Tarn Shelf

Friday 17 January 2014

Tarn Shelf

Tuesday 14th January 2014

Lake Seal

Yesterday, Monday, I had friends arrive from Mackay to stay for a few days and to go on a couple of walks in the area. Garry, Jenny and Kathy had flown into Launceston on 29th December with their bicycles and had cycled from there down the east coast to Judbury. One walk I chose to complete was Tarn Shelf in Mount Field National Park as I thought that it showed off some of the beauty of the area and included some varied walking.
We arrived at the starting point at Lake Dobson at 0930 and set off soon after. The first section of the walk to Newdegate Hut was the same as last week's walk to Newdegate Pass. The weather was perfect and the views were great. We had morning tea at the Lake Seal lookout and lunch at Newdegate Hut, where by this time it was beginning to get quite hot so we found a shady spot under some trees.

Overlooking Lake Seal

After a decent break we headed off in the direction of Lake Webster. The track was a little wet in places, but nothing much, really. After about 45 minutes we arrived at Twilight Tarn where there is an old hut from bygone days containing relics from past skiing days. We had a look around inside the hut but could not stay inside too long as the temperature was quite high. We then walked towards Lake Webster and along this section the temperature reached 37 degrees and the air was so dry I had to keep drinking to stop my mouth drying out. After descending for some time we reached the outlet of Lake Webster where we stopped for a time to cool off in the refreshing water.

Overlooking Lake Seal

From here it was a gradual climb back up to the road that services the ski fields. The going was not that easy as the temperature was still high and a few stops had to be made to catch one's breath and rehydrate. Once we reached the road we followed this for a short distance before picking up the Pandani Grove track and walking this back to the car.
A great walk despite the heat and enjoyable to have some company for a change.
Link to Everytrail description 2011.

Distance: 15.3 kms.
Time: 5'55"
Ascent: 582 metres
Click here to download GPX track.