You are invited to attend the Boots N’ All walk on Sat. 10th May to experience the unique beauty of the “fagus” in full autumn colour in the spectacular surrounds of Cradle Mountain. The long range forecast for Saturday suggests a relatively mild day with a few showers but nothing to deter intrepid walkers and their cameras!
What is Fagus? See http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=3244 for a great description.
This walk is rated “medium” and is suitable for walkers, including children, who have had some experience with tracks of varying quality – part boardwalk, part steep and rocky path, and able to keep going for sustained distances (approx. 12 km for the round trip). Because of the exposed alpine conditions, walkers must be fully prepared for poor weather. Please see the warnings below.
Please also see below about Boots N’ All Visuals Evening and a disposal sale of walking gear.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone your walk leader, Phil Dawson, ph. 6382 3561 to book in. The departure time is 7:00am from the Door of Hope Church car park, Launceston. Suggested meeting places if coming from elsewhere could be Sheffield at Claude Rd. turnoff at 7:50 am or Moina at 8:20 am. The group should arrive at Ronny Creek by approx. 8:45 am.
If you would like to arrange to meet the group at these places or elsewhere, please arrange with leader. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time. However, you still need to contact the walk leader, Phil Dawson, per details above if intending to walk. The leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
You should always contact the walk leader if intending to participate in a particular Boots N’ All walk.
Walk route:
(note that route may vary depending on weather conditions or the colour of the Fagus!)
The walk begins at Ronny Creek car park (altitude 880m), and follows the first part of the Overland Track for a little over 2 km to reach Crater Lake. After taking in the sights, the walk continues for about 1 km up a very steep south-east climb to the top of Marion’s Lookout (amazing views if the weather is clear) and then a little over 2 km south over much less challenging terrain (highest point altitude 1260m), past Kitchen Hut before heading east and descending the Face Track. After a further 1 km, the track drops steeply in a north-westerly direction to Lake Wilks, and then continues down to the Dove Lake Circuit Track, through the Ballroom Forest and north, past Weindorfer’s boathouse, to join the Lake Lilla track approximately 2.5 km from Lake Wilks. Passing Lake Lilla, the Overland Track is rejoined after a little less than 2 km, with a final 800m bringing walkers back to Ronny Creek car park.
To access this area from northern Tasmania: Roads to Cradle Mt. are well signposted, and the area can be accessed from several directions. From Sheffield, go south along Claude Rd through Gowrie Park and westward down into the Forth Valley (now Cethana Rd.), continuing up the other side to Moina. Turn south into Cradle Mt. Rd. After approx. 20 km, turn left (still called Cradle Mt. Rd.) and approx. 4 km south, you will arrive at the Pencil Pine area and the boom gate, which should open when you drive up to it. A little over 5 km further will bring you to Ronny Creek car park, just past the Waldheim turnoff.
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2014 walks calendar] apply:
D Drive distance requires early departure
S Steep incline for at least part of the way
E Exposed alpine conditions ; can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped; see www.sutas.org.au/bush-walking/bush-walking for some guidelines.
If you are unsure of equipment requirements, Visit the Boots N’ All section of the sutas.org.au website per link below and read “Clothing suggestions for exposed conditions”
Map details:
Marion’s Lookout: 1:100000 map is Sophia and 1:25000 map is Cradle.
Map reference:
Short ref. n/a (not a mountain!)
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
n/a (not a mountain!)
No peakbagging peaks on this walk. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger’s Guide.
See Peakbaggers and Abels – Boots N’ All for an explanation of this system (updated 2026)
[gpx and kml tracks for this walk are in our online collection. See GPX Map Files – Boots N’ All].