Mt.
Victoria - Sat. 23rd January 2016
We hope you have
had a good look at the 2016 walks calendar, printed one, emailed the
link to friends and started to plan which ones appeal to you! You could
even set a late new year's resolution to participate in at least 5 or 6
of the walks during the year! (Did you know that 49 different people
participated in the 2 Boots N' All walks held so far during summer
holidays? Don't miss out! Join us while the warm weather continues!)
2016 Boots N' All Walks Calendar
Click here to download a printable
walks calendar for 2016
Mt. Victoria is a prominent peak in the north-east with panoramic views
to north and east coasts. Each year, Boots N' All provides a walk for
participants at the Scripture Union Family Camp which is held at
Scotch-Oakburn's Education Outdoor and Environmental Centre in the
Fingal Valley, but the walk is also open to all other interested
walkers.
A relatively short walk of under 6 km return, the track climbs steadily
from 800m through varying forest and on to open boulder fields before
traversing the summit ridge to the peak at 1213m from which there are
expansive views of the north-east, including part of Bass Strait and the
east coast. The walk does involve some rock-hopping, and a few people
have been troubled by the exposed rocky sections near the summit, but it
is otherwise not difficult, and energetic children have found it quite
achievable in the past.
Think it's too short a walk? Experienced walkers who are happy to walk
and travel independently after returning to the car have the option of a
further 3 peak-bagger peaks in close vicinity. See notes on maps and
track files below.
Walk route:
From the car park at Mt. Albert Rd, the track climbs to the NE for
nearly 2 km, before swinging east and then slightly south to the summit.
2 hours walk should be sufficient to reach the summit, with a similar
return time.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Basil Tkaczuk on
6331 1155
or email by Thursday night to book in
(reply to the reminder email).
The departure time is 8:00am from Door of Hope carpark in South
Launceston. The alternative meeting place/time is at the crossroads at
Mathinna at 9:10 am, or at the Mt. Victoria car park at 9:30 am. However, you still need to contact the walk
leader per details above if intending to walk. The leader should be
notified of any other people you intend to bring along. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes
ahead of departure time.
To access this area from northern Tasmania:
Walkers from SU Family Camp will meet the leader at Mathinna crossroads.
The group meeting at Door of Hope will proceed via St. Leonards (St.
Leonards Rd and Blessington Rd) to Upper Blessington - about 51 km. At
Upper Blessington, do not take the left turn, but go straight ahead on
Roses Tier Rd, and follow up a winding ascent. After 9 km, turn right
into Gunn's Rd. A further 8.5 km will bring you down to Upper Esk Rd.
Turn right and continue east to Mathinna, a further 13 km. The section
from Upper Blessington to Upper Esk Rd. is gravel, but should be
suitable for 2WD cars. From Mathinna, head north, then north-west, then
north again for about 23 km to reach the junction of Mt. Albert Rd. Turn
right and drive a futher 4 km east to the Mt. Victoria car park.
If you prefer to drive via Midland Hwy, Conara, Avoca and Fingal, allow
15-20 minutes extra time (leave Launceston at 7:45).
A third alternative is to proceed from Launceston along the Tasman Hwy
through Waverley and continue 33 km to reach the Myrtle Park picnic
ground gate. Continue a further 500 metres and turn right into Camden
Hill Rd. After approx. 6.5 km, turn left into Diddleum Rd, and after a
further 2.5 km, take the right turn, staying on Diddleum Rd for a
further 10 km to the junction of Ben Ridge Rd. Continue east for about
24 km to reach the junction of Mathinna Plains Rd. and turn right. After
about 2 km, turn left into Mt. Albert Rd.
Warnings:
E... Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if
not fully equipped
Make sure you have a good supply of drinking water - suggest 1 litre
per person.
Walkers are advised to wear strong shoes or boots. You should always carry wet weather gear as well as warm
clothing in case of sudden weather changes.
If unsure of equipment requirements for bushwalking, see
www.sutas.org.au/bush-walking/bush-walking
for some guidelines
Map details:
Mt. Victoria: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8415 (Forester) and 1:25000 map
is 5642 (Victoria)
Map reference:
Short ref. 702237
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 5 70 340
54 23 935 -41.33300 147.84061
Mt. Victoria is worth 2 peakbagger points. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club
Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be downloaded (Excel) from
http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm The same web page
contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.
Other peakbagger points in close vicinity are Mt. Albert (4 km further
east along Mt. Albert Rd and about 2 hours/2km return) - 1 point, Mt.
Blackboy (turn right about 11 km east of Mt. Victoria car park - you
would need to follow the gps route as the relatively new road is not
marked on maps - the actual walk is about 1.5km return and can be done
in about 1 hour) - 1 point and Mt. Young (turn right into Evercreech Rd.
about 15 km east of Mt. Victoria Car Park and continue about 500m south.
Track is to east of road, and about 1 km return - allow an hour or so) -
1 point. Tracks and waypoints for these are included in the GPX and
Google Earth files linked below.
Mt. Albert: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8415 (Forester) and 1:25000 map
is 5642 (Victoria)
Map reference:
Short ref. 728219
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 5 70 340
54 23 935 -41.33300
147.84061
Mt. Blackboy: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8415 (Forester) and 1:25000 map
is 5641 (Saddleback)
Map reference:
Short ref.733161
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 5 73 390
54 16 280 -41.40167
147.87798
Mt.
Young: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8415 (Forester) and 1:25000 map
is 5642 (Victoria)
Map reference:
Short ref.799206
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 5 80 065
54 20 810 -41.36024
147.95723
GPX version of the track:
Click here
to download. Google Earth version of the track:
Click here
to download.
Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice.
(Suggest you click the Last modified at top to sort by date to get the
most recent at top to find the file for the next walk).