Fire and Lakes

 

17 January 2019

Firstly, Happy 2019 !!!!

We are now into our third year of travel. Year 3 actually began on 1 November 2018, being three years after we moved out of Pennant Hills and into Jake, our caravan at the time.  Since leaving Penno, Henry has driven 61,000 km and Blake has followed for 18,600 of those. The combined Jake and Blake distance is 30,300 km. Not all that far really, but we always planned to take our time.

Now, back to “Fire and Lakes”. Our plans were that upon leaving our house sit in Brighton, north of Hobart on 7 January we would travel to Mount Field National Park, then on to Strathgordon in the southwest before doing a loop through the Central Highland Lakes district and back through the Midlands to Hobart for our flight to Sydney. However on the evening of 27 December, a lighting strike in the Gell River valley in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, just 40 km northwest of the Mt Franklin NP ignited a fire in the remote wilderness. The uncontrolled fire spread quickly, leading to the closure and evacuation of the Mt Field NP, and the closure of the Strathgordon Road. We followed the updates on the Tas Fire and National Parks websites over the following week, and decided to give the authorities time to hopefully bring the fire under control and followed our planned route in reverse, so we’d be at Mt Field later rather than sooner.

Our first stop was at Lake Sorell, the most eastern lake in the Lakes region. The lake was closed to fishing until March, so we had the place virtually to ourselves. Camping near gum trees always makes me a little nervous, so after 2 nights we continued on our way with the intention to spend a few nights on Arthur’s Lake. Neither camp on the lake was particularly inviting, with one being quite crowded. As we are not fisher-people, and paddling on broad lakes can become boring and susceptible to winds, we pressed on, taking more roads less travelled, then on through the hydro town of Tarraleah to spend a few days at a freedom camp between the towns of Ouse and Hamilton, just 30 km by road to Mt Field NP. Though exposed to the winds, we had a great view of the upper River Derwent.

The Gell River fire was still burning over an ever increasing front, covering 19,000 Ha, so we kept clear for a few days.  We took a drive through the historic towns of Hamilton, Bothwell and Kempton in the Midlands enjoying the countryside through quiet back roads. Even Tasmania’s A-highways feel like quiet back roads.

The following day we headed to Mt Field without Blake to get first-hand details of the fire and closure situation. All alpine walks were closed, and the Strathgordon Road may have closed at any moment. However the popular walks to Russell Falls and other lower areas were still open to be enjoyed.  There was a lot of work being done to contain the fire, and there was no visible smoke that might lead to a closure of the park, and after a call to the national parks office the following day to see if the alpine areas were open, we returned  with Blake in tow. The alpine walks had reopened enabling us to enjoy several days in the park, covering the Three Falls Track, Lake Nicholls Track and Pandani Grove Loop together, whilst Yum Yum and I did the magnificent Tarn Shelf Return walk. I would have liked to have done the Tarn Shelf Circuit (5-6 hrs), but walking that far alone on a very rocky track was too high on my risk register. In the event of a fall or turned ankle, Yum Yum would not be able to render much assistance.

On our fourth day at the park we decided to travel the 90 km to Strathgordon and the Gordon Dam. There were several well regarded campsites in the vicinity and NP advice at the time was good. However, we decided to leave Blake at Mt Field and do a day trip out and back, rather than camping near Strathgordon for 3 nights. Good move!!! Thunderstorms that night started over 70 bushfires from lightning strikes across the entire southwest leading to the closure of all camping around Lakes Gordon and Pedder, and again closed all alpine walks. So the next morning, having seen and done all that we wanted to see in the region, we were able to leave Mt Field very satisfied. However, we have 3 nights to kill before returning to Hobart. The town of New Norfolk on the River Derwent will be our home for those 3 days.