The LABYRINTH

 

1/ The Labyrinth is an elevated area, surrounded by spectacular mountains in central Tasmania. It is north of Lake St Clair. The Labyrinth is famous for its maze of lakes, plus it has some of the best examples of alpine vegetation in Tasmania. This gallery shows images taken on a club trip in the summer of 2014.

2/ Any journey to the Labyrinth begins with a boat trip on Lake St Clair to the northern end at Narcissus Bay. The journey takes 2 days and requires an over night sleep at the Pine Valley Hut. This photo shows Narcissus Bay in the morning. The mountain on the right is Mt Olympus.

3/ Trekkers begin by walking north on the famous Overland Track, before turning west onto the Pine Valley Track. This photo shows trekkers on the Overland Track. Beyond them are the massive peaks of Mt Olympus on the right and Mt Othrys on the distant left.

4/ The first obstacle you meet is the Narcissus River, which flows down to Lake St Clair. The geographic names in this area are named after famous places in Ancient Greece. This adds to their charm, as it really is an ancient and mysterious place.

5/ Here we see trekkers crossing the Narcissus River on a suspension bridge, before proceeding to the Pine Valley Hut.

6/ As you advance north the mighty peak of the Acropolis looms ahead. It is 1481 metres high. Behind it is Mt Geryon, which is 1507 metres high. The Labyrinth is to the left or west of these peaks.

7/ When you look back to the south, you see the massive peak of Mt Byron. It is 1375 metres high and dominates much of the southern landscape.

8/ Finally we reached the Pine Valley Hut. There is both camping and a toilet at Pine Valley. This makes it an excellent place to spend the night. Trekkers can choose either to leave early in the morning to visit the Labyrinth and then return to Lake St Clair to catch the last ferry or they can have a leisurely day in the Labyrinth and then return the following day to Lake St Clair.

9/ The terrain on the journey includes a wide variety of vegetation types. Here you see a grove of exotic pandanis near Cephissus Creek.

10/ Close to the Pine Valley Hut is Cephissus Falls. Trekkers often visit it before sunset.

11/ This photo shows the last light shining on the top of the walls of the Acropolis. It was taken from near Pine Valley. Just before sunset you see this lovely red glow on the mountains in Tasmania.

12/ This image was taken on another trip to Walled Mountain, which you can see in another tab. Walled Mountain lies on the western side of the Labyrinth. The image looks east into the Labyrinth. Beyond the Labyrinth on its eastern side are Mt Geryon, on the left, and the Acropolis, on the right. There are 16 large lakes in this maze, plus numerous small tarns. In this image you can see from the left to right the lakes: Tartarus, Euryome, Elysia and Ophion. The track ends at Lake Elysia.

13/ This image shows a close up view of Lake Tartarus. It was also taken from Walled Mountain. Each lakes is its own unique and enchanting place.

14/ The Labyrinth is a very enchanting place. This image shows the beautiful reflections at dawn on Lake Ophion. It looks south towards the mountain called the Minotaur. The only negative about the Labyrinth is that in the short summer, there are many biting insects. Thus, repellent is a necessity. The approach to the Labyrinth is shown in more detail in the next tab.

15/ This beautiful image looks east across Lake Elysia towards the towering cliffs of Mt Geryon.

16/ The Labyrinth has some of the most beautiful examples of alpine vegetation in Tasmania.

17/ There are also many enchanting groves of pines in the Labyrinth and everywhere that you look you see a plethora of green colours and shapes.

18/ Exploring the Labyrinth is a passion for those who know her. It is relatively easy to keep a basic sense of direction in the Labyrinth, because there are distinct mountains on each side.

19/ The glacial lakes of the Labyrinth are famous for their beautiful reflections and the deep serenity they bring.

20/ Trekkers tend to have their own favorite lakes in the Labyrinth. Mine is Lake Elysia.

21/ This image looks across Lake Tartarus towards Walled Mountain. You can visit Walled Mountain in a following tab.

22/ This image was taken on another trip to the Labyrinth. It shows how the colours of the Labyrinth can vary enormously, yet still be enchanting. This image looks south towards the Minotaur and the massive peak of Mt Gould.

