

Either way, main Fern Glade section is short but magical. When starting the Fern Glade section you enter a dense fern forest. It looms over the track with banked sides in many places. You are essentially walking along a rivulet and as such are close to the water for the most part. There are lots of mini bridges that cross and re-cross the river, with many places inspiring talk of faries, pixies and trolls that live under bridges. Now I have to qualify that, whilst we walked on a rainy day, when we got to this point, there were golden shafts of light beaming down through the trees, lighting up fungi and ferns, glinting off the water and showing the way down. It really was fantastic.

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(It was so wet out that our camera gave up on us, these are all we have...until next time!)

Taking this down hill route would be an excellent idea if you have younger kids as they could easily do it, but might also enjoy the things to be seen on the walk down. The bridges and windy path are sure to inspire some adventurous stories and conversations.

When you come out at the bottom, you come down some stone steps below a large sign signally the entry to Fern glade, it’s a cool place to have a photo of the family if your inclined to. You come out at a car park on the main road, where you might have parked, but if not, follow the road to the right and you’ll end up in Fern Tree in 5 minutes, back to the car.

Shadow Lake Circuit

When we decided to go to Lake St Clair, we knew that we'd be walking, we intended to do the Shadow Lake Return walk, by heading out directly to Shadow Lake, have lunch and return the same way. 3-4 hours, 13km return. Accidentally, we set off in the wrong direction, so technically away from Shadow Lake, more towards Mount Rufus. As it turned out, this was part of the Shadow Lake Circuit, not the return walk. The Shadow Lake Circuit is one of the 60 Great Short Walks.

Either way, we set off from the visitors centre and the walk begins relatively tamely, wandering through a wide open forest track. The route then becomes a lot narrower and meanders through tight turns but the track is well beaten and is easy to follow. In many places, the track was muddy, very muddy and in some places totally waterlogged. This added to the adventure as there were several places where rocks, logs or branches had been dropped across the track to provide 'stepping stones'.

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(Click the pictures to enlarge)

After about 20 minutes there was an open swamp area that had a sturdy boardwalk as it would have been near impossible to pass without it. The ground was rough, winding and the bush is quite dense. You can't really lose your way for the main part, but where you aren't sure, there are pointer arrows guiding the way. You are generally surrounded by tall gums for the first part of the route but after about an hour or so the trail then begins to rise through the forests and the air becomes much more moist and there are loads of different kinds of fungi and mushrooms. I'm no 'mycologist' (fungus academic) but it was really interesting to see the vast variety up there. At one point, the route crossed a narrow river by taking stepping stones and having a short leap to the far bank. The route in the forested, marshy banks is easy to lose, look around for markers! After about two hours, where we were sure that Shadow Lake must be extremely near, we paused for thought and double checked our route using Google maps. Lo and behold, we are nowhere near our lunch destination, we realise whats happened (us accidentally doing the circuit not the return), and then have lunch sitting on out on the boardwalk. Most of the track is not boarded out but this part drops down across a clearing, through marsh and back up into the forest. If you take this route, pause here, it's a pretty spectacular place.

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(Click the pictures to enlarge)

An hour on and we finally reach Shadow Lake. There didnt seem to be anywhere to sit/rest so we scrambled throug the bush a little bit to sit on a fallen tree near the lake and again take it easy. When we headed off on the return side of the circuit, we actually found several much more appropriate places to stop and sit, so if we were to go again, we'd continue on a little bit as the views from these other spots are just as good and way less fuss as they are almost on the track.

As we were leaving, we met a lady coming the other way who was woefully ill-prepared as she was planning to do the full circuit in pumps, continuing in the opposite direction to us (another 3+ hours for her). She had no kit, drink, bag or even raincoat. Let's be sensible here, if you're off on this walk, take some kind of provisions, as all signs at the start centre suggest (quite rightly) that the weather can change pretty quickly.

We got back to the centre about and hour and a half to two hours later, finally crossing over a large river, walking along a boardwalk and then a short forest walk back to the visitors centre. In total about 5 hours and 15-16km.

Additional day walk information

60 Great Short Walks

60 Great Short Walks

There is a book (and now app) for the 60 Great Short Walks of Tasmania. This can be found here or as a printable pdf here. The book, app and walks themselves are free and are a great place to look for a walk that might suit your interest or time. We are working our way through these, as well as doing plenty of those not on the list at all. But maybe they should be? Check out 60 Great Short Walks.

