LAKE ROWALLAN

 

1/ Lees Paddocks are south west of Lake Rowallan in Central Tasmania. The paddocks are an enchanting valley surrounded by towering mountains on all sides. This gallery shows photos made on separate trips to Lees Paddocks in 2014, 2015 and 2023.

2/ This map is located near the car park. The track connects with the famous Overland Track at the New Pelion Hut. It is located in the famouse Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park. The walk is Grade 3, but the 16 km return makes it a difficult journey for some.

3/ This is the Mersey River, which wends its way towards Lees Paddocks. This view is looking south at Castle Crag on the left and Mount Massif on the right. These are part of the Du Cane Range.

4/ This image shows another view of the Mersey River. It looks to the west to the start of the forest zone. On the left is Premier Peak.

5/ This was our last view of the Mersey River before we entered the forest zone. In the distance are Premier Peak and Deans Bluff.

6/ The paddocks are private property and are still used for grazing cattle. You are asked to respect the fact that the owners have made the track assessible as an act of public spirit. Specifically do not leave litter and only use the hut and camp with permission. This sign marks the start of the forest park of the walk.

7/ This image shows the Mersey River bridge near the start of the forest section. Only one person at a time may cross the bridge.

8/ This image shows the point where the more open area near the start of the track abrubtly becomes forest. In the distance is Premier Peak.

9/ This image shows the long trail through the forest. In some parts the track was easy, but in other sections it was very muddy.

10/ The Mersey River follows the track and was seldom very far away.

11/ A short diversion to the south of the track takes you back to the Mersey River and Lewis Falls.

12/ A few kilometres beyond Lewis Falls are Oxley Falls. You need to climb down into a ravine to see the flow, but it is quite a sight. Some walkers turn around at this point. The falls are named after the old cattle men who pioneered the area.

13/ This is Oxley Falls during the cold winter of 2014, when the flow of water was very great.

14/ In a break in the forest I captured this image of a very distant Mount Peilion East.

15/ There is a large variety of exotic types of fungi in the Lees Paddocks area. This specimen is about the size of a human head.

16/ This specimen of fungus was a lovely orange colour. We regularly find very exotic fungi colours and shapes in the Tasmanian forests.

17/ You meet many interesting creatures in the ancient Tasmanian forests, like this spider and its ominous web.

18/ This white tipped snake is ready to strike. It was photographed from 15 metres away. Snakes can uncoil like lightning and strike people many metres away. I have had personal experience of this. You should never approach a snake!

19/ As you trek westwards the forest zone suddenly ends and you find yourself in Lees Paddocks. This image looks back to the east towards the forest that we had just traversed. Deans Bluff is on the right.

20/ We had now entered the Paddocks. The hut is beyond the distant tree line. Far away on the right is Mount Pelion East.

21/ This image looks north east towards the slopes of Mount Pillinger.

22/ This is the classic view to the south east. The peaks that you can see from left to right are: Vicars Bluff, Curate Bluff, Bishops Peak and Cathedral Mountain. The vast grassy plains make Lees Paddocks an ideal place for grazing cattle. The Mersey River wends its way through these plains which are criss crossed by belts of forest.

23/ This is the panoramic view from Vicars Bluff looking down into Lees Paddocks. The paddocks are part of the Mersey River Valley. Premier Peak is on the extreme right.

24/ When you look to the north of the Hut, you see the towering heights of Mt Pillinger.

25/ This image shows the Reg Wadley Memorial Hut which is wrongly called 'Lees Hut'. It is located at the northern end of Lees Paddocks. Lees Paddocks has been grazed since 1888. The Hut is maintained by the family as a courtesy and it should not be used without their permission.

26/ Near Lees Hut is a rock overhang, where you can find fossils, if you are lucky.

27/ This is the fossil of a small shell that we were lucky enough to find.

28/ Not all of the area is grassy. Some areas are replete with tarns and alpine vegetation.

29/ This shows another view of the alpine vegetation.

30/ Lees Paddocks was the scene of a plane crash.

31/ South east of Lees Paddocks is Ladder Creek and Ladder Falls. Its tiers do really resemble a ladder.

32/ This is another enchanting rapid on Ladder Creek.

33/ This image shows a mist layer descending on Lees Paddocks at sunset.

