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Showing posts from 2012

Monash Valley

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Mount Field National Park Thursday 27 December 2012 We had luck with the weather but not with the Richea.   There was a shower or two expected by about midday, but it remained mostly sunny until some cloud gradually increased as expected but there was no sign of any showers whilst we were in the area.  It seems that it was a poor flowering year for Richea scoparia as there was not much out at all.  Other plants, such as Boronia and Epacris were quite prolific and looked splendid on the moorland and there were several Waratah bushes in flower.  Nevertheless it was a pleasant walk in the high country. Click to visit the photo album

Mount Olympus

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10-12 November 2012 Mid October was the original time planned for a walk to Mount Olympus, but the weather wasn’t nice enough so it was put off until November. Mike was keen on the walk and when the weather forecast indicated a couple of really nice days we headed off. To make the walk easier we caught the boat to Echo Point then went north along the track for about 25 or so minutes and headed uphill just after three close together creek crossings. However after 20 minutes we arrived at a cliff that was not expected which meant I should have walked along the overland track further before turning off; so once again I didn’t select the ideal route. We had to traverse under the cliffs for 350 metres before an easy risk free way up was reached. From this point on it was relatively straight forward, although quite steep, but a short section of a scrubby bit of country was met before coming out to the bowl holding Lake Oenone. Grand views were now everywhere you looked and made the effort

Lost World

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3 November 2012 The Lost world is at Mount Arthur in Wellington Park and we planned to find the somewhat difficult to get to geocache up there and then enter the cave system which is one of the features of the pla ce. After that there were a few other caches that could be collected on the way home. All did not go to plan with the first problem being that Peter’s GPS did not have any of the caches showing up on the screen. The GPX files had been checked beforehand but none could be seen. Fortunately  Adrian's GPS could send them to Peter’s so that overcame the lack of data. On checking the GPX files on the device after getting back at home it was found the missing ones were in fact there, but for some strange reason did not display on the GPS as present. The second problem was that the entrance to the caves could not be found. Plenty of openings were visible but all seemed to have too big a drop to safely enter and be able to extract oneself. Quite a bit of time was spent looki

South Peak Freycinet Peninsula

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3 – 5 October 2012 Although it was fine weather for the three days we did get quite a bit of wind starting late the first night and continuing during the day; but certainly nowhere like the ferocious winds that hit the south of the state. As expected the lagoons behind Hazards Beach were high so we had to walk the beach. A group of kayakers was at the Lagunta Creek end as we passed through on the way to Cooks. The flowers were at their peak between the two beaches and again on the track to Bryans Beach. At the end of Bryans Graham spotted a suspicious spot and much to our surprise found it contained a geocache. A bit of scrub was met on the way to Passage Beach and plenty of knee high stuff from the other end on the way to the southern peaks of the peninsula overlooking Cape Geographe. The way back was easier although the route taken was longer. Graham left early on the final day and walked out via Mount Graham and met back up with us at Wineglass Beach. On our way out we discove

White Timber Mountain

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Sunday 14 October 2012 This was the second attempt on this peak; the first being cancelled a couple of weeks back due to snow cover.  My only other time there was in July 2000. The climb up Jeffreys Track was quite steep and took us about an hour, but from there it was all relatively level.  That is apart from the few gentle ups and downs.  The walk was on a Sunday, which probably accounts for the motor bike riders we met.  One fellow zoomed up Jeffreys and then back again and part way along White Timber three bikes passed us and later on our return leg they passed again as they headed back.   All were quite friendly and the three slowed down upon seeing us. There were a number of large boggy puddles that had to be edged around until the forestry roaded part of white Timber Trail was reached.  The road is unpleasant to walk on and the bush each side has been pushed aside to make a wide corridor.  In the early parts of the trail we passed several very attractive and intere

