QUAMBY BLUFF

 

1/ Quamby Bluff is a 1200 metre high volcanic plug that dominates the sky line south of Deloraine. The climb to the top is rated at long, but moderate. This image looks at Quamby Bluff from the west.

2/ The sign near the car park directs you to the track. This sign is 22 kilometres south of Deloraine and is easy to miss. Another sign warns you that it is a 5 hour return journey.

3/ The view from the south east face is quite impressive. The track leads through the forest that you see ahead. It wends its way to the right or south of the peak that you see above. You have a 500 metre climb to reach the plateau at the top. Quamby is called a bluff not a mountain, because on the eastern side, it is a cliff.

4/ This shows Projection Bluff which is just south of Quamby Bluff. This farm is the last piece of civilization that you pass before you enter a deep forest.

5/ As you approach the track you see great views of the Great Western Tier Mountains, which are just to the south of Quamby Bluff. From the left to the right the peaks are Projection Bluff, Ritters Crag and Liffey Bluff. You can see Projection Bluff and Ritters Crag in the next galleries.

6/ This image shows a view of Projection Bluff from just before the start of the forest trail. A table cloth like cloud has enveloped it. These low lying clouds can make it very difficult to find your way.

7/ The track entrance is the dark hole in the middle. This photo shows you why you should always be careful that you know where a track is, before you continue. However the track was relatively easy to follow in most places, although leg protection was desirable. The Quamby trail was marked by ribbons and small rock cairns.

8/ The first part of the climb was through a regrowth forest. You then enter a lovely, myrtle forest. You can see the trail in the centre of this image. It was quite rough, as are most trails in Tasmania.

9/ Note all the beautiful sights are large. You get to see many lovely flowers, like this pink richea.

10/ This image shows you the steepness of the bluff that we were wending our way around.

11/ Occasionally the forest cover parted to reveal the grand vistas of the landscape below us. This view looks south west towards Archers Sugarloaf and beyond it Lake Huntsman.

12/ The most difficult section was this vast scree field that we had to ascend.. However, just beyond it was the plateau at the top.

13/ This view looks down the scree field. Whether you are ascending or descending, crossing scree is always much harder than crossing scree on the horizontal.

14/ From the plateau at the top of Quamby Bluff you are given grand views in all directions. However, you are advised to be careful where you wander, because if the mountain suddenly gets covered in cloud, you may find it very difficult to find the trail down.

15/ This is the view from near the summit. The far away peak on the right is Billop Bluff.

16/ This image shows you how large were the boulders that I climbed to make these photos.

17/ This view looks to the west and shows the other peaks of the Great Western Tiers.

18/ This view looks towards the south west. The peak on the left is Archers Sugarloaf. The nearer peak in the centre is Warners Sugarloaf.

19/ The walk ended with lunch at the summit. We would take another 2 hours to descend to the car park below.

 

1/ Warners Sugarloaf is a large hill in northern, central Tasmania. This gallery shows a trip our club made to Warner's Sugarloaf in 2012. We followed Warner's Track and then diverted north to go to the summit of Warner's Sugarloaf. This gallery is noteworthy for the ethereal, cold atmosphere that is experienced in many parts of Tasmania. This image shows two of our hikers crossing a historic bridge on Jackeys Creek.

2/ Warners Sugarloaf is the small, nearer dome on the right. The peak to the left of it is Archers Sugarloaf, while behind it is Lake Huntsman. The area left of Warner's Sugarloaf is called Jackeys Marsh. A sugarloaf is a large hill. This area is south east of Meander and south west of Quamby Bluff. This image looks down on Warners Sugarloaf from the summit of nearby Quamby Bluff.

3/ This sign on the bridge tells us that the bridge was reconstructed recently by a historic society. This group of volunteers has restored many other historic bridges and huts.

4/ This was one of the other reconstructed bridges on Warner's Track. The bridges were restored in the ancient style.

5/ Jackeys Creek was a dynamic water course and looked quite clean despite the logging that had occurred in this area in recent years.

6/ This image shows two of our hikers on Warner's Track. Note how the trees are quite small due to recent logging.

7/ In this image Jackeys Creek shows all the colours and shapes of a dynamic rainforest.

8/ Warner's Track shows many sections that were built up out of the local stone to make a secure track for the cattle to follow. After more than a century the stone work has a very ancient atmosphere about it.

9/ This was a small waterfall on Jackeys Creek.

10/ This is another classic rainforest image of rushing water at Jackeys Creek.

11/ This was the largest cascade that we saw on Jackeys Creek.

12/ This image shows the full width of Jackeys Creek.

13/ Being a rainforest Warner's Track had many exotic, examples of fungus to display.

14/ The fungus really contributed to the wet, ethereal atmosphere of the place.