 

1/ These images were taken on a winter trip to Lees Paddocks in 2014. The other Lees Paddocks tab shows images taken in summer. This image looks north at a snow covered Premier Peak. In winter you get to see a really enchanting combination of snow and clouds.

2/ On this trip our intrepid bush walkers camped out with permission in the snow near Lees Hut. This image looks north at a cloud covered Mt Pillinger.

3/ This image looks east at a snow covered Deans Bluff.

4/ This image looks south east at the classic view of Vicars Bluff and the other mountains. In winter Lees Paddocks is a very cold and mysterious place.

5/ Shortly after the above photo was taken, the sun broke through and changed the colours of Vicars Bluff to this enchanting scene.

6/ This image looks past the frozen Mersey River towards the many peaks of the south east.

7/ This image shows an ice covered pond.

8/ The Hut looked quite ancient and inviting in the snow.

9/ Two of our trekkers had fun throwing snow balls.

10/ This is the famous Dancing Tree. It is one of its more exotic attractions of Lees Paddocks.

 

1/ Grail Falls are in Central Tasmania south west of Lake Rowallan. This area is close to the Lees Paddocks Track. This gallery shows photos taken on a trip to Grail Falls and Cathedral Plateau in 2015. To access this area you must first drive south on the Mersey Forest Road, until you come to the start of the Moses Creek Track.

2/ You then follow the rough, Moses Creek Track 4 kilometres to the south. It rises and then falls as it approaches Chapter Lake. Through part of the journey it passes through an area recently devastated by loggers. This image shows saplings regrowing in the logged area.

3/ You are then greeted by the enchanting sight of Chapter Lake. Grail Falls are on the southern end of this very long lake.

4/ Chapter Lake has a mysterious ambience about it.

5/ There were many groves of native pines on the shore line of Chapter Lake.

6/ We then followed Chapter Lake to the south to reach Moses Creek. This image is looking north and shows the extreme southern section of Chapter Lake near Grail Falls. The Moses Creek Track passes Grail Falls and wends its way to the south to ultimately reach Junction Lake.

7/ This is lovely, Grail Falls. It is a massive 50 metre, multi tiered drop and is a very impressive sight.

8/ This images shows the many tiers and the full profile of Grail Falls.

9/ This is a closer view of the middle tiers of Grail Falls. It required some scrambling to reach this point. The author has captured the mysterious atmosphere of the falls.

10/ This image shows a closer view of the lower tiers of Grail Falls. I love the way the author has captured the light in the fall.

11/ Our group now left the Moses Creek Track and trekked to the north west towards Curate Bluff over the Cathedral Plateau. We were now off track, but following a route known by our club. The Plateau is fairly flat and has many examples of exotic vegetation, like these strange, red trees.

12/ The Cathedral Plateau has many groves of lovely, native pines. They have a very ancient look about them.

13/ This image shows the pines and alpine vegetation that we saw on the Cathedral Plateau.

14/ This image was taken a few hundred metres north west of the image above. It shows how abruptly the vegetation can change. This area was now littered with rocks and small tarns. The edge of the plateau is on the horizon.

15/ This is a large tarn on the western edge of the Cathedral Plateau.

16/ Finally we reached the edge of the Cathedral Plateau near Curate Bluff. This tarn was on the very edge of the precipice.

17/ We were now presented with a magnificent, panoramic view of the Mersey River Valley to our west. This image looks past Curate Bluff to the south west.

18/ This image looks west across the Mersey River Valley. We were luck enough to be greeted by a beautiful rainbow.

19/ This view looks north at Lees Paddocks and a distant Premier Peak. You can visit Lees Paddocks in the preceding gallery.

 

1/ Horeb Falls is in Central Tasmania, south of Lake Rowallan. It is accessed from the same Mersey Forest Road, which you follow to the Moses Creek Track. This is also the same road that leads to tracks to Lees Paddocks and Grail Falls. We follow the Moses Creek Track south to a point, known only to the club, where we could sidle our way west through the dense forest to reach Horeb Falls. Only experienced trekkers familiar with this area should attempt to find their way through the dense forest to Horeb Falls.

2/ After we left the Moses Creek Track, we had to bash our way through the dense forest to reach Horeb Falls. This image shows Moses Creek near Horeb Falls. You can see how dense is the forest that we had traversed.

