Lake Ada - Talleh Lagoons
On the Labour Day long weekend, we bought the youngest his first “proper” pack, a 40l One Planet Frog & Toad - which means that he probably has the best (if smallest) pack of all of us. The good part about is that it will make a large day pack, when he grows out of it.
So, with his new pack, the boy was very keen to get out and try it.
We decided to have a look at the Lake Ada track as a day walk, and also to assess its viability as an alternative route to the Walls of Jerusalem. One that doesn’t involve climbing!
Alpine tarn on the Central Plateau
The track is accessed by starting at the Lakes Hwy at Deloraine, and following that road up on to the Central Plateau for 56km to Liawenee. A warning: About 7kms south of Deloraine at Montana, there is a very confusing intersection with the Meander Road. The Lakes Highway bends southeast, but looks like it should continue straight ahead southwest, but that is actually Meander Road. The signage from the Meander Road side is badly obscured, so watch out: We’ve nearly come to grief there ourselves.
Reaching the top of the Plateau, you pass Pine Lake, a short walk which is always worth a look if you have the time.
Otherwise, descend slightly, on the now gravel road, and drive along the western shore of the Great Lake to Liawenee, which every Tasmanian knows as the coldest place on the nightly weather reports. On the north side of the Liawenee canal, turn right and continue west on Lake Augusta Road for another 22km.
Near Lake Augusta, on your left you will see a large wooden building. This is a former Australian Antarctic Division training facility. Take this as a warning on the sort of conditions that could be expected in the area.
The reasonable gravel road finishes at a car park on the eastern side of Lake Ada. Overnight parking is permitted here. A rough four-wheel-drive track continues east for 4.6km, terminating in another carpark. Day parking only is allowed here. Continue on foot.
The Central Plateau is one of Tasmania’s distinctive geological features. The entire Plateau is an enormous sheet of dolerite, a hard, igneous rock known as “Tasmania’s Curse”. Dolerite weathers into vertical columns, which gives many Tasmanian mountains and cliffs their distinctive appearance. Dolerite also forms extensive scree slopes, which gives many Tasmanian walkers sore feet!
Tasmania has the world’s most extensive dolerite formations. The massive sheet of the Central Plateau was formed in Jurassic times, some 150 million years ago. As the Gondwana supercontinent broke apart, deep under the earth fissures opened between layers of Permian and Jurassic sedimentary rocks. Huge volumes of magma intruded into the fissures. Over the intervening aeons, the upper layers of Jurassic rock weathered away, exposing the dolerite intrusion.
During the Ice Ages, glaciers scoured the Central Plateau like an enormous plane. The thousands of tarns that dot the Plateau today are the result of that scouring: Tiny pits and depressions left by the marching ice sheets.
Geological interest aside, this area must easily be the bleakest, most desolate place I’ve ever been in Tasmania. Mile after mile of rocky moors, low alpine scrub and innumerable tarns.
Of course, the tarns are quite beautiful, close up: tiny, jewel-like pools fringed with pencil pine and sphagnum moss, reflecting the deep blue sky. As a vista, though, the landscape is definitely not one of Tasmania’s most breathtaking. In fact, it can only be described as endless and monotonous. The distant peaks of the Walls of Jerusalem are the only significant landmarks.
The Central Plateau: About as interesting as it gets
This would be very difficult, not to say dangerous country to navigate in poor weather, without a modern aid such as a GPS. In fact, I’ve decided against taking this route to the Walls for that very reason - as well as the fact that the distance is considerably longer. The weather on the Plateau is notoriously capricious, and it would be easy to be tricked into setting out on a fine day, only to end up lost and cold, in fog, rain or snow.
We were lucky enough to score a perfect late summer day, warm and sunny.
We were also lucky enough to score a lift to the top carpark. Just as we were setting out, the very helpful Gordon and his son Tim were setting off in their four-wheel drive, to collect the rest of their party and their packs, which were waiting at the top carpark. Their gracious offer of a lift was eagerly accepted (“Just don’t drink any water if he offers it!” my wife, who had recently watched Wolf Creek whispered).
From the carpark, we walked to the Talleh Lagoons, where we stopped for lunch. We continued on to just short of Lake Fanny before turning back.
Yours truly, waiting for the billy to boil
The walk back seemed a lot longer than it had from the relative comfort of a bouncing four-wheel-drive, so it was with much relief that we finally arrived back at our car.
We saw quite a bit of wildlife about: A few tiny whip snakes (venomous, but generally classed as harmless, due to their small size, about 20cm, and shy nature) and lots and lots of wallabies.
On balance, probably not a walk we’ll bother doing again, mainly due to the monotony of the landscape and the distances involved in actually getting anywhere. As an access route to the Walls of Jerusalem, I suppose it may hold some appeal as a more challenging walk, but on balance, I think that the climb to Trapper’s Hut is a fair trade-off.
