Easter on the Central Plateau
by David Noble
The Central Plateau of Tasmania has long been a favourite destination of SUBW. My first visit to the area was in 1980, as part of a SUBW party that climbed onto the plateau via Higgs Track and then traversed across open country to the Walls of Jerusalem. In those days - we followed the track past lakes Meston and Adelaide to Junction Lake and then it was a quick climb onto the Traveller Range, a fantastic high camp and then a plunge into the Reserve at Du Cane Gap. I was deeply impressed with the plateau on this trip. The area has a windswept wild beauty - scattered thickets of pencil pines eke out an existence amidst literally thousands of lakes intricately nestling amongst the moors. There is an infinite number of routes that a bushwalker could follow.
Other SUBW trips followed in later the 1980's. One trip that stand out was an out of season trip that took place in May 1986. This had a relatively large party (Roger Lembit, Michael Donovan, Steve Henzel, Ted Maack and myself). On this occasion, we started at the Walls of Jerusalem and followed the standard route via the lakes to Junction Lake and then went out via the Traveller Range before spending that last few days in the Du Cane Range. Some very memorable beautiful cold fine mornings were one of the highlights of this walk. Bizarre ice patterns on the surface of frozen tarns amidst a sea of orange fagus do tend to leave a strong impression.
Another noteworthy trip followed a few years later during Easter. A large party consisting of Roger Lembit, Sue Hemsley, Ian Wilson, Airdrie Long, Brad Phillips, Helen Begg and Chris Catt set out from the Walls of Jerusalem for the Traveller Range, but rather than go via the lower lakes, they went via the Chinamans Plains and The Mountains of Jupiter. From Lake Artemis, on the Traveller Range, they dropped down to Junction Lake and then climbed onto the Cathedral Plateau. Their reports and photos persuaded me to set out in December 1991 with Gordon Thompson up Higgs Track, along to the Walls and then to follow the untracked route over the Chinamen Plains. This proved to be such an excellent walk that I had no trouble persuading 6 other walkers to follow a similar route two summers later. On that occasion we had a great trip despite a lot of bad weather.
When a bit of country is so pleasant for walking it is not too difficult to return. Each visit to the Plateau had been different. Because there are so many possible routes that one could follow, except at some places like the Walls of Jerusalem , each trip really forges a new path. Steve "Gus" Henzel, had been on the May 86 trip mentioned above, so was familiar with parts of the Plateau. With the lure of seeing fagus in its autumn glory and hearing my reports of the attractiveness of that part of the world it was not difficult to talk him into coming on a trip. We met up in Hobart at the start of Easter 1995, caught a series of buses to Deloraine and then a taxi out of town to the start of Higgs Track.
Higgs Track leaves the squalor of recent forestry operations and climbs rapidly through rainforest and then a tumble of dolerite boulders to reach the crest of the tiers. It is a fine way to climb onto the Central Plateau. Soon, signs of man's alterations of nature are left behind except for the faint outline of a track and a few cairns. We wondered over bleak moorlands, wrapped in all our clothing in an attempt to keep out a bitingly cold wind. The walking on the tops is easy and open but very exposed to the elements. In one spot we lost the track and spread out to try and regain it. Unfortunately we lost each other for a time as we both charged off thinking we knew which way the track lay. In open country like this it is not difficult to cover a large distance and even more difficult to try and retrace ones steps back to where we left each other. Well - eventually I spotted Gus's profile on top of a distant hump. After working out where the track went we headed off in the rapidly diminishing light towards lake Lucy Long to camp. As we put up the tent, we were rewarded by a display of alpenglow on the peak on the other side of the lake. The tent was forgotten while we sought out cameras and lenses to try and capture these short moments of magic. Unfortunately, we were later to find out that this was to be the last time we saw the sun for any period of time on our entire trip - oh well, such is the ways of Huey in Tassie.