Bluff River Gorge

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Thursday 12 July 2012 Gradually the cloudy sky broke up and there was plenty of sun for this bushwalk taking us past the three caches in the Bluff River Gorge. After not being able to get across the river last year, we walked directly to the upper crossing point without walking the western side track within the gorge. Before heading down to the river we enjoyed sitting on the open ridge top with panoramic views of the gorge . Once over the river we gradually gained height and rounded a bend to come out into the sun, which remained with us for most of time on the eastern side. Numerous attractive caves and cliffs added to the dramatic country we were walking through. Apart from a the odd bloom it was too early in the season for the bushes to be in flower. During the walk three geocaches ( Looping the Bluff !, Sanding Room Only , and No Bluffing, By Gorge ! ) were also collected Click below for the photo album Bluff River Gorge 2012

Three Thumbs 2012

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Wednesday 27 June 2012 Well the weather was just ideal for a bushwalk to the Three Thumbs and to collect a few geocaches during the trip. However, the geocaching part looked a bit shaky as Peter’s GPS did not display any in the area.  A later check at home showed the records were on the GPS and when overwritten with a new copy they displayed OK; puzzling!   All was not lost because Adrian had notes on the caches and the grid on his GPS.  This enabled us to locate the one near the cars. After morning tea at the lookout over Maria Island we commenced the walk to the Three Thumbs. Shady spots had plenty of frost but a fair bit of the way was along the tops of the main ridge and in the sun.  Eventually we were on the highest peak, presumably the third Thumb and also what we presumed would be the hiding placed of the "Three Thumbs Up" geocache.   But when Adrian checked his GPS it indicated it was over 400 metres away on the peak previous climbed and descended from.   Oh we

Lake Seal

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Wednesday 6 June 2012 The weather was fine for this walk, which took in Platypus Tarn so we could check how much more Morning tea at Platypus Tarn work was needed to clear the track and then after morning tea at the tarn it was back to the main track and off to the junction with the Lake Seal track. We had expected the bit to the lake to be pretty poor, but in fact is wasn’t apart from a 50 metre section of bog near the bottom. The sign at the junction says 30 minutes to the lake, but it takes only 10 minutes to get there so perhaps it is meant be the return time, after allowing break there. Lake Seal We walked through a wet area to the mouth where the Broad River starts and found a lovely high and dry nook among the trees for lunch. A search of area happily failed to find any Erica, which was in a quite old and doubtful report. It didn’t seem a very likely spot for it to grow.

Trestle Mountain

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Mountain River Route Wednesday 16 May 2012 Perhaps the only advantage of going to Trestle Mountain via the Mountain River track is the fact that a site with the exotic weed Broom can be checked, unless you count walking steeply uphill for 2 hours as a desirable feature. As reported by Bruce C a couple of weeks prior, there were numerous small plants there together with plenty of Broom cotyledons. On the return walk we did pull a few out, but decided that a trip dedicated to the task was warranted, and by then the tiny ones would be bigger and easier to spot and remove. Just above this spot we did make a surprising discovery of a very recently cut diversion around a fallen tree. The reason why we found it a surprise was that it was easy to walk under the tree, only requiring a gentle ducking of the head. What had promised to be a fairly sunny day did not materialise and cloud hung around and was particularly felt on the top of Trestle. So much so that lunch was taken back down

Mount Alexandra

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Wed 28 – Fri 30 March 2012 As always the climb up 650 metres to Moonlight Flat is hard work. There is also the perception that you have reached the top when stepping up out of the forest to a heathy area only to discover there is another 15 minutes of climbing to go. Memory that Bullfrog Tarns is met just after the top are also knocked when it is another 500 metres further on before that well deserved break and water. The mud along the flat can mostly be avoided, but it becomes mighty hard to do so on the final approaches to Burn Creek. We did manage to get on a side pad that eventually ended but with scrub not hard to get through and by good luck did avoid the worst bits; not so on the return leg though. Just before the top of Hill One we wondered why the stepping stones were not appearing and when the pad we had been following petered out we realised that somehow we had missed a turn. I had a waypoint stored in the GPS so got it out and discovered we were only a few metres and

