Hiking South East Tasmania

Friday, 2 February 2018

Deep Glen Bay

Thursday 1st February 2018

Deep Glen Bay

This walk has some significance as Deep Glen Bay is where most of the crew of the Blythe Star came ashore in a life raft after their ship sank near South West Cape in 1973. Three of the crew managed to climb out from the bay and basically rescued themselves. This was no mean feat as the country is quite steep and would have been harrowing ordeal for these men. Just Google Blythe Star for more info.
I had previously checked out where the descent to the bay commenced on a previous walk to Macgregor Peak so I had some idea of where I was going. I parked at the car park for Macgregor Peak and set off along Macgregor Road which has become impassible to vehicles because of large downed trees across it.

Macgregor Road

After about 2.0 kms. I turned right into Schofields Road and followed this to Deep Glen Creek where the descent commenced.

Schofields Road

Hut beside the road

Inside hut

Further along Schofields Road

The track down to Deep Glen Bay was flagged all the way, but it would not really matter if it wasn't, as it basically followed Deep Glen Creek all the way down, sometimes in the creek, and other times on either side of the creek. It was reasonably steep and the rocks in the creek further down were wet and slippery. The rain forest was very nice with lots of moss and ferns.

Deep Glen Creek

I eventually arrived at the bay. There is no beach to speak of, only rocks, but it was quite beautiful. It is only a tiny bay, about 100 metres across at the shoreline, and very isolated. I spent some time taking in the scenery.

I was not particularly looking forward to the climb out but it had to be done. There was no other way out, except by boat, and that would have been nice, as it was fairly calm. The ascent was a bit of a grind and when I was about two thirds up, I inadvertently started following another set of tapes. They finally petered out, or I missed them, so I just kept heading up through the bush to come out on the road west of where I had gone down. It did not matter as the bush was all much the same. The distance from the road to the bay is about 1.8 kms. and took me 1'25" for the descent and 2'10' for the ascent.
This was a good walk although I found it reasonably tiring. Probably being 30 or 40 years younger would have made a big difference!!! The scenery at the bay was quite special.
Distance: 14.5 kms.
Time: 6'52"
Ascent 750 metres
Click here for GPX file.

Saturday, 20 January 2018

Lobster Point

Saturday 20th January 2018

Lobster Point

A few friends accompanied me on a walk to Lobster Point on the Tasman Peninsula. I had previously done a similar walk a few years ago but this one had a few variations.
We parked near the toilet block at Sloping Main and set off along the beach. As it was holiday time and also the weekend there were a few people out and about, both in and out of the water. The walk along the beach was easy as the sand was rock hard. The weather was overcast and misty but it brightened up to be another perfect day. It is just on 3.0 kms. to walk the length of the beach.

Sloping Main Beach

Lobster Point

End of Sloping Main Beach

Burdens Marshes

At the end of the beach, we scrambled up to the top of the cliffs and followed the track around to Whalebone Beach.

Whalebone Beach

End of Whalebone Beach

After Whalebone Beach we continued following the coastal track around. We, or should I say I, managed to lose the track on a few occasions, but it did not matter too much as we just made our way through the light scrub and around to Lobster Point.

Lobster Point

Sloping Island

Lobster Point

After a snack stop, we walked on to Lagoon Beach. By this time the weather had improved markedly and this emphasized the beautiful turquoise colour of the water.

Lagoon Beach

Cliffs southern end Lagoon Beach

We walked along the beach for a short distance before exiting over to the lagoon, which was dry as usual. We now walked along various tracks/fire trails back to Sloping Main Beach where we found a conveniently place log to sit on for lunch. There was some debate about going for a swim as the water looked so inviting, but in the end all declined.

Heading back to Sloping Main Beach

Sloping Main Beach

From here it was a quick walk back to the car.
This was a delightful walk with some nice coastal scenery.
Distance: 14.6 kms.
Time: 4'31"
Ascent: 160 metres
Click here for GPX file.

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Devils Throne via Dead Island

Tuesday 16th January 2018

Devils Throne

Although I have been to Devils Throne plenty of times, I had a couple of reasons to do it again. One was to check out the headwaters of the North West Bay River and the second was to check out the track re-route carried out by The Friends of Wellington Park to eliminate the wet area on the Devils Throne track.
I set off from the large car park above Big Bend and made a bee line to the north western end of Dead Island. The going was quite easy and there was not a lot of water, but it can be quite wet in that area. Once near the start of the river I headed towards a scree field that I could see in the distance. There are hundreds of small water filled ponds in this area.

Thark Ridge

The moor land

Cushion Plant

Dead Island

Thark Ridge

Hundreds of these small ponds

North West Bay River

Once across the river I simply walked up through the scrub to the Thark Ridge track. It was all easy going as the scrub was not bad at all. I followed the track along to the large cairn that marks the municipal boundaries and stopped for a snack.

Heading up to Thark Ridge

Thark Ridge

From here I headed over to Devils Throne where I stopped for early lunch. The day was magnificent with mild temperatures and practically no wind, but it was a little hazy.

Collins Bonnet

Mount Connection

Mount Montagu

Mountain River

Mountain River and Devils Throne.

I walked back along the Devils Throne track and along the new hardened section, which is a major improvement over the previous wet area. The Friends of Wellington Park have done an excellent job on the re-route. Once back to the original track, instead of taking the usual route over Thark Ridge, I had planned to follow the old trail done to the Collins Bonnet track and eventually the Big Bend Fire Trail. This I did and it appears that it does receive some foot traffic that way as it was reasonably clear. Once on to the fire trail I walked back to the car, spotting a small snake sunning itself.
There is a sign that has been erected on the fire trail stating that the Scout Hut is closed.