We awoke to typical Tassie bleak conditions - swirling, low cloud, a biting wind and the usual misty rain. After packing, we headed along the remaining section of track to Forty Lakes Peak. Just before the peak, we saw a brand new hut. This had been constructed out of boulders cemented together. Under its tin roof were large gaps - it looked a very cold place. It had been built on the site of an old hut. It was a shame to see the area's wilderness values diminished. Unfortunately that's how it seems to be in Tassie - a beautiful place but not really appreciated by lots of the locals. They seem to believe in the school of philosophy that says "wilderness is no good unless it is developed". We left the forbidding hut and the track and climbed Forty Lakes Peak and then navigated our way into the country beyond. On my last trip across these moors, we had picked out a route on the map to the Walls of Jerusalem. This trip we headed slightly to the left (south) of the previous route - we were probably only a kilometre or so off the other route but the country seemed completely different. I imagine you could walk this way many times without recalling any of the lakes or other features. So attractive are the surrounding that it is like walking though a wild garden. Sphagnum bogs compete for space with cushion plants and the inevitable thickets of scoparia. Small stands of pencil pines often border the array of tarns and lakes.
It was to one of the largest of these pencil pine copses that we headed for that nights campsite. With the weather continuing to be bad, we sought out shelter. The trees provided an ideal site. Time was taken off from cooking chores to wander around with cameras attempting to record the gnarled beauty of the trees.
The next morning, it was again "batten the hatches" - Huey was in full force. Wind and rain were a nuisance, especially being a hinder to navigation. Despite this, we enjoyed a very pleasant walk - probably because the countryside was so attractive. We threaded our way around countless lakes and thickets, marvelling at the beauty of it all. Only pausing to try and photograph some of it all. Gradually, the relief was getting bigger and we could make out the large entrance walls that formed one of the gates to the Walls of Jerusalem. We walked up an open grassy valley, once more coming across vague walking tracks and made our way to Dixons Kingdom. Close to the hut, we were surprise to see lots of tents. Obviously a popular easter destination amongst walkers in Tassie. After having lunch, pitching the tent and having an interesting chat to Donna, the ranger in residence at the Walls, we headed off for a couple of side trips. Gus hadn't climbed Mt Jerusalem before, so this was our first goal. Our second was the Temple.
The next morning we decided we had had enough of the Walls (too many people!!) and so began the next phase of our trip - the Chinamen Plains. We headed down the valley towards Lake Ball, skirted the lake on eastern side and carefully navigated our way through an open series of valleys and saddles. Following the 1:25,000 maps carefully enabled us to pick out a very open route through the countryside. The detail shown on these new maps greatly aids navigation and certainly assists with route finding.
A bleak lunch was spent huddled under our parkas, trying to keep the rain off our meagre rations. The previous trip across this section of country was spent in similar weather conditions - albeit - not quite so cold. At least on both occasions we could enjoy good views. The scenery is not the typical Tassie stuff such as grand vistas of peaks, but rather the closer type provided by the intricate labyrinth we were walking though. This time we had the added attraction of fagus. The further we walked towards the Reserve, the more fagus we saw. In summer, the deciduous beech provides a tangly impediment to walkers. Now, it provided a glorious blaze of colour. Our goal for that day was a inconspicuous campsite that our party had used on the past summer trip. It was one of those rare ideal campsites - a great vantage point, close to water and also very sheltered. So it was worth seeking out again. The vagueness of these parts of the country meant that it was probably a fluke that we found it again. It was every bit as good as I remembered.
Rain and sleet continued the next day as we made our way towards the Mountains of Jupiter. To gain the range, it is necessary to find a way to the other side of the Ling Roth Lakes. The gap between two of these lakes provides for a narrow but scrubby passage. This was our immediate goal but we knew that with reduced daylight hours we probably wouldn't reach it that day. We ended up camping a little to the north of the lakes at the end of the last "white" hence open area marked on this section of the map. Some small patches of blue ski provided fleeting bursts of sunlight that lit up the fagus and the sphagnum. The next day brought scrub as well as the usual rain and wind. We walked in overpants, mainly to escape the weather, as the scrub was not too bad. Near the lakes, thick patches of Fagus are to be found and some gymnastics are required for forward progress. A few well chosen swear words uttered with the appropriate stress are required.
I had been hoping for fine weather for the trip over the Mountains of Jupiter. On the two previous trips over this range, the weather had been bad, but the range would seem to have an enormous potential for good views and it would surely be a sensational place for a high camp. Well, at least I can say that my previous experiences at walking this range in near zero visibility came in useful on this trip as well. It was too cold to tarry on the tops for long and we hurriedly sought out the rough route down to Lake Artemis. On the previous summer trip we had camped at this lake for two days trying to sit out a spell of snow and rain. We had ended up cancelling plans to walk over the Traveller Range and decided to be prudent and drop down to Junction Lake and go the slow way down the Mersey Valley to the Overland Track. This time we wanted to avoid this alternative at all costs.
