GLADSTONE & Blue Lake

 

1/ The Blue Lake is a flooded quarry just east of Gladstone off the main B82 Road. The water really does shine blue as in the photo above. The area is a former tin mining zone, which is now a very interesting place to explore.

2/ The turquoise blue color is caused by the residue of the former tin mining reflecting the sky. No swimming or drinking are allowed and the cliff edges are unstable.

3/ This photo shows the western end of the lake. The whole lake is about 500 metres long. The total area disturbed by mining is quite large, but much of it has now been partially rehabilitated.

4/ Near the Blue Lake is the Little Blue Lake. This is another area that is now flooded by water. I could plainly hear frogs in this area, which was very encouraging.

5/ The tin mining turned up a huge amount of sand, clay and gravel. This now forms these strange landscapes.

6/ This area was now being effected by gullying.

7/ I noticed this strange moss covering the disturbed ground in some places. I noticed the same moss at POIMENA, which was also a former mining site.

8/ This area looked like it is sometimes flooded by water.

9/ This photo shows the eastern end of the disturbed mining area. Not how Nature dominates beyond this disturbed zone.

 

1/ Gladstone is in the extreme north east of Tasmania. It sits near Mt Cameron which is 551 metres.

2/ Gladstone serves an agricultural community. Here you can see a rural scene graced by a rainbow.

3/ Gladstone is the most important road junction in the extreme north east.

4/ This is a photo of the old Gladstone Hotel.

5/ The old post office has now been converted into a home.

6/ There is a picnic, toilet and play area in a city park. Before it is a strange monument.

7/ The monument shows mining equipment and a lump of Quartz reflecting the origins of Gladstone as a mining town. In the centre is a buried time capsule.

8/ The capsule is due to be opened on the next passing of Halleys Comet in 2062.

9/ The old church is no longer being used.

10/ The police station is graced by a tree that would look great when it blooms in the spring.

11/ There are a variety of houses in Gladstone like this mid Twentieth Century design.

12/ There are also a number of Victorian cottages.

13/ This a photo of the general store and petrol station.

14/ This store shows an interesting bush mural.

15/ There are a number of old homes with restoration possibilities in Gladstone.

 

1/ Whale Rock is an interesting rock formation that you can visit, while climbing Mt Cameron. As you approach it, you also visit many other interesting rock formations.

2/ Mt Cameron is in North East Tasmania. The nearest town is Gladstone. Access is via Old Port Road, which is just a gravel road. You will then find this amateur sign. The track is just a defined trail marked out by the bushwalking clubs. It has been defined by green and blue markers, like the one you can see here on the tree, but the track is often hard to follow. This walk is not for amateurs, as you can easily lose the trail and become lost in the wilderness.

3/ This photo shows our club approaching one of the first rock formations. In this section the trail was well marked.

4/ This photo shows one of the many boulders you encounter. We had to climb over some.

5/ The trail then passes through the forest as it slowly ascends Mt Cameron. The trail was easy to lose in this section and was sometimes marked by cairns.

6/ This photo shows boulder fields we crossed as we climbed up Mt Cameron.

7/ This photo shows the view as we approached the Whale Rock.

8/ In this photo you can see the Whale Rock in the distance.

9/ This is the view to the west of Mt Cameron. On the right is the Clarence Dam.

10/ At this point we walked up a 40 degree bare rock face for about 100 meters. It was challenging.

11/ This photo shows the huge bare rock face. It was very cold and windy. Coming down it was even more challenging as it was wet.

12/ This is the view to the south. The clouds showed that a storm was approaching rapidly.

13/ This is the view looking down the rock face looking towards the North West.

14/ This view looks towards the summit of Mt Cameron..

15/ This is the view towards the West showing the Clarence Dam.

16/ This is another view to the North West. Soon after I took this photo, we had to descend down the mountain rapidly as we had been warned by another bushwalking group that a storm was rapidly approaching from the south.