3/ Horeb Falls is in a ravine on the eastern side of Premier Peak. This image looks down the ravine to the rushing waters of Horeb Falls.

4/ We now descended the ravine to see the falls up close. This image shows the higher and lower tiers.

5/ I had to scramble out onto the rocks to capture this photo of the lower tiers.

6/ This photo shows the massive rush of water across the tiers.

7/ It is quite exhilarating to be close to the sound and sight of rushing waters.

8/ This image shows the peaceful waters south of Horeb Falls.

 

1/ Mt Rogoona is in Central Tasmania south east of Lake Rowallan. It is accessed from the Mersey Forest Road, which you follow to the start of the Lake Myrtle Track. The track starts in the south eastern corner of Lake Rowallan. This image shows Mt Rogoona and Lake Myrtle.

2/ The Lake Myrtle Track is a rough and poorly defined track. It wends its way to the south though hilly terrain. The first landmark you reach is Lake Bill. Here you can see a distant Mt Rogoona beyond Lake Bill.

3/ These are the rushing waters of Jacksons Creek, which the track passes close by.

4/ This was the bridge across Jacksons Creek. Most trekkers used the branches to aid their balance.

5/ Finally we reached Lake Myrtle. This it the final destination for most travellers, but we were going further south towards Lake Meston. We would be ascending to the summit that you can see in this image. The overcast sky made me pessimistic about taking good photos, but, fortunately, the weather later improved.

6/ This image shows the steep climb up the south eastern side of Mt Rogoona. This trekker has stopped to take a photo. What is interesting is that you can still get mobile telephone reception on some peaks in Tasmania.

7/ We then crossed the plateau on top of Mt Rogoona to reach the summit. From here we were given a vast panoramic view. In this image you are looking to the north. On the left you can see Lake Myrtle, while on the far left is Lake Bill, which we earlier passed by.

8/ This view is looking west across Lake Myrtle towards Lake Chalice. Mt Rogoona is 300 metres higher than the Lake Myrtle that you can see below.

9/ This view looks west across Lake Myrtle. Hidden behind the first long hill is Cloister Lagoon, while to the right is Chalice Lake.

10/ You get quite a sense of achievement when you reach a summit. We have a saying that most people can look up at mountains, but only the intrepid can look down from mountains.

11/ The summit is a very rocky place, where you have to be cautious, about where you should go.

12/ The summit of Mt Rogoona is so wet that there are tarns even on the summit. The trekker on the lower left should give you some idea of the size of these tarns.

13/ After a long rest and a great view from the summit, we returned the way we had come.

 

1/ The February Plains are in Central Tasmania, west of Lake Rowallan. This gallery shows photos taken on a trip our club made to the February Plains and Lake Steers in 2012. The trips were made in winter and the photos show you the colours and sights of Tasmania in the cold. Note that snow is not an insurmountable problem, if you are properly equipped and know where you are going. However, if we were likely to encounter freezing winds, we would have cancelled the walk.

2/ Lake Rowallan is a huge hydro electric lake. It is about 10 kilometres long and one kilometre wide. On the eastern side of Lake Rowallan are the sights of the Walls of Jerusalem National Park. This image looks east across Lake Rowallan towards Clumner Bluff on the left and Howells Bluff on the right. Wafs of clouds give the peaks an ethereal glow.

3/ We camped on the western shore of Lake Rowallan opposite Howells Bluff. The water level was quite low, revealing this small island. It was a cold day, but fortunately there was little wind.

4/ We were now bussed down Maggs Road on the western side of Lake Rowallan to the start of the Arm River Pelion Track. This image shows the view back to a snow covered Howells Bluff.

5/ The Arm River Pelion Track heads west and passes lakes Price and Ayr to connect with the Overland Track at the New Pelion Hut. It allows trekkers to visit Mt Oakleigh and Mt Pelion without doing the long Overland Track.

6/ The Arm River Pelion Track heads west and passes lakes Price and Ayr to connect with the Overland Track at the New Pelion Hut. There was a thin blanket of snow in many areas leading to water run off onto the track. Note that our boots can stay water proof in shallow water.

7/ We now trekked west through a regrowth forest, as the Lake Rowallan area has been extensively logged. Fortunately, some areas were covered by lovely cushion plants. These only grow in very wet terrain. They are a lovely contrast to the saplings.