23/ This image shows the view to the south west of the Labyrinth on a sombre morning. Note how the lake reflects the sky. It looks towards the south east at Mount Geryon and the Acropolis.

 

1/ This gallery shows other photos made on a club trip to the Labyrinth in the winter of 2014. It will show you the stark colours of winter and the ethereal atmosphere that you can experience at this time in the Labyrinth. Many trekkers prefer these colours to those of the summer. This trip began with a boat trip to the northern most point of Lake St Clair, Narcissus Bay. This images looks across Narcissus Bay south west towards Mt Olympus, which is now bedecked with snow.

2/ This is the mighty peak of Mt Byron. It is 1375 metres high and dominates the landscape north of Lake St Clair. Our journey began on the Overland Track, which we followed to the north west.

3/ We camped over night at the Pine Valley Hut and in the morning trekked west towards the Parthenon. We needed to ascend 300 metres to reach the elevated area that is the Labyrinth. This image shows the misty colours we saw, as we ascended.

4/ This image looks east from the Parthenon area towards Mt Geryon, on the left, and the Acropolis, on the right. Freezing winds were billowing clouds across the landscape at the time.

5/ This image was taken from higher ground shortly after the image above. A burst of sunlight enlightened the mighty contours of this stark landscape. Mt Geryon and the Acropolis had assumed the classic colours of an ethereal, landscape painting.

6/ This image looks west from near the Parthenon towards Long Lake. To the left is a range called the Guardians, which looks south or left onto Lake Marion. You can visit Lake Marion in the next tab.

7/ This stark image looks to the south. It shows the 300 metres you have to ascend to reach the Labyrinth. In the distance on the left is Lake St Clair and Mt Olympus. The peak on the right is Mt Gould and in front of it is the Minotaur. You can visit the Minotaur., Mt Gould and the Guardians in a following tab.

8/ At last we had reached the Labyrinth. It was cold, misty and wet, but it had a very mysterious atmosphere about it. This image looks towards Lake Cyane. It is the first lake that you see.

9/ This image shows the classic atmosphere of the Labyrinth in the soft colours of winter. There are 16 large lakes and numerous small tarns in the Labyrinth area.

10/ This image looks across a snow covered Lake Tartarus west towards Walled Mountain.

11/ In order to explore the Labyrinth in detail, we camped over night near Lake Elysia.

12/ Winter is a very beautiful and mysterious time in the Labyrinth. This image shows a frosty view of Walled Mountain.

13/ This lovely image shows how cloud and snow dominate the snow covered landscape.

14/ This image looks across Lake Elysia towards a cloud covered Mt Geryon. It shows the soft morning colours of the Labyrinth. I was amazed at how frequently the colours changed in the Labyrinth. This is what makes it such a serene and beautiful place.

15/ This image shows our trekkers walking along the sombre shore of Lake Ophion.

16/ This image shows a tarn dominated by lovely cushion plants.

 

1/ Lake Marion is an alpine lake in central Tasmania. It is just south of a spectacular area called the Labyrinth. This gallery shows images made on a club trip to Lake Marion in the autumn of 2014. Our journey began with a boat trip to Narcissus Bay at the northern end of the beautiful Lake St Clair.

2/ This is Lake Marion. It is a glacial lake surrounded by rugged mountains. This image looks south at Lake Marion from the Guardians. The track we followed led to the far end of this lake. We intended to visit Lake Marion on the first day and then return to the hut at Narcissus Bay. The next day we intended to walk the Cuvier Track to see Mt Cuvier, before catching the ferry back to the visitor centre on the southern shore of Lake St Clair.

3/ To reach Lake Marion we took the Lake Marion Track from Narcissus Bay. This track wends to the north west and passes close to Mt Byron, which you see in this image. Beyond Mt Byron is the mighty peak of Mt Olympus and in the distance is Mt Othrys.

4/ As we trekked west a cloud covered the peaks. This area is called the Narcissus Plain. The image shows our trekkers about to enter the forest zone near Mt Byron.

