Mt. Littlechild (Blue Tier) Sat. 28th May 2016

Our first objective will be to climb the mountain on the map that has this name, and that is very beautiful. We climb on a farm, up an open ridge with excellent vistas to right and left - sound of music country - then proceed through a rainforest patch to the base of a tiny (maybe 20 metre) scramble that pops us out on top. This mountain called Littlechild is not, however, the mountain that earns a peakbagger point. For that, we have to proceed to a black dot on the map that is about a kilometre away, so after a break, we will set out on compass through more rainforest, to this point. This part will not be as easy, although rumour has it that maybe there are now some tapes in the forest. We'll see. I have a compass and a GPS. If we are just on bearing, then we may have to climb over wet, mossy logs, in which case, packing overtrousers would be an excellent precaution.

I expect to see many beautiful fungi. Bruce and I were here a year ago, so if you go into my blog (click here) you can see some images if you wish (just do an internal search for My Littlechild). A map of the first part of our route is also in that link.

 If we finish early, and if people wish, I would also quite like to visit one of the waterfalls in this area, as it is quite a long way to drive, so I haven't explored any of the falls in the vicinity yet.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Louise Fairfax on 03 63 272374 [or email bfairfax@tassie.net.au to book in by Thurs. evening]. The departure time is 7:50 am from Door of Hope car park. If you wish to meet with the group at any other place, please arrange with Louise.  Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time. However, you still need to contact the walk leader, 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. However, you still need to contact the walk leader, 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: proceed from Launceston via Northern Outlet, turning off at University Connector to head for Lilydale Rd. Follow through Lilydale and continue through Lebrina, Golconda, Nabowla and Lietinna to Scottsdale (70 km from Launceston via this route). Follow the Tasman Highway SE through Tonganah to Branxholm, then Derby and on past Morinna and the Weldborough Pass to Weldborough (a further 53 km). From Weldborough, continue a further 6 km to Lottah Rd (on left). The walk commences about 200 m along Lottah Rd.
Alternatively, the Tasman Highway can be followed through Waverley, crossing the Sideling to reach Scottsdale. Please advise the leader if travelling independently.
We are hoping to return through Pyengana and via St. Columba Falls, through a relatively new road to join the Mt. Albert Road, returning to Launceston via Mathinna Plains Rd, Ben Ridge Rd, Diddleum Rd. and Camden Hill Rd, rejoining the Tasman Hwy at Targa (Myrtle Park). This route is nearly all gravel road.

Warnings:
  The following codes [from our 2016 walks calendar] apply:
    D    Drive distance requires early departure
    S    Steep incline for at least part of the way
       

Winter bushwalking can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped; see www.sutas.org.au/bush-walking/bush-walking for some guidelines.


Map details:

Mt. Littlechild area: 1:100000 map is Forester (Tasmap 8415) and 1:25000 map is Blue Tier (Tasmap 5843)
Short ref. 815381
Zone      Easting        Northing    Latitude      Longitude
55G   5 81 640     54 38 320     -41.20237     147.97371

Mt. Littlechild (aka Blue Tier) is worth 1 peakbagger point. 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.

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).