Douglas Apsley - Waterhole and Gorge

This walk heads out from the main carpark area of the southern end of Douglas Apsley National Park, not too far from Bicheno on the East Coast. National Park fees apply as mentioned in other National Park blogs. Again, it is one of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks. The time required said 2-3 hours but we did the return in 2 hours walking time.

From the carpark, you head past a drop-loo, its the last one for two plus hours so use wisely! Walk pretty much straight and you head past a campsite and on down to the Apsley river. We were a bit unsure where to head when we got to the river, then worked out that we actually needed to cross it. The rock hop here can be tricky if you want to stay dry, there are a couple of places where it looks like it might be possible but there are no completely dry routes. We nearly turned back at this point as we weren't sure what to do. In the end, we grabbed a few rocks to add to what were there to make stepping stones to cross. It looks like plenty of people do this, except that the water has washed previous routes away.


After crossing (carefully) you rise up a long, steep and slippery route. This is not an easy part of the track, take lots of breaks and watch your footing. There are many areas where the track is covered with slippery roots and smooth/sloping sheets of rock that can be easy to slip on. Take a wider track and go slow.

When at the top there are lots of gums and from here the route is much easier, mostly flat before a rock-step descent to the Apsley Gorge. This part is much easier than it looks although, again going down the man-placed steps can be a long drop, so watch where you put your feet.


Down at the gorge there is the potential for a rock hop over the river and along the gorge but we didnt do that in winter, the waters were reasonably high. There is advice near the carpark on how to go about taking this option to basically return a different route down the gorge. Either way, its a scenic place to hang out and have lunch. Very picturesque and peaceful.


Returning is MUCH easier. The steps up make this a breeze, actually a nice ascent as you can look back to the gorge as you rise up. The flat along the top, again is easy and a nice place to just look around you. The descent back to the river is a lot easier but in places the route is less obvious that on the ascent. Again, those flat sheets of rock can be slippy, take your time. It isn't strenuous, like the original ascent might be considered. Cross back over the stepping stones that you made or used earlier in order to return to the car park.

The Iron House

On our relatively frequent travels up the east coast we often head to the Iron House at the White Sands Estate. Its after Bicheno, on the way to Scamander, and not too far from Four Mile Creek. The hillsides here are becoming evermore dominated by the vines of the Iron House winery and will someday be a huge player in Tasmanian wines as their fields of vines literally grow each time we go by and there seems to be no sign of stopping! The Iron House itself is on the old Cray Drop Inn site and is now White Sands Estates where there are accommodation and restaurant facilities available. We haven't stayed there but from all accounts its somewhat modernised from the days of the Cray Drop Inn, there is a nice looking pool, games room, movie room and sporting opportunities as well as the main restaurant too.

If you are lucky, when you head towards the main Iron House building, you might smell the brew that they are making as is has its own beer microbrewery, with beers that can be drank, taken away or often bought in bottle shops in Hobart. As mentioned with their winery, it wont be too long until their vines are mature enough to yield a good size harvest. As it is, there is a small amount of sparkling wine available from their early or first harvest. One that we might well sample at Christmas.

The building is modern and wide open glass fronted in order to take in the view of the beach. One thing to note, on a sunny day, sunglasses inside are a must, the walls are white, glass expansive and shade, very little. This said, i have no issues with doing this as the view is stunning. On a sunny day, in any season, this is a great place to look out from and enjoy the view whilst eating or drinking.

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The menu is aimed at full meals although many options can be scaled up or down to suit being an appetizer or main. The beef burgers are huge and juicy, with a good amount of fries. They are very tasty if you're feeling hungry, and the price is excellent for the meal. The 'fish and chips' are light yet crunchy and again are sold with a good amount of fries, plus a pot of tartare sauce. The last time we went to The Iron House, we had chili muscles as a starter, and salmon and baby BBQ ribs. The salmon came as a huge, just on the edge of cooked (just the way I like it) on a bed of grilled vegetables. The ribs came as a sticky stack of 12 or 13 with standard fries and coleslaw. Whilst the fries were normal fayre, the ribs were delicious and were clearly in a homemade BBQ sauce. Very tasty indeed. We don't normally go the whole hog, but we actually had a desert to share as well. This was a chocolate cheesecake, with macaroons and a porter toffee ice-cream. This was a big desert, one that we had to share. I'm not normally a huge desert person, but this one was excellent. I did, however, have a beer tasting paddle to finish, this used to be free but is now $5, unless you buy a 2L growler re-fill (which we did).

As the Iron House is part of White Sands Estate accommodation, you can head down onto the beach right here so its a nice place to walk off your big meal. If you do this, do note that there is a bit of a rock scramble, if you want to walk the whole length of the beach, unless the tide is out.

Jackman & McRoss

Jackman & McRoss is a bakery and café in Newtown. It primarily serves baked pastries, cakes and drinks as well as selling more substantial meals. In on word, it is fair to say that this place is ‘popular’! It always seems busy and as it is visible from (though not quite on) the main road, when you drive by and see the window full of customers it is clear that there must be a reason that people come back.

The range of produce sold is wide including, in my opinion, some of the best pies in Hobart. I’m pretty discerning when it comes to eating, so a simple pie has to be pretty good in order to impress. The pies are sold with an option to add relish, that I’d take every time. My favourite of the range of pies is the lamb and potato pie which has huge chunks of ‘fall apart’ lamb. This pie is stuffed to the brim, so you definitely get your value. The chicken pie is a close second! Sold out every time by lunchtime is the beef pie which we are, sadly, yet to try. One of the pies even has a lamb shank sticking up out of  the crust! The breads on sale look good but seem a little expensive for my  tastes, then again boutique style breads will always command a solid price.

The cakes and pastries range is good, we have sampled several of them and we have always been pleased with our choice. One of the standout cakes is the sweet muffin. You’ll have to ask which one is available on the day. Ours was triple chocolate and despite it being warm, gooey and massive (easily enough for two) it is served with a pot of butter on the side. Its clear that this is pretty decadent, yet delicious. This said, if I ate one on my own (which I could totally do) I’d feel guilty for a week. I wonder how many calories/joules are in this muffin, it’s likely to be a lot.

The range of beverages is fairly standard, you can get the usual, yet excellent, range of coffee and teas that you would expect from a quality establishment. One thing to note is that there are a variety of Cascade and other fruit soft drinks available which are nice, luxurious feeling alternative to ‘Coke’ and other super brands.

There is also a Jackman & McRoss in Battery Point and on Victoria St, Hobart.

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.

(Please note this isn't my map, click for further, more detailed Mount Wellington maps)

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.

Lake St Clair - 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

The advert that inspired us to move to Australia!

I have to say we were already thinking about it, clearly no advert will convince you of such a monumental life change, but it is definitely a factor that helped things to gain momentum, even if in our heads. We ended up singing this song all of the time, dreaming of the life on the beach, the barbecues and the exploration to come.



This ad was on in the UK during 2010-2012, possibly longer, I found it floating around on an old tourism website that is no longer maintained. As they have now replaced the advert with a newer 'cleaner looking' version, I don't think Australia would mind me uploading it!

The new 'There's Nothing Like Australia' advert was released in September 2013, so we actually missed it as we were already here!




More specifically, the new Tasmanian 'episode'/'version' of this advert!