Mount Field West

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Wednesday 1 February 2012 A few days prior to this walk the forecast was most favourable, but by the time arrived this had changed bit to indicate a somewhat cloudy day. In fact a lot of mist was hanging about and didn’t really clear much during the walk. Over the part over the high plateau of cushion plants to summit visibility was fairly low and of course only fleeting glimpses were had of any mountains in the distance. Still there was no rain and it was pleasant walking weather. There is a geocache near the summit which was an added bonus, for Adrian and myself. By one of those coincidences Greg K noticed it when previously visiting Field West and was the person who was first to find this cache even though completely unaware of geocaching. After we explained about the hobby it seemed that Greg was not convinced that geocaching had a much value as a recreation. It took us 4 hours to get to Field West including a morning tea break. Mountain Rocket Click image below for t

Mount Patrick

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Tuesday 13 March 2012 Although a longer drive, it was decided to walk from Jeffreys Track rather than starting at Myrtle Forest.   The upside was  a shorter walk along the fire trails and of course the route through the bush to the Mount Patrick summit was  the same whichever way was chosen. Mind you the Jeffreys Track is most uninspiring and you are on it for some  3.6 k and  60 minutes twice.  Since last visit there the potholes that attract 4WD enthusiasts have got wider and deeper.  We could not really understand why anyone would want to subject themselves and  vehicle to such torture, but I guess they would say the same about bushwalkers. The walk along the East West Trail is not unpleasant at all and it took us some  45 minutes to get to the start of the bush section. We did notice that a couple of plastic lined dams  had been put in in recent times, and they are a strange sight, but presumably  hold water better that way.   More of a disturbance was a large clearing that is

South Wellington Plateau

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Saturday 17 March 2012 Three geocaches were on the agenda for this bushwalk. From Big Bend we walked in a fairly direct line to join with the South Wellington Track, and located the first cache. Next it was on to Smiths Monument and cache two. Then came the scrub, some of which could have been avoided if I had picked a better line. Eventually the more open and pleasant shelf country was reached before an ascent to the South Wellington plateau followed by a descent to Dead Island. Plenty of water lay about in the low lying land prior to it and there was a good flow of nice thirst quenching water in the headwater stream of the North West Bay River. Dead Island held cache three for the day which left us the with uneven and damp slog back to the cars. The Route taken To view all the photos South Wellington March 2012 The walk profile

Mount Bobs and The Boomerang

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7–9 March 2012 So far this year I have not had one day on a walk where the sky was bright blue and cloud free all day, and the walk to Mount Bobs was no exception. However it was fine for the bulk of the three days, apart from a short shower during the second night. The walk to Lake Sydney was fairly uneventful, although the Farmhouse Creek Track was pretty gruesome for the 5 minutes or so prior to the Bobs junction. The next bit was as usual a bit muddy and quite overgrown with a mixture of vine, Bauera and cutting grass, but there were not many new trees down over the track beyond there than was the case when I was last there some 13 years ago. The valley floor from near Pine Lake onwards was very wet though and Lake Sydney had overflowed into the sink hole area leaving just the two slightly higher camping sites above water level. It was just as well the forecast for the three days was fine as a decent downfall could have seen us having to find a camp in the forest. A mixture o

Lake Shelf

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21 – 23 February 2012 The track has got a bit worse for wear since the last visit, although some bits had not changed that much it did seem that the alpine area had become somewhat more degraded, The ascent to the plateau below Mount Sarah Jane was hard and persistent and entailed some 640 metres of up over a distance of 1.7 k, with the last part of 250 metres over a distance of 500 metres quite steep (1:2). Little wonder we were tired by the time camp was reached. Although at the start of the day the cloud was low it gradually lifted and cleared away to be very pleasant by day's end. On top of that there were no mosquitoes or flies and other pesky insects and that remained the situation for the whole trip. Misty cloud persisted for the start of the middle day and obscured views of Angel Falls, although the swirling of it did make it very atmospheric at the cliff edge. Conditions gradually cleared and made for a very pleasant walk to the Lonely Tarns area of Judds Charm and Lake