Tinderbox Hills Trail

The Tinderbox Hills trail is a route approximately 3.5 km return on a rather inclined slope. It's not a difficult walk but some sections get your heart pumping and even require a quick breather stop as you go. It heads off from the end of Estuary Drive (off Brightwater Road, Tinderbox) and starts off as a flat walk along a fairly wide path.

As the route elevates you become surrounded by Blue Gums, yet the path remains fairly well trodden. Where the trees thin out towards the ridge there are some excellent views to be had across The Derwent River and Storm Bay, its an ideal place to take some scenic snaps from the top. Some of the steeper sections the ground can get a little rocky and there are some areas where both soil and stones are loose so watch your step.

When you get to the end of the track, at the top there is a sign then saying "No Entry, Private Land". Whilst i'd never encourage anyone to trespass onto privately owned land, its pretty clear that the trail continues to the peak, or at least that's what the very well worn path leading straight past the sign would suggest. Near the sign there is a good flat area to have a picnic or just sit and look out at the view. I think, although i'd need to check, it is possible to see the Iron Pot from here also.

You have to return the way you came. More information on this route can be found here. In all the walk took us around 1 1/2 hours, so its a nice short walk for an afternoon, with some nice views and more interesting terrain to negotiate.

Lake St Clair

In April we went to Lake St Clair as part of a longer trip to Strahan. It's about half way between Hobart and Strahan on the west coast and we thought that it would be a good stop off for a few nights to explore and do a walk or two. Lake St Clair is within the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, so to actually enter the park you'll need a parks pass which can be purchased when you enter and head to the main visitors centre and they'll sort you out. Otherwise, you can have an all year, all parks pass as mentioned earlier in my blog (Cradle Mountain). Here is the official National Parks info for Lake St Clair.

The trip up there by car is pretty interesting, scenic and all the rest. We stopped off at Tarraleah on the way which is the old Hydro town. The hydro complex itself and the engineering involved, I found was very interesting, yet surreal that in an incredibly scenic valley there was the blatant scar of pipelines, man-made canals, wires and pump houses. Its an incredible sight to behold and an engineering undertaking on a massive scale. The history of Tarraleah and the Hydro can be found here or here.

When you are nearing Lake St Clair, you approach Derwent Bridge, where we stayed. Its the closest conurbation to the national park, lake, walks etc. There isn't an awful lot here except a couple of lodges/hotels, a fuel stop (which I'd advise you to use, there isn't fuel for ages!) and a cafe, The Hungry Wombat. This said, an evening walk with a torch found quite a bit of wildlife, especially if you walk down to the river or the open land area just off the road. Although if you see a Tassie Tiger, it's likely to be the model one at the Derwent Bridge Chalets and Studios, we made this mistake!

When you head to Lake St Clair itself there is a road that leads you into the NP. They recommend you be extra vigilant after dusk as there is a lot of wildlife here and not very many cars brave the road much after dark as there isn't a lot to go to in there after dark. There is a visitors centre which has advice, books and trail information, as well as a hotel/hostel and restaurant. Most walks at Lake St Clair start from here and there are walk registration books here that you'll need to sign, just in case of emergency.

There is a small foreshore and beach, with a jetty for the 'water taxi' that returns tired walkers from the end of the Overland Track. Apparently you can take a ride around the lake for a better view, you'd have to ask in the visitors centre.

See Shadow Lake Circuit blog for walk information.

Henty Dunes (Strahan)

Just a quick one, Henty Dunes are a series of 30m sand dunes that are easily accissible just off Zeehan-Strahan Rd, about 12-15km north of Strahan. This stretch of road is surrounded by managed Pine forests and there is a left turn onto a short dirt track that takes you to a small turning and parking area. From here you can see a samll hut that has some information about the dunes and local area.

There is a 5km (approx 2 hour walk) across the dunes to the beach and back but a lot of fun can be found much closer, for those seeking a free adrenaline high. Whilst the sandboarding areas might be tricky to access for very small children, it would be possible for 5-6 year olds to access the main slopes with some help. We found that there were lots of old 'for sale' signs left in the information hut for use when sandboarding, otherwise the real thing can be purchased or hired from a few convenience shops Strahan.

