Lee's Paddocks Sat. 19th August 2017
With the days starting to get a little longer, and
the occasional beautiful late winter day, it could be a great time to
visit Lees Paddocks, a buttongrass plain in the upper Mersey area, close
to the Overland Track and surrounded by Cathedral Mt, Pelion East and
Mt. Pillinger. The picturesque Lees Hut is well worth visiting. Short
side trips to approx. 3 scenic waterfalls may be made along the way.
Track to Lees Hut is approx. 16 km return, but relatively flat (less
than 100 metres gain in altitude). Track conditions vary, and can be a
little rough underfoot in places, but NO scrub! The walk is rated
as "medium" due to the distance involved. Energetic and resilient
children should be able to cope.
Walk route:
From the car park about 1.5 km short of the very end of the Mersey
Forest Rd, a short stretch of 500 metres brings you to the suspension
bridge over the Mersey River. The track turns left and continues through
about 1 km of private property, and into wooded areas following the
course of the river upstream, but generally 100 metres or so away from
its banks. There are a couple of open, somewhat boggy areas to be
traversed, and Lewis Falls and Oxley Falls are possible visits on the
way upstream. After about 5 km of mostly forested track, the scene
changes to the open vistas of Lee's Paddocks, with about 1 km of
buttongrass and other vegetation to be traversed to reach Lee's Hut.
Returning by the same route, it is hoped to be back at the car by about
4 pm, arriving back in Launceston by about 6 pm or so.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Terry
Heier on 6393 6671 The departure time is
7:30 am from Door of Hope car park. Other meeting
places en-route will be Deloraine (train park) at 8 am [only if people
need to meet there] or preferably, Mole Creek (toilet block) at 8:20 am
and Devil's Gullet turnoff by 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 per details above if intending to walk. The leader should be
notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
To access the area from Launceston, proceed along the Bass Highway to
Deloraine (about 51 km), but do not turn off at the eastern exit into
Deloraine [unless the group is meeting others at Deloraine]. Instead, continue across Meander R. and up hill to the
western exit, and to the roundabout at start of Mole Creek Rd. A further
24km will bring you to Mole Creek (sometimes used as a meeting place [at
toilet block] for
our walks - check with leader). Continue west past Mole Creek, on what
is now Liena Rd, making sure you turn south at the caravan park 4 km
from the town. The road continues west until about 14 km from Mole
Creek, it branches south, now called Mersey Forest Road. A little over 6
km south, you will pass turnoffs to Cradle Mountain and Devil's Gullet
(Lake Mackenzie) but keep going south, crossing the Mersey at Lake
Parangana and passing the turnoffs for Bare Hill and Arm River. Another
17 km should see you cross below the Rowallan Dam. Continue south along
the east side of Lake Rowallan, a little over 14 km, by which time you are
south of Lake Rowallan. The Lee's Paddocks car park is on right, about
1.5 km short of the very end of the road.
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2015
walks calendar] apply:
D Drive distance requires early departure
L A long days walk in excess of 3 hours
each 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.
Walkers are advised to wear boots due to uneven surfaces. Gaiters
recommended due to off-track walking and a strong likelihood of leeches.
Some walkers prepare with Aerogard or similar products. You should
always carry wet weather gear as well as warm clothing in case of sudden
weather changes.
Follow
this link for further information on
clothing suggestions for exposed conditions.
Click this link for a more detailed discussion of
Preparation, Food and Safety
guidelines for Boots N' All walks.
Map details:
Lees Paddocks area: 1:100000 map is Mersey (Tasmap 8114)
and 1:25000 map is Cathedral (Tasmap 4236)
Map references:
Short ref. n/a
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).