So, with his new pack, the boy was very keen to get out and try it.
We decided to have a look at the Lake Ada track as a day walk, and also to assess its viability as an alternative route to the Walls of Jerusalem. One that doesn’t involve climbing!
Alpine tarn on the Central Plateau
The track is accessed by starting at the Lakes Hwy at Deloraine, and following that road up on to the Central Plateau for 56km to Liawenee. A warning: About 7kms south of Deloraine at Montana, there is a very confusing intersection with the Meander Road. The Lakes Highway bends southeast, but looks like it should continue straight ahead southwest, but that is actually Meander Road. The signage from the Meander Road side is badly obscured, so watch out: We’ve nearly come to grief there ourselves.
Reaching the top of the Plateau, you pass Pine Lake, a short walk which is always worth a look if you have the time.
Otherwise, descend slightly, on the now gravel road, and drive along the western shore of the Great Lake to Liawenee, which every Tasmanian knows as the coldest place on the nightly weather reports. On the north side of the Liawenee canal, turn right and continue west on Lake Augusta Road for another 22km.
Near Lake Augusta, on your left you will see a large wooden building. This is a former Australian Antarctic Division training facility. Take this as a warning on the sort of conditions that could be expected in the area.
The reasonable gravel road finishes at a car park on the eastern side of Lake Ada. Overnight parking is permitted here. A rough four-wheel-drive track continues east for 4.6km, terminating in another carpark. Day parking only is allowed here. Continue on foot.
The Central Plateau is one of Tasmania’s distinctive geological features. The entire Plateau is an enormous sheet of dolerite, a hard, igneous rock known as “Tasmania’s Curse”. Dolerite weathers into vertical columns, which gives many Tasmanian mountains and cliffs their distinctive appearance. Dolerite also forms extensive scree slopes, which gives many Tasmanian walkers sore feet!
Tasmania has the world’s most extensive dolerite formations. The massive sheet of the Central Plateau was formed in Jurassic times, some 150 million years ago. As the Gondwana supercontinent broke apart, deep under the earth fissures opened between layers of Permian and Jurassic sedimentary rocks. Huge volumes of magma intruded into the fissures. Over the intervening aeons, the upper layers of Jurassic rock weathered away, exposing the dolerite intrusion.
During the Ice Ages, glaciers scoured the Central Plateau like an enormous plane. The thousands of tarns that dot the Plateau today are the result of that scouring: Tiny pits and depressions left by the marching ice sheets.
Geological interest aside, this area must easily be the bleakest, most desolate place I’ve ever been in Tasmania. Mile after mile of rocky moors, low alpine scrub and innumerable tarns.
Of course, the tarns are quite beautiful, close up: tiny, jewel-like pools fringed with pencil pine and sphagnum moss, reflecting the deep blue sky. As a vista, though, the landscape is definitely not one of Tasmania’s most breathtaking. In fact, it can only be described as endless and monotonous. The distant peaks of the Walls of Jerusalem are the only significant landmarks.
The Central Plateau: About as interesting as it gets
This would be very difficult, not to say dangerous country to navigate in poor weather, without a modern aid such as a GPS. In fact, I’ve decided against taking this route to the Walls for that very reason - as well as the fact that the distance is considerably longer. The weather on the Plateau is notoriously capricious, and it would be easy to be tricked into setting out on a fine day, only to end up lost and cold, in fog, rain or snow.
We were lucky enough to score a perfect late summer day, warm and sunny.
We were also lucky enough to score a lift to the top carpark. Just as we were setting out, the very helpful Gordon and his son Tim were setting off in their four-wheel drive, to collect the rest of their party and their packs, which were waiting at the top carpark. Their gracious offer of a lift was eagerly accepted (“Just don’t drink any water if he offers it!” my wife, who had recently watched Wolf Creek whispered).
From the carpark, we walked to the Talleh Lagoons, where we stopped for lunch. We continued on to just short of Lake Fanny before turning back.
Yours truly, waiting for the billy to boil
The walk back seemed a lot longer than it had from the relative comfort of a bouncing four-wheel-drive, so it was with much relief that we finally arrived back at our car.
We saw quite a bit of wildlife about: A few tiny whip snakes (venomous, but generally classed as harmless, due to their small size, about 20cm, and shy nature) and lots and lots of wallabies.
On balance, probably not a walk we’ll bother doing again, mainly due to the monotony of the landscape and the distances involved in actually getting anywhere. As an access route to the Walls of Jerusalem, I suppose it may hold some appeal as a more challenging walk, but on balance, I think that the climb to Trapper’s Hut is a fair trade-off.