Category: tasmania

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Frazer Falls 2018 Oct

Frazer Falls 2018 Oct

I had always wanted to return one day to visit the base of Frazer Falls, having climbed already to the top, and now, this weekend, my chance came, as Carrie and I planned to be over in the western half of the state bagging something or other. I chose Frazer Falls as that something. The day before, I had had a big waterfall bagging spree before seeing Carrie for lunch at Guide Falls (see the blog titled Upper Preston” URL below), and then the two of us had been to the base of Stitt, a huge fun adventure, before setting up our tents at lake Rosebery, ready for the onslaught of Frazer Falls on the Sunday.

It is quite a long walk in, along a wide, flat path with lush greenery to the sides, and enormous drops to the right, and massive, almost cliffs to the left, so we strode happily along, not even stopping at Montezuma as we passed it by – although we couldn’t help noticing it was flowing very nicely today thanks very much. We’d pop in on our way back. Tessie found the swing bridge very challenging. I was walking behind her, and I could see she was shaking all over with terror. She’s too heavy to carry. I feared this was it, but no. We changed positions so that I was in front, and this brave little girl followed behind me. Carrie waited until she was across so as not to swing the bridge more than was necessary, and soon enough we were a trio on the other side. Other dog owners could not even carry their dogs across, as they whimpered too much, they told us later. It is a truly whopping drop for anyone with depth perception.

My memory said it was a bit over twenty minutes to our turn off up the spur beyond Frazer Creek, so there was still some more striding to do, which was a bit unfortunate, as I had wet socks from the day before, and striding was giving me a bit of a blister. Things would greatly improve once we started climbing.

The climb is a very in-your-face affair, with all four limbs being necessary to haul yourself up the slope. The forest, however, is quite open, the scenery beautiful, and, well, I love a good climb, and this was no exception. The part I didn’t like was where felling has been done that lets the light in, and there, scrub has grown up and the pad is very indistinct. There are two short sections of this ilk, but they’re pretty quickly dispensed with if you keep your line. We finished the climb in thirty minutes flat (having taken fifty four minutes to Montezuma, and twenty three to the start of the climb where we left the track).

Now, this next bit was, for me, the challenging part, as I had been here once before, and not found a pad down. But then, I had been in a hurry. I have made several attempts since to find out if one crosses over Frazer Creek in order to descend, but nobody would tell me. I asked, do we descend west or east of the creek, and no one would answer me. So, I tell YOU, lucky people, you do not cross the creek. Look for a pad on that western side of the creek. There is a stake, and when I was there before, I found nothing more. This time, more stakes have been put out, and if you climb under a log, you see the next one, and after that, everything is very clear … and very, very steep. Carrie thought it was the scariest of all our descents so far, and we’ve done a few pretty hairy ones. Tessie thought it was OK, having struggled more when ropes are necessary to get up sheer rock. The drop was monstrous, but it only took us nine minutes both down and up to do this section.

And, what joy lay in store for us at the base. We had  no other plans for this day, so took our time photographing from this or that position, while Tessa stood guard over us, perched like a sentinel on a rock. She knows not to interfere with photography. I am a bit insulted that she always seems to guard Carrie more than she does me. Such is life.

On the way back, we stopped off at Montezuma Falls for lunch. The first time I visited these falls, I got my lens splattered in droplets and threw every photo out. The second time, it was a silly trickle. This time, I was happy. And then it was time to finish off the walk, pour some caffein down my gullet, and begin the long drive home. I struggled, so had Les Miserables up at almost full volume, and sang full blast to try to conquer sleep once I had dropped Carrie off at Ridgley . Got there
For Saturday’s walks, see http://www.natureloverswalks.com/upper-preston-falls/. For the cyan line of our route, see my first blog on Frazer Falls:
 http://www.natureloverswalks.com/frazer-falls/

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Upper Preston Falls, Stitt Falls and more 2018 Oct

Waterfall Spree, N and W Tasmania, including Upper Preston, Preston and Stitt Falls. Oct 20, 2018

Upper Preston Falls
I’m not sure what I had been planning to do last weekend – most probably climb a mountain and sleep up there – but when I got an email from Carrie saying she was free Saturday afternoon and Sunday, why not waterfall bag, suddenly I knew exactly what I was going to do. With head down and tail up, I scoured the internet and maps for information, and drew up a plan of attack. It was just a tiny bit ambitious, so I won’t embarrass myself by telling you what I had planned: instead, I’ll tell you what I did.

Some of the waterfalls were private, and you need to ask permission from the right people. We actually tried more than is written here, but were refused permission from that “angle”, so retreated – possibly gracefully. As said, this is what I did see. Some of what I did see was really barely worth seeing, and I didn’t even bother taking a photo (Kindred; Preston). One, South Riana Dam Falls, I was running late for my 1 pm meeting with Carrie, so resolved to return – they were lovely. I will also return to Preston when there’s more flow and when the day is suitably cloudy. Conditions weren’t right for a photo this day.

