Category: Bushwalking & camping

Mount Field – the alpine section

Much of Tasmania’s southwest, from Cradle Mountain down through Lake Gordon and across to the west coast, and including Mount Field National Park, was declared the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 1982.

It’s all wild country and the tiny sample of Mt Field above is fairly representative. Taken from Lake Seal lookout, it shows the end of the lake at lower right. The Tarn Shelf is in the middle distance (you might just spot one of the tarns if you’re on a larger screen). White patches on the ridge behind it are snow – yes, at the end of November.

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Mount Field – the lower section

Mount Field, halfway between New Norfolk and Lake Gordon, is a very old park. It has grown from the original Russell Falls nature reserve established in 1885 to include ski fields and alpine wilderness (the full history is here) but its early history is still very apparent today.

The original (lower) section is a beautiful family-friendly scenic reserve beside Tyenna River with a network of easy walking tracks linking the visitor centre and the camping ground to three waterfalls and a stand of particularly tall trees. The alpine section, at the top of 15 km of winding gravel road, is very different and I will write about it separately.

The Waterfalls

Russell Falls are the centrepiece of the park so I have to include a photo although you have seen dozens of glossier shots on tourist publicity and perhaps my conventional one on the introduction to these 2024 Tasmanian posts. Here’s one that’s a bit different, one I took at the same time of year in 2020 when there hadn’t been so much recent rain.

Russell Falls dry season
Russell Falls

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Lime Bay

The Tasman Peninsula is one of Tasmania’s top tourist destinations. Thousands of visitors drive down from Hobart to see Port Arthur and many of them stop at Eaglehawk Neck for more convict history. A much smaller number of active visitors go further and do the Three Capes Walk. An even smaller number turn right in Taranna and wind their way along minor roads to Lime Bay on the north-west tip of the peninsula.

After wondering about the area for years, I finally did that a month ago.

Shallow bay
Lime Bay at high tide

Lime Bay is beautifully sheltered, facing back towards Eaglehawk Neck, and very shallow. When the tide goes out, it goes out a very long way.

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Mayfield Beach

Mayfield Bay Conservation Area is a small reserve, only a few hectares, tucked in between the Swansea-Orford road and the northern end of the bay. The beach looks out across Great Oyster Bay to Freycinet Peninsula.

Freycinet and Schouten Island from Mayfield Beach
Late afternoon sun catching Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island

On the skyline we see the low-lying isthmus between Hazards Bay and Wineglass, the rugged southern end of the peninsula (Mt Freycinet at 620 m is the highest point), and Schouten Island just off the southern end. A wider perspective includes the mountains at the northern end of Freycinet (Mayson, Amos and Dove).

Beach and bridge

Looking south instead of east there’s just a sweep of white sand, one of many along the east coast (e.g. Kelvedon Beach, nearby). Walking south along the beach there’s an odd little convict-era bridge not very far from the picnic area.

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Tasmania again

Tasmania is very beautiful so we try to go down there almost every year. The gap after our 2021 trip stretched to three years, however, before we visited again recently. We spent time in several favourite reserves and national parks and discovered a couple of new ones.

I will write about these soon, adding links here when I do so:   Continue reading “Tasmania again”