Gould Plateau

Three fine days 18-20 October 2022

It really was three fine days, very fine and pleasant in fact. The 12:30 ferry was caught and we were underway just after 1:00pm and, although parts of the track up through the rainforest were indistinct, Gould Plateau was reached without any real problems. It is a steep climb, especially the last half and it was a relief to get on level ground.

Camp for both nights was beside an attractive tarn with splendid views of the dominant Mount Gould and of the surrounding mountains. On the first afternoon and next, together with the mornings, especially the final one, there was ample time to wander about to enjoy and photograph the area.

On the middle day we set off for what looked like a daunting climb of Mount Gould. It is steep whatever route, in our case using a pad through the scoparia barrier to ascend the southern end. On approaching the upper part, the terrain turned from scrub to large boulders and this continued for the entire 500m traverse. It took us a little over an hour for this journey and it was thanks to Karen, Murray and Peter D for locating the best way along. Return was down the steep slope not far off the summit and the waypoint Murray had taken earlier kept us heading to meet up with the inward pad and avoid getting trapped in thick scrub.

Plenty of time was set aside for the walk back to catch the ferry, in fact too much time as the departure time was an hour later than thought. We did find that at the bottom of the descent in the rainforest that the track became confusingly obscure a couple of times.

We had wondered about the rock on Gould Plateau rock and since returning Murray has found out it is a conglomerate uniquely named Gould Conglomerate.