5/ This image shows the stark peak of Mt Byron from our closest approach to it. It is 1375 metres high.

6/ This image shows a more distant view of Mt Byron.

7/ At this point the track forked. To the north was the Gould Plateau and to the north west was Lake Marion. Note that the sign cautions that it will take 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Lake Marion. Thus, it will take 5 hours to make a return journey back to Narcissus Bay.

8/ We journeyed through many kilometres of ancient forests. This image shows the kind of vegetation that we saw. Note how the branches were covered with moss. Many parts of the forest were also covered by horizontal trees, like these. Ancient explorers had to find another way forward, when they encountered horizontal trees.

9 This is the southern shore of Lake Marion. It had a mysterious green colour that day. Beyond the lake to the east is Mt Gould.

10/ This view looks to the north. On the right is Mt Gould and on the left are the Guardians. The Guardians are a vast wall, where intrepid visitors can see great views both to the north and the south. Beyond the Guardians is the Labyrinth.

11/ This image looks north west across Lake Marion to the rugged cliffs and the highest peak of the Guardians.

12/ After visiting Lake Marion, we returned to the old hut at Narcissus Bay, where we slept the night.

13/ This view shows a morning view of Mt Olympus. It was taken from near Narcissus Bay.

14/ We now trekked west on the Cuvier Track towards the Byron Gap. We intended to reach a point where there is a good view of Mt Cuvier.

15/ This image shows a distant Mt Cuvier on the right and a closer Mt Byron on the left.

16/ This image shows the massive peak of Mt Cuvier to our west. It is a very majestic sight.

17/ This view looks south west towards the distant peaks of the Cheyne Range.

18/ This strange sight is fungus growing on an old wasps nest.

19/ This was our last view of Mt Cuvier, before we turned around to catch the ferry at Narcissus Bay.

 

1/ Mt Gould is a mysterious mountain in central Tasmania. It is north of Lake St Clair and south of the Labyrinth. When viewed from the north, it has this strange sphinx like shape. This gallery shows photos made on a club trip in the autumn of 2014. This image looks south at Mt Gould from the Minotaur. There is a 200 metre drop just beyond the man in the distance. You can not approach Mt Gould from this direction.

2/ We began our journey by walking north on the famous Overland Track. This passes east of Mt Gould. In this image you can see a tarn south of Mt Gould. On left is Horizontal Hill and further right, you can see the Guardians appearing beyond Mt Gould. We will be extensively exploring the Guardians on this journey.

3/ We then diverged west onto the Pine Valley Track. We stayed overnight at the Pine Valley Hut, before continuing the next day. We then walked west on the Lake Elysia Track that takes you to the Labyrinth. This track ascends 300 metres to reach the elevated area that is the Labyrinth. This image shows the view south, as we ascended. You can see Narcissus Bay on the top right side of Lake St Clair from where we had come.

4/ Our guide diverted us slightly from our track to view this strange rock formation. It has been sculptured and colored by wind, rain and vegetation to give this strange artistic effect.

5/ The Lake Elysia Track now rose rapidly and I saw this magnificent view of Lake St Clair to the south. As you can see in this image from the cloud shadows, the light was changing rapidly. This is reflected in the subsequent photos.

6/ We were now ascending the lowest part of the mighty Du Cane Range. This was the view to the south as we crossed near an area called the Parthenon.

7/ In this image one our trekkers is passing south of the Parthenon. The image looks to the north along the spine of the rugged Du Cane Range. We turned off the track at this point and headed south on the spur line of the Minotaur. towards Mt Gould.

8/ We ascended the Minotaur. up this scree field. The spine of the Minotaur. was relatively flat. Our club frequently goes off track, but we can do this, because our guides know where they are going.

9/ This image looks south towards Mt Gould and beyond it, Lake St Clair. Our group was climbing to a platform south of the rocky area on the right.

10/ This image shows the closest that we came to Mt Gould. You can see the massive 200 metre drop beyond the rock platform on the right.

11/ This image shows the massive cliffs that surround the summit of the Minotaur. From this point the views in all directions were simply awesome.