We sheltered amongst some pencil pines as we finished our lunch in the rain. Our spirits however, were not down despite the weather, as the Traveller Range is a magic place in any conditions. We had already on our walk seen plenty of fagus - but now we were walking near some huge stands at what must be their most vivid. We made our way past a tricky rock bluff fringing a lake and sought out a sheltered camp site. We stayed in the tent all that afternoon and most of the next day while Huey enjoyed himself outside. The day after was a little better. It was still raining but at least the clouds were higher and there were some sunny patches between squalls. We packed up and put on our now standard outerwear - parkas, and headed off. The walking was not unpleasant, it was in fact quite exhilarating as we threaded our way between numerous lakes, tarns, rocky outcrops, thickets of fagus and the most exquisite alpine gardens. Visibility was good but the weather only permitted a few "snapshot" type photographs. Near the Orion Lakes we observed what must be some of the largest stands of fagus in existence. We were indeed fortunate to experience these native deciduous trees at their time of maximum colour change.
We were reluctant to leave this wild beauty behind as we descended the steep route off the range down to Du Cane Gap but at least we were now entering a more shelter domain. It didn't take us long to reach the Overland Track and we had to adjust our gait accordingly. We walked at a brisk pace to reach Windy Ridge Hut for lunch. Here, we enjoyed for the first time on the walk, the luxury of being able to sit down at a table while we ate. With a fire going in the pot belly stove and rain outside it was not hard to persuade ourselves that we should spend the night in the hut.
The next morning we headed off to a fairly full Pine Valley Hut. We had planned to spend our last few days wandering around the Du Cane Range but the weather was still bad, so after lunch we wondered up onto the Acropolis. On the way we marvelled over the craftsmanship that had gone into rebuilding parts of the track. Split logs had been joined to form long walkways that spanned swampy sections. We climbed fast, hoping to catch up with another party that had left earlier. Extremely strong winds hampered our attempts to climb the final summit pinnacle however.
That night the hut filled up with other walkers. A large number were also camped outside. The next day became a rest day as snow fell continually. Occasional glimpses through the mist revealed Mt Gould plastered with snow. That evening we had to endure a another party in the hut that were consuming a ration of 22 litres of wine to wash down their steaks and sausages. As we ate our tomato - mac we could only dream about the counter meals we would eat once we got back to Hobart. We awoke the next morning to the distinctive smell and crackle of bacon being cooked. After a hearty breakfast of 2 weetbixes I was ready to join Gus on the ascent to the Labyrinth. Our packs were now much lighter and despite the past few days being fairly slack, we quickly climbed up to this particularly beautiful part of the Du Cane Range. Most of the snow had melted and the weather of the past few days had resulted in most of the fagus in the labyrinth being rapidly denuded of leaves compared to that on the Traveller Range as few days earlier. The weather wasn't too bad but the ground was very damp underfoot, and it was painful to remain out of the tent for long despite the photographic opportunities outside.
Snow fell overnight and when we peered out of a gap in the tent the Labyrinth had taken on a starkly beautiful monochrome hue. With more bad weather threatening, we decided to pack up and head off. We decided to try a different route out via the Pool of Memories and upper Pine Valley. With all our warm clothing, parkas and overpants on, our volleys offered little protection against the cold as we walked through a light covering of snow trying to look out for the snow covered cairns that marked the route. Near the Pool of Memories, the sun came out and so did our cameras, hoping to capture part of the magnificence. We then tried to find signs of a track down to the valley. At first we picked up a very faint route but it deteriorated as rapidly as the scoparia increased in height and were soon bashing our way down assisted by gravity down a steep slope. At one point, we reached a 20m cliff, but by a lucky fluke, right where we were, there was a crack that afforded a passage down this obstacle and it was not much longer before we reached the valley floor. Here, we picked up the faint Geryon climbers track and followed it down past magnificent stands of tall fagus to the Pine Valley Hut. An early lunch and a quick walk down to Narcissus in time to catch a boat out meant that we could spend that evening sitting in front of the log fire at the Derwent Bridge Pub drinking tens of cascade ale whilst our counter teas were cooking. A fitting way to end a great walk. Despite not having any fine days on the walk (typical bloody Huey!!) we had both enjoyed the walk immensely.