Grail, Horeb and Meribah Falls

Grail Falls and Moses Creek Falls Sat. 23rd September 2017

By far the best waterfall circuit walk in the state - in marvellous rainforest close to Cathedral Mountain, the falls could be quite spectacular, depending on the amount of rain and snow melt in the days leading up to the walk.
The walk begins at the very end of the Mersey Forest Road, south of Lake Rowallan. A kilometre south, after crossing the Jackson Creek footbridge, the route heads west for a few hundred metres to reach Moses Creek, which is then followed uphill, rising nearly 200m, for just under a kilometre to reach Horeb Falls. The best part of another km upstream, with a further 150m climb, brings the walkers to Meribah Falls, which is less than 200 metres from the north end of Chapter Lake. The going is somewhat scrubby from Meribah Falls to the Grail Falls track, a little over a kilometre away via the eastern shore of the lake. From Grail Falls, the Junction Lake track is followed back to the Jackson Creek crossing and the car. Total walk distance is about 10km.
The walk is off-track and involves a creek crossing without a bridge. Expect wet feet! Heavy rainfall on the day may necessitate a change in the walk route. Because of the off-track walking and patches of scrub, this walk should be considered medium-hard, and unsuited to novice walkers and younger children.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone or text Kent Lillico on 0428 451 528 to book in. The departure time is 7:30 am Sat. 23rd Sept. from Door of Hope car park. If you wish to meet with the group at any other place (eg Deloraine train park or Mole Creek at toilet block), please arrange with the leader. 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.

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 leader is meeting others there). 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 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, for about 16 km, by which time you are south of Lake Rowallan, until you reach the very end of the road and the beginning of the Moses Creek walking track.

Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2017 walks calendar] apply:
    D    Drive distance requires early departure
    S    Steep incline for at least part of the way
    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.
This walk will rise to about 1000m above sea level, and is 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, protect against scrub and mud, 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:

Grail Falls area: 1:100000 map is Mersey (Tasmap 8114) and 1:25000 map is Cathedral (Tasmap 4236)
Map references:
Short ref. n/a

Horeb Falls:
Zone Easting Northing
55G 4 30 438 53 66 121

Meribah Falls:
Zone Easting Northing
55G 4 30 164 53 65 372

Grail Falls:
Zone Easting Northing
55G 4 30 685 53 64 128

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).