8/ At Lake Price we were greeted by the impressive sight of Mt Pillinger. It towers over Lees Paddocks on the southern side. It is the major landmark of this area, because it is a massive 1260 metres high.

9/ Some distance past Lake Price we trekked north on a route known only to the club that would take us to Lake Steers. When I looked back to the south, I could see this view of a distant Mt Pillinger.

10/ The route to Lake Steers went through a variety of terrains. In this area button grass is punctuated by groves of native pines.

11/ In another part of the journey we passed though a light forest zone. Here the dull winter sun created these strange green hues in the many plant textures. It looked almost like a painting.

12/ We were glad to discover that there were still some of the old forest giants. These were rejected for some reason by the loggers, when they devastated this forest in the past. This giant is about 70 metres tall. Note how it towers over the nearby saplings.

13/ We also had to traverse a fast flowing stream, as we wended our way north to Lake Steers. Note how dense the forest is in this section.

14/ Finally we reached Lake Steers. It is a large alpine lake named after a local trapper.

15/ This image shows the peaceful ambience of Lake Steers on a winter's day.

16/ This is the Basil Steers Hut. It was built by a local trapper and is today maintained by volunteers, as an emergency shelter. It is located on the south west corner of Lake Steers. Near the door you can see a Tasmanian Tiger sign. I do not know what the significance of this sign is, but I do know that Tasmanian Tigers were once common on the February Plains.

17/ This was the view to the south west, as we trekked south towards the Arm River Pelion Track. On the left is the silhouette of a distant Mt Pelion East, while to the right is the long range of Mt Oakleigh. Both are major attractions of the Overland Track.

18/ Our group now returned to the bus at Lake Rowallan. These next photos show a separate trip made in 2012 on the Arm River Pelion Track. This time we trekked all the way west to the New Pelion Hut. This image shows a regrowth forest near Lake Ayr.

19/ Our journey to the west was in the shadow of the Mt Oakleigh Range.

20/ This is Lake Ayr. It is about 2 kilometres long and lies in the shadow of the Mt Oakleigh Range. The Lees Paddock Track connects with this track east of Lake Ayr.

21/ To our south west we could see the massive dome of Mt Pelion East. It is one of the landmarks seen by intrepid trekkers on the Overland Track.

22/ This is the western edge of Mt Oakleigh seen across the Pelion Plains. It is a very impressive sight. The photo was taken near the New Pelion Hut, at a point where the Arm River Pelion Track meets the famous Overland Track.

 

1/ Lake McCoy is located in bushland south west of Lake Rowallan. In March 2021 our club visited it. There is no track to Lake McCoy. Rather our guides showed us a very hard to follow wombat trail used by other clubs. Our group twice lost the trail, so this hike should only be done by very experienced groups.

2/ The first two kilometres were through thick bushland. We then entered a large area of meadow covered by a thick sponge plant. The wombat trail we followed can be seen on the right.

3/ We passed through an area replete with the skeletons of pencil pines. These were probably destroyed in ancient bush fires.The dead pines are flanked by living pines.

4/ The next six kilometres were mostly through spongy meadows interspersed with groves of trees. This image shows us approaching the thick bush surronding Lake McCoy.

5/ Finally we reached and had lunch at the Lake McCoy.

6/ This image tries to capture the deep ambiance of peace that you experience when you visit these ancient lakes.

 

1/ The Arm River Track is east of Lake Rowallan. It accesses the Pelion Hut, which is on the famous Overland Track. This track is accessed from Maggs Road. Note that the walk is graded as hard, even though it is only 5.5km. This is because you must first assend the plateau, before the walk becomes easier. This gallery shows photos I made on a journey to Lake Price in 2021. This is one of the many tarns that you pass on the trail.

2/ The track is boardwalk in places, but in many other places it is rough.

3/ This image shows another tarn and the typical vegetation that you see on the plateau.

4/ Quite suddenly Mount Pillinger becomes visible. The old Arm River Track passes its base.

5/ This is the majestice view of Mount Pillinger that you see across Lake Price.

6/ Just beyond Lake Price is the "Ballroom". This is a kilometre of wet moss covered scenery.

7/ This image shows moss covered rocks on the edge of the Ballroom.

8/ This image looks into a moss covered boulder field.

9/ It is easy to imagine faeries living in this ethereal place.