GREAT WESTERN TIERS

 

1/ Tumble Tor is a small mountain in central, northern Tasmania south of Poatina. To reach it our party had to cross the Great Western Tiers near Billop Bluff and trek south to Tumble Tor. On the way we visited the neighboring peaks of Billop Bluff and Brady's Lookout. This view shows the view from Brady's Lookout looking towards the north east. The peak to the left is Billop Bluff.

2/ The climb to the top of the escarpment first involved crossing through a dense eucalyptus forest.

3/ The track was just a defined trail. This means a poorly, marked route through the dense forest. Here the trail involved using a log as a bridge. This trip was for experienced hikers only.

4/ The trail up the escarpment involved balancing on scree and then scaling up boulders.

5/ In this last section we had to scale up these boulders to reach the top of the escarpment.

6/ Here one of our party rests at the cairn on the summit of Billop Bluff.

7/ This view looks down from Billop Bluff eastwards to other peaks of the Great Western Tiers.

8/ This view looks east from Billop Bluff at the eastern edge of the Great Western Tiers.

9/ This is the view from near the peak of Brady's Lookout. It looks north towards the Northern Coastal Plain. The cleared strip in the forest is near the Poatina Power Station.

10/ This view looks north west from Brady's Lookout towards the Northern Coastal Plain.

11/ This view looks north east from Brady's Lookout and shows part of the plateau.

12/ This view from Brady's Lookout looks west along the chain of the Great Western Tiers. This hiker is enjoying both the view and his achievement in reaching it.

13/ The view from the top of the escarpment is frequently obscured by clouds, which can rapidly appear and then disperse. They give the landscape a strange ethereal effect.

14/ Tumble Tor is about 2 kilometres south of the escarpment across an alpine plain. This photo shows our first view of Tumble Tor on the horizon.

15/ This photo shows Tumble Tor on the left. Beyond Tumble Tor you can just see the Great Lake.

16/ This is our party resting on the summit of Tumble Tor. They are wearing their cold weather clothing, as the Central Highlands are frequently subjected to freezing winds. After reaching Tumble Tor our party returned by the same route.

17/ One of the dangers of hiking in the Tasmanian bush are snakes. Fortunately, snakes usually flee when they hear humans coming.

18/ In the late afternoon our party reached the edge of the Tiers. A rainbow greeted us from the Northern Coastal Plain below.

 

1/ Millers Bluff is in central, northern Tasmania. It is on the most eastern side of the Great Western Tier Mountains. It is south of Cressy and south east of the Connorville estate. It is 1200 metres high and a climb of 300 metres is needed to reach the summit. This gallery shows a trip that our club made to Millers Bluff in 2012.

2/ The approach to Millers Bluff was through a forest that had been logged in recent years. This is why the trees are so small. The first part of our approach was on a rough road. Later we had only a poorly, defined trail to follow to the summit.

3/ I saw this interesting myrtle tree on the higher slopes. The two trunks gave off an interesting idea of symmetry in their own strange way.

4/ The climb to the summit involved bashing our way through thick vegetation and scaling large boulders. It was quite exhausting.

5/ This was the breathtaking view that greeted us from the summit. We had a grand view of much of the Northern Coastal Plain.

6/ This view looks towards the south east at other peaks of the Great Western Tiers.

7/ This was another view to the east from near the summit.

8/ This view looks to the north west. The peak on the left is Billop Bluff.

9/ This view looks to the far west at the many peaks of the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

10/ The final objective was to reach the weather station near the summit of Millers Bluff.

 

1/ The Great Western Tiers is a step of rugged mountains that separate the Central Mountains zone from the Northern Plains. The following images were shot from roads that ran parallel to the Tiers and can be seen by any car tourist.

2/ This image shows the rugged cliffs near the climb to Protection Bluff taken from the Highland Lakes Highway. This road goes on to the Great Lake.

3/ The mountains around you are a series of steep, dolomite cliffs. Note the red soil below the trees. This was taken from near the start of the climb to Protection Bluff off the Highland Lakes Highway.

4/ In this view you can see the Northern Plains on the distant horizon. This image was taken from near Projection Bluff.

5/ This shows the stark cliffs of the Great Western Tiers taken from near Projection Bluff.

6/ This dead tree adds contrast to the cliff of Deception Bluff. Taken from the Highland Lakes Highway.

7/ This view looks south into the Southern Highlands. It was taken from the Mt Claude Lookout on C138 the road to Mole Creek.

8/ This view shows Bell Mountain, which is 800 metres high. It was taken on C132 near Moina.

9/ This photo shows Western Bluff, which is 1420 metres high. This photo was taken from B12 near Mole Creek.

10/ This photo also shows Western Bluff. However it was taken from the west from C138 Road near Liena.

11/ This photo looks north from near Mole Creek towards the Gog Range. This range runs parallel to the north of the Tiers. It was taken on C 137. Beyond it is Sheffield.

12/ This photo shows Billop Bluff. This was taken looking south from the northern coastal plain towards the Great Western Tiers.

13/ This photo shows Mount Blackwood. This is also looking South from the northern coastal plain. Mount Blackwood is 1326 metres high. The photo is looking south from the northern coastal plain near Cressy.

14/ This image shows a sunset view of Mother Cummings Peak taken from near Caveside.

15/ A closer view of Mother Cummings from near the start of the climb to the summit.

16/ This image shows the approach to Western Creek, which is one of the track entrances to the Central Highlands.

17/ Another view of Mother Cummings taken from near Lake Huntsman.

18/ A distant view of Mother Cummings from the East.

19/ A sunset view of a very distant Mother Cummings taken from the West near Caveside. You can see a climb of Mother Cummings Peak on the MEANDER FALLS page.