From the hut, basically any of the routes takes you to the dunes, at which point you'll have to slog up a steep hill (where the small kids might find it tricky), but after that you should be okay. At the top you reach a plateau which is a nice open area of flat sand to have a picnic. Winds can whip up, so I'd advise putting your backs to the beach if it gets windy. The scenery from here is excellent and there is a lot of exploring to be done.

Point to note: There are no signs or designated tracks in the dunes and it would be easy to lose yourself if you're not concentrating. If you take a left turn just after arriving up onto the plateau, there is 'the main slope'. But other more 'infant friendly' slopes can be found nearby if they want to have a quick go.

The slope is long, seems high and adults do pick up speed, but bear in mind that the sand is soft and you can 'bail out' at any time. This said, you will sacrifice your comfort as you're likely to get a face, and butt full of sand if you have a big spill. Basically, put your board down, stand with legs either side, sit down, legs up onto the board and hold onto the sides. You should rocket down the slope, lean to 'steer' although steering is very arbitrary! At the bottom, climb diagonally up the hill for a longer but shallower climb back up, or just go for it and climb up a steeper, shorter section in order to reset and go again. It is tiring work!

At the very end, when you are worn out, the 'main slope' has a quick exit that can help to avoid having to climb up the slope again. If you look immediately to the left hand side at the bottom of the slope, there is a mildly beaten track that routes you through the bush (on the relative flat) and circles back around to the car park. Do leave the signs for someone else!

The Pipeline Track (Mt. Wellington)

The Pipeline Track heads out from Fern Tree, Hobart. If you're looking for an indicator, a good place to park up is at the Fern Tree Tavern (or nearby). It's quite useful to be near a pub for when you arrive back thirsty. The track heads up past the small park area and is extremely well managed, you can't get lost! The track is shaded almost the entire way, so you won't likely get overly hot on sunnier days.

There are a lot of users of this track including cyclists, walkers and joggers too. Be respectful of all other users and watch out for pedestrians or cyclists as your heading along the track in whatever method you prefer. It's generally pretty flat and is an easy walk or cycle for the most part. The route follows a steel pipe that in many places you can see underfoot. The pipe goes all the way along to Wellington Falls but many places and routes can be accessed from this track, the Springs, Fern Glade to name a few (I will review these soon).

As you head out from Fern Tree you soon come to the Gasworks where there are a few signs explaining the Pipeline and its link to Old Hobart. You can take a 5 minute detour to Silver Falls if you continue upwards from here, it would be a tricky uphill cycle, especially for kids but many tend to leave bikes at the side of the path for a 5 minute walk up to the falls and then continue along the path after their detour. The falls are pretty and whilst I wouldn't want to publicly recommend drinking this water, I did and there were no adverse side effects, so far!

After visiting the falls you come back down the decent and can then continue along on the flat (back from where you began your detour) or head back to Fern Tree for a 45 minute return. Generally the track is flat and maintained although thin in places if there are lots of walkers. There are many scenic views to be had along the track.

Point to note: Every so often the track comes out across a road (just house accesses normally) but the tracks can be picked up on the other side if you scan down the road a few meters. We had a shock when we couldn't find the rest of the track with the first 'crossing' but we soon noticed a track like entry a little further along the road. Generally, in hindsight, it's easy.

We haven't cycled any of the track, but will do when it warms up a bit. It would be okay for kids, pushchairs and the like for most of the route, except the detour to Silver Falls which would be more challenging.

Bivouac Bay (Leaves from Fortescue Bay)

Bivouac Bay is situated in the Tasman National Park and the trail begins at the Eastern end of Fortescue Bay. Fortescue Bay has a camp ground, toilets, walk station and easy beach access. Taking the A9 (Arthur Highway) south takes you through Tarana, where there is a Tasmanian Devil park. As you continue south for a couple of minutes, on your left will soon be a turn off for Fortescue Road, which quickly becomes a dirt road which is easily passable in any vehicle. Boats use this route too, so watch out for big oncoming boats.

When you reach the end of the road you arrive past the walk station and head onwards until you can see the beach. There are benches down there which are a nice scenic place to picnic. The walk begins from the beach just here. You can read the sign for a bit of extra information, I always take a snap of the sign just so I know where I'm going! As you can see it is one of the 60 Great Short Walks.

