Lee's Paddocks Sat. 19th August 2017

You are invited to join Andrew Madden for a walk to the upper Liffey River and Liffey Falls area. The actual route for the day will depend on the group that attends, as Andrew would like it to be an enjoyable experience, well within the capabilities of all who attend. The route on the day may also depend on the level of water flowing in the river, and dangerous crossings will not be attempted.  It is essential that you contact the leader, so there is no confusion about the starting point for the walk. If the easiest option is taken (rated easy-medium), you will be on marked tracks, most of which will be fairly well formed, and while there are steep inclines and slippery places, there will not be any boulder fields to cross. The walk would suit energetic children.  Much of the walk will be through forest, with some examples of very large eucalypts. Andrew will likely lead walkers from the top Liffey Falls car park up-river for some distance towards Liffey Bluff, returning to the car park for lunch, then downhill to the main Liffey Falls, and back to the top car park after that. Some background information about the walk can be found on http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=1380

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone your walk leader, Andrew Madden - 6399 3315 or 0408138375 to book in.
The departure time is 8:30 am from the Door of Hope Church car park, Launceston.
If you would like to arrange to meet the group at Deloraine or elsewhere, please arrange with the leader, and please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time.
The leader should always be notified of any other people you intend to bring along, and you should always contact the walk leader if intending to participate in a particular Boots N' All walk.

Walk route:
See remarks above.
To access this area from northern Tasmania: There are alternative ways to access the walk from Launceston:
a) via Deloraine: Head towards Deloraine on the Bass Highway (50 km) and take the first (eastern) turn from the highway into Deloraine. Continue into the town and turn left immediately before the bridge (or go to arranged meeting place -often, but not always, at the "train park" across bridge). From Deloraine, head south along the "Lake Highway" - now Highland Lakes Rd. (but the first bit may be called Meander Rd!). Make sure to turn left after 7 km at signposted junction for Highland Lakes Rd.  Continue south through Golden Valley until you reach the Riversdale Rd. junction, about about 7 km from the signposted junction for Highland Lakes Rd. Turn left into Riversdale Road and follow the signs. The road in to the upper carpark (a further 5 km) is unsealed and narrow, with sharp bends. Please exercise care on this road.  A map of the local roads can be found at http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=15599&mode=standard&sb=.jpg Further variants of this route can be followed through Quamby Brook.
b) via Bracknell: Head towards Devonport on the Bass Highway ( Hwy. 1) but at 22 km from Launceston, turn left into Oaks Road (C511) at the Liffey Falls exit. Drive past the Agfest site, and continue to Bracknell (12 km). Turn right into Bracknell Rd. and follow to junction of Liffey Rd. (7 km). Although this road takes you to the lower Liffey Falls car park, continue until 17 km from Bracknell, reaching Bogan Rd. I'm a little unclear about the road from there to join to Riversdale Rd, but it should be no more than about 5 km and hopefully will be signposted. Once reaching Riversdale Rd. turn left and follow to the upper Liffey Falls car park. Bracknell can also be accessed by other roads from further east if you are familiar with the area.

Warnings:
While less exposed than the open plateau above, the area is about 600m above sea level, and subject to showers, snow falls and icy winds. Walkers should be equipped for cold and possibly wet conditions, and wear warm clothing. Gaiters can increase comfort levels and make it harder for leeches to reach your skin.
 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:
Liffey Falls: 1:100000 map is Meander and 1:25000 map for upper area is Quamby Bluff (TasMap 4638), and Liffey (TasMap 4838) for the falls and below.
Map reference:
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Zone      Easting        Northing    Latitude    Longitude
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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).