Lake Explorer - Sat. 23rd November 2019
With warmer weather and longer days, an alpine walk in the Lake Mackenzie area should be a treat! The alpine plateau south of Lake Mackenzie features beautiful rivers, lakes and valleys, and brings you into the heart of the northern plateau area, close to Forty Lakes Peak. This walk is suitable for walkers who have had some experience with off-track alpine walking. Energetic older children should be able to manage this walk.Walk route:
From the car park at Lake Mackenzie, already 1100m altitude, we walk around the boom gate, along the road across a bridge and past the southern end of the dam, heading south east for about 2 km to reach the Little Fisher River. The route crosses the river and continues a further 2 km south-east, following Explorer Creek to reach Lake Explorer. Your leader may decide to circumnavigate the lake, depending on water levels, weather and the capability of the party. There are also options to head west and then north-west to return via the Blue Peaks track. Total walk distance could be as little as 10 km if the lake is not circumnavigated, or up to 16 km if longer options are taken up. The walk is relatively flat, rising no more than about 100 metres over the 4-5 km route to the lake.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Phil Dawson after hours on 6382 3561 to book in. The departure time is 7:30 am from Door of Hope carpark in South Launceston. Meeting points along the way could be 8:00 at the Mole Creek Road roundabout at the western end of Deloraine, 8:20 at Mole Creek or 8.35 at the Lake Mackenzie (Devil's Gullet) Road junction with the Mersey Forest Road. 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. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time.
To access this area from northern Tasmania:
From Launceston, proceed along the Bass Highway to Deloraine (about 51 km), but do not turn off at the eastern exit into 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. 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 a turnoff to Cradle Mountain and Sheffield, and about 300 metres further, take the turn on left to Devil's Gullet/Lake Mackenzie. Follow this road about 19 km, and just short of the Lake Mackenzie dam, turn south to find the car park and boom gate from where the walk starts.
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2019 walks calendar] apply:
M Marshy or muddy sections be prepared to walk with wet feet.
E...Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped.
This walk is above 1100 metres altitude for the whole distance and can be very exposed if the weather is bad, especially at this time of year. Be prepared! Walkers are advised to wear boots due to uneven surfaces. Gaiters recommended due to off-track walking. You should always carry wet weather gear as well as warm clothing in case of sudden weather changes. For equipment guidelines, see http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/Pages/Equipment_Safety.htm.
Map details:
Map reference:
Short ref. n/a
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 4 51 765 53 82 811
No peakbagger points will be reached 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).