15/ This strange plant really contrasted with the purple forest litter.

16/ This image shows the track to the summit. The trees were just saplings due to recent logging.

17/ Throughout this sapling forest we could see the stumps of the former, great trees. It takes about 100 years for a forest to regain mature trees and about 300 years for these trees to reach their maximum height. This stump was once a huge tree of more than 60 metres in height.

18/ The summit was enveloped in a thick cloud, so we did not get any grand vistas that day. However, the thick cloud simply added to the deep, ethereal feeling of the place.

 

1/ Ritters Crag is in northern, central Tasmania. It is one of the massive features of the Great Western Tier Mountains. This gallery shows images made on a club trip, which left from Pine Lake to visit Ritters Crag and then returned to Pine Lake. The old sign says: "Camp fires prohibited in this areas".

2/ This is Pine Lake covered in fog, as it often is in the mornings. Pine Lake is just west of the Highland Lakes highway north of the Great Lake.

3/ This image looks south east back towards Pine Lake. You can see the Highland Lakes Highway on the extreme left. Just beyond the southern horizon is the Great Lake.

4/ Our party then crossed a rise called Adams Peak. This view looks south at the alpine landscape that is the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

5/ Our party was not following any designated trail, because the landscape was quite flat and easy to cross. The Central Highlands is a wet area that is replete with tarns.

6/ This is another view of a tarn and the alpine landscape that we were crossing.

7/ Our party was walking towards the north west. This was our first view of what lay over the escarpment. Beyond was the towering peak of Quamby Bluff.

8/ This image looks west across puddles towards the escarpment. Beyond are the snow covered, western peaks of the Great Western Tier Mountains.

9/ This deep cleft divides Ritters Crag on the left from Projection Bluff on the right.

10/ This rock outcrop was about 5 metres high.

11/ Our party approaches the promontory of Ritters Crag. The size of the walkers shows the ruggedness of the terrain.

12/ This is the view to the east of Ritters Crag. The headland in the centre is Projection Bluff. In the next gallery you can see a visit to Projection Bluff.

13/ The view to the north of Ritters Crag shows the mighty peak of Quamby Bluff. The valley in the middle is Jackeys Marsh.

14/ This view looks towards the tip of Ritters Crag, which is on the right. Beyond are the western peaks of the Great Western Tier Mountains.

15/ This view looks towards the north west towards Lake Huntsman.

16/ This view looks to the west. The distant waterfall is Warners Falls.

17/ This is a telephoto view of Warners Falls. It is a pity that it is extremely difficult to approach this large waterfall close up.

18/ After having lunch at Ritters Crag, our party began the return journey back to Pine Lake.

19/ We mostly crossed through wet areas. However, this area was unusually dry and dead.

20/ This image shows our party approaching Adams Peak. Beyond this rise was Pine Lake.

21/ This image shows a tarn near Adams Peak in the rich orange light of late afternoon.

22/ As we approached Adams Peak, we were suddenly engulfed in a cloud. Clouds create ethereal effects. Fortunately, we had our compass bearings and knew precisely, where to go.

23/ This was our last view of Pine Lake before we boarded our bus. Like in the morning Pine Lake was again shrouded in a cloud.

 

1/ Projection Bluff is in northern, central Tasmania. It is one of the peaks of the Great Western Tier Mountains. This is a view of Projection Bluff taken from near the start of the trail to Quamby Bluff.

2/ The journey to Projection Bluff begins from the Highland Lakes Highway north of the Great Lake. A very, steep and rough defined trail takes you from near this point to the summit of Projection Bluff. This is the view from the road looking up the 200 metre climb to the summit.

3/ As we climbed Projection Bluff it was engulfed in a cloud giving this strange, ethereal effect.

4/ We were surprised to find this tarn higher up the slopes of Projection Bluff.

5/ The journey went through a dense forest, where we saw these strange twisted shapes.

6/ Once we reached the summit the views were magnificent. This view looks east down to the Highland Lakes Highway. It shows the area that we had just ascended through and the strange tarn that we passed earlier. It is a pity that the track is not upgraded to make it accessible to more people, as the journey was relatively short.

7/ This was the magnificent view to the east. The closer peak is Liffey Bluff.

8/ This view looks towards the north east on the right is the Highland Lakes Highway.

9/ This was the view from near the summit of Projection Bluff looking towards the west.

10/ This view looks passed this jagged outcrop to the east at a distant Liffey Bluff.

11/ This view looks towards the north west at the mighty peak of Quamby Bluff.

12/ To our south was a vast, alpine plain, which was part of the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

13/ This image looks to the south east across this alpine plain.

14/ This image shows some of the strange, cold resistant plants that survive on the Central Plain.

15/ This image shows our back view of Projection Bluff, as we descended.