Walk along the beach to the far end, about three-quarters of the way along there is a river outlet into the sea which requires a run and jump or otherwise a ankle-deep wade. If you're lucky there should be a few handy rocks to hop across without too much fuss. The track continues on until the end of the beach where you head up a bank onto the bush track. You can't get lost! Its a well trodden and managed track (where needed).

(Fortescue Bay from the beginning of the bush track)

Point to note: Trees often fall across the track and can take time to be cut back and cleared. When we went along the route, there was a huge tree down which required some scrambling down the bank, past the now grounded treetops and back up onto the track. Going 'through' or over the tree was impossible. We actually saw wallaby in daylight here too.

(View shortly after the bridge at Canoe Bay)

Continue on for 30 minutes and you come to Canoe bay where an old ship was sunk to create a breakwater for the fishing boats that frequent the bay. Become Indiana Jones on the wire bridge that crosses the small rivulet that feeds into Canoe bay. Upto now it's been easy and flat. From here it gets a little less beaten and steeper. You'll probably remove a layer of clothing or two while you ascend through the fern forests and then descend over the next 35-45 minutes until you round a corner to Bivouac bay.

Its nice to sit out on the rocks and explore a bit while you have a snack. You'll cool off pretty quickly here as the wind fetch is on-shore. This is where you put your jacket back on (in winter). Return the way you came, just be sure to check the track you get back onto from Bivouac bay as the route continues on further.

A relatively easy walk with a few steeper sections that most could do (at the right pace). Walk takes approx 3 hours return at a reasonable pace.

Cradle Valley Boardwalk

We were staying at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, near to the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre (mentioned here) so we left the car behind and headed off on the Cradle Valley Board Walk to Dove Lake, this takes about 2:30 in total but can take a bit longer in snowy or icy weather. The walk has three sections. These are:

1) Visitor Centre to Snake Hill (55 mins)

2) Snake Hill to Ronny Creek (40 mins)

3) Ronny Creek to Dove Lake via Lake Lilla (55 mins)

This entire track is board walk except part of the track from Ronny Creek to Dove Lake, it is extremely well maintained even though it undulates, has steps and lookouts. There are even a few well-placed benches, although we sat on the boardwalk itself a couple of times on route, just to take in the scenery. We went in winter, so snow was thick and there was a good layer of ice on much of the boardwalk that was in the shade, we were fine in our walking boots but you do need to be careful. The boards themselves are covered with mesh to give a little more grip.

We had fantastic weather up there and whilst there was snow on the ground, I stripped back to just T-shirt and trousers for the majority of the walk. This said, there is very strong advice at the visitors centre to make sure that your well equipped for cold and wet weather as weather in Tasmania can change very quickly, even more so in the Cradle Mountain National Park. We met a couple on the walk who we chatted to for about 20 minutes. They commented that they come to Cradle Mountain every year and it has a different but magical atmosphere at all times of the year.

Just before Snake Hill there is a mini detour loop that takes you 5 minute return to a small babbling river which is very pleasant, a nice place for a drink and a snack.

At the section just before and just after Ronny Creek there were lots of wombats, at times many could be seen from the same spot, we have photos with 2 or more in the same picture. They were pottering around, eating greens and minding their own business. This was our first wombat-spotting experience and was incredible.

Can you spot all three in this picture?

This was taken from the boardwalk! We were careful not to interrupt his lunch!

When we arrived at Dove Lake itself, this is where the obligatory and rather famous photo of Cradle Mountain can be taken.

We were tired after trekking in the snow and decided to utilise the shuttle bus back to the visitors centre.

The Enchanted Walk

The Enchanted Walk at Cradle Mountain starts from Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge and is one of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks. If you haven't tackled some of these, I highly recommend it, although there are a few extras that I would add in there too!

The walk is a very easy short boardwalk that follows a small river, crosses over and then walks back up the other side back to the start. As you walk you are surrounded by tall Pencil Pine trees, the sound of the babbling river and fresh, simple nature. Apparently wombats and platypus' frequent these areas but we didn't spot any. It is a nice simple walk that might be a tranquil start to your day in Cradle Mountain. There are a few 'art tunnels' on the route, i'm sure intended for kids, but we nipped through anyway.

As it goes from Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, if you're staying there, it's a great one to do to let your breakfast go down before you tackle a proper hike.