12/ In this view we are looking west at Lake Marion and the Guardians. Later we would walk onto the Guardians and camp near the tarn that you can see on the distant plateau of the Guardians.

13/ From the summit of the Minotaur. we had grand vistas in all directions. In this image we are looking to the south west at Lake Marion and beyond it at Mt Manfred.

14/ In this view to the north we can see the edge of the Parthenon and beyond it the Du Cane Range. Across a deep valley on the right is the mighty peak of the Acropolis and beyond it is the stark peak of Mt Geryon. These 2 peaks dominate this area.

15/ We now trekked west on the spur line of the Guardians. This view looks south at Lake Marion. In the distance beyond it is Mt Byron and on the left of it is Mt Olympus.

16/ This is a telephoto view of Mt Manfred. This is a strange twin peak shaped mountain located west of Lake St Clair. It is 1382 metres high.

17/ This is the tarn on the western end of the Guardians. This is where our group camped over night. This area is so wet that tarns can even form on small mountain plateaus.

18/ This image shows the view to the north west of the Guardians Plateau.

19/ This is the view to the north of the Guardians Plateau. Beyond the cliff line is the Labyrinth.

20/ In this view we are looking from the Guardians south east towards the mighty acropolis. You can see the sheltered tarn where we camped over night on the left.

21/ This is a telephoto image of the mighty Acropolis, which is south east of the Guardians. It towers over this area, because it is a massive 1481 metres high. It is very difficult to climb the Acropolis.

22/ This image looks down from the Guardians at a point near where we descended to the Labyrinth. From the Labyrinth we returned to Lake St Clair.

 

1/ Walled Mountain is a rugged mountain in central Tasmania. This gallery shows a trip that our club made to Walled Mountain from the Labyrinth in the summer of 2014. This image shows Lake Tartarus and beyond it is Walled Mountain. Our group climbed it on the more gentle slope that you can see on the left of Walled Mountain.

2/ This image shows our approach to Walled Mountain on its south eastern side. We would soon be looking down from the cliffs that you can see on the right.

3/ This was one of the views I saw as we ascended. It looks to the west.

4/ This was the view from the top of Walled Mountain Plateau. It is looking south east into Labyrinth. Beyond the Labyrinth is Lake St Clair.

5/ This image shows the stark peaks west of the Labyrinth.

6/ This Image shows the 200 metre drop to the level of the Labyrinth.

7/ This image shows you the rugged cliffs of Walled Mountain. The humans give you some idea of the size of these cliffs.

8/ This image looks south east across the rugged landscape on top of Walled Mountain. In the distance you can see the Guardians and beyond them is the Acropolis

9/ We walked to the northern edge of Walled Mountain to see this view to the north. Trekkers walking the famous Overland Track come through these mountains.

10/ This image looks west across a large flat area on top of Walled Mountain.

11/ This image shows our group scrambling over a scree field in order to reach an observation point on the western edge of Walled Mountain.

12/ This image looks up at the rugged cliffs on the south western face of Walled Mountain.

13/ From the western edge of Walled Mountain we looked across to Macs Mountain. The highest point of Macs Mountain is 1413 metres high.

14/ This is the view to the south west of Walled Mountain.

15/ This image shows a south western extension of the Walled Mountain Plateau, which we now walked to.

16/ Here you can see the rugged landscape to the south east of Walled Mountain. In the distance is the Acropolis.

17/ The sun was now setting and giving out a yellow hue. The deep shadows of the high mountains are now obvious.

18/ This image looks south east from Walled Mountain across to the Guardians. This is the other great divider of the Labyrinth area. In the distance you can see the peaks of the Du Can Range.

19/ As the sun set we made our way to the north western part of the Walled Mountain Plateau, where we saw this view of the massive peaks to our north.

20/ This view looks to the south west. In the distance is Mt Manfred.

21/ This view was taken at sunset. It looks to the west towards Macs Mountain, which is on the right.

22/ We camped near a tarn on the north western part of Walled Mountain. In this image you can see this tarn. Macs Mountain is peeping over the centre of this image. The next day we exited Walled Mountain through the Labyrinth and then returned to Lake St Clair.