Hidden Falls Sat. 17th June 2017
The upper reaches of the Meander Valley have a number of waterfalls
hidden in tributaries of the river. This time, we visit Hidden Falls, a
surprising and spectacular feature less than 200 metres from the better
known Bastion Cascades, which will also be visited. This walk in the upper Meander Valley area starts at
an old quarry at 580 metres altitude, and rises west and then
south-west, coutouring around into the valley of Bastion Creek at about
700m altitude, to reach the cascades after about 2.5 km walk from the
start. Doubling back a couple of hundred metres, the track then rises
steeply and sidles around to the top of the cascades, from which the
creek is crossed and Hidden Falls is reached after a steep rise through
the forest.
Returning to Bastion Creek, we then climb again, further
north to about 900m. Some amazing rock formations are passed, offering
shelter for a rest break. The track then contours north for a further
kilometre, past more interesting formations, to the most interesting of
all, the "stone hut" with its associated residents. From there, the
track descends eastwards for a further 1.5 km to return to the start.
The walk is rated "medium" due to the steep grades and some track
sections that require clambering, and is suitable for reasonably fit and
suitably equipped walkers familiar with wilderness forest walking.
Energetic older (accompanied) children should cope with this walk which
is approximately 8 km in total.
Thinking of
bringing along a children's or youth group? Click for Information for Leaders working with Children and Youth |
If you are interested in going on this walk, please call walk leader, Phil Dawson, ph. 6382
3561 to book in. The departure time is
8:00 am from Door of Hope car park. Alternative meeting
place: Deloraine (train park - see below) 8:30 am. If you wish to meet
with the group at any other place,
please arrange with the leader. 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: From Launceston, head
towards Deloraine on the Bass Highway (50 km) and take the first
(eastern) turn from the highway into Deloraine, and when crossing the bridge, turn
right at roundabout to
enter the “train park” car park, nowadays the usual Boots N'
All meeting place.
From Deloraine, head south along the "Lake Highway" - now Highland Lakes
Rd. (but the first bit may be called Meander Rd!). Make sure you stay on
Meander Rd and go straight ahead (DON'T turn left) at 7 km from
Deloraine, where there is a signposted junction for Highland Lakes Rd.
Continue a further 9 km to Meander and continue through the town. After
about 6 km, the road swings right. About 2.5 km further, the road turns
south and crosses the first of the new bridges (Smoko Creek). Just
across this bridge, turn off to the right and follow the fairly steep
road for about 1 km to reach the old quarry from which the walk starts.
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2017
walks calendar] apply:
S Steep incline for at least part of the
way
M Marshy or muddy sections - be prepared to
walk with wet feet.
E Exposed alpine conditions; can be
dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped; see
http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/Pages/Equipment_Safety.htm for some guidelines.
Click this link for a more detailed discussion of
Preparation, Food and Safety
guidelines for Boots N' All walks.
Map details:
Meander Falls area: 1:100000 map is Meander (Tasmap 8214)
and 1:25000 map is Quamby Bluff (Tasmap 4638)
Map references:
Short ref. n/a
Meander Falls:
Zone Easting
Northing
55G 4 61 212 53
81 689
No peakbagger points will be visited on this walk. 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).