So, the day began with two private falls before having breakfast number two at Forth, at a little shop that sold lots of tasty vegan naughties, and excellent coffee (called Alchemy), which is just what I needed after shooting waterfalls in the rain. I ended up doing an enormous amount of driving on this morning, as I kept trying to drive east to west in country whose topography and road structure wanted you to go north-south.  As a result, I clocked up a large number of kilometres, but got to see some new and interesting parts of my state, so I was happy, although tired.

My next “attack” was the waterfalls near Preston. I had already done Delaneys Falls (incorrectly signed by the local council as Preston Falls), so only visited the two I hadn’t yet seen: namely Preston Falls (the real ones) and Upper Preston Falls. I also had a search for some Cascades I’d been told about, but it seems they were playing hide and seek and winning the game. No matter: Upper Preston Falls were so beautiful, I needed nothing else. Preston Falls were the blackberry spree I was expecting, although not as bad as I feared. I believe I have Stephen Grath and possibly some others to thank for the fact that I still own two legs. These three falls (Upper Preston, Preston and Delaneys) are all accessed from Raymond Rd, C127, just south west of Preston itself. Four waterfalls down. Time to head further west towards Guide Falls where I was to meet Carrie … but in getting there, I also accidentally found what I had heard of, the South Riana Dam Falls – just beautiful, and deserving of more of my time.

Guide Falls
At last, with a stomach so hungry it was cramping on me, I met Carrie at Guide Falls, where we had so much to tell each other it’s surprising we got in any falls at all. We were thwarted in the first two falls we tried after that, but if owners don’t want you there, then, that’s that. I figure there’s no harm in asking. Most of them are nice and say “Yes”. This was the first time I’ve been refused, actually.


Stitt River Tributary Falls
We cut our losses and headed to Rosebery, where I was hoping to get to the base of the Stitt Falls. I had already photographed these from the top, but from the moment I looked down into that infinitely deep chasm below (which joins the aptly named Yawning Gully), I wanted to go back and see what things looked like from down at the base. The first time, I was there with Bruce, so trying was out of the question. This time, I had Carrie and Tessa for company, and we three girls got there. It was steep, loose and slippery, but we found a way to the river, and then worked our way upstream to near enough to the falls to enable a photo. There was also a gorgeous little waterfall coming in off one of the tributaries. With an overdose of imagination, I have christened them “Stitt River Tributary Falls”. We loved it down there, amongst the rich oranges of the rocks and water, and the calming greens of the surrounding forest.

Stitt Falls base
I brought enough stuff to enable camping beside Lake Rosebery (tents and stoves for both of us), at which time we discovered that girls who stare at screens for so many hours sorting out waterfall details can sometimes err when it comes to practicalities. I had forgotten matches. I did bring two gas canisters, but the first ran out after five seconds; the second limped in, just, to enable two dinners and breakfast. Luckily, neither of us wanted seconds of tea or coffee in the morning, or we would have been bitterly disappointed. At least I brought enough food this week.

Lake Rosebery and Mt Murchison well after dark. You can see the Southern Cross and Pointers.
It was the lake rather than waterfalls that Carrie named as her favourite part of the weekend. Maybe the adrenalin factor of Stitt and Frazer tainted her opinion of them. We sat on logs by the lake, staring out at Mt Murchison, watching the stars come out one by one to twinkle at us. The night got quite cold, but the beauty buoyed us so we didn’t really notice. We got the great idea of beginning our careers in astro photography, so, despite the nearly full moon, set up our cameras and gave it a go. It was huge fun.

Next morning, it was hard to drag ourselves away from this idyllic spot, but Frazer Falls were calling, and I wanted an early start so that we weren’t going to be rushed. I had a long drive home, so didn’t want things to last too long.  Frazer Falls can have their own blog. They deserve it.

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Creekton Falls Track 2018

Creekton Falls Track 2018 Bushwalking with children


When we bushwalk with children, we see tracks – and matters in general – through new eyes. Not only do the children open our hearts afresh to the glories of nature as they look with wonder at the beautiful world around them, but we also see how high steps actually are, or how difficult some obstacles are. This does NOT mean we want them removed, oh bureaucrats sitting in your offices with even surfaces and life reduced to three easy manoeuvres: it just means we become more newly aware of the challenges (good ones) they pose, and we learn patience as we watch the children struggle through something we find easy. Such efforts teach them resilience, stamina, and determination. They help make them fit and stimulate the brain.


Children who go bushwalking are not going to grow up into passive, nanny-reliant blobs. Gussy rose to the challenges posed by obstacles too high to go over, low to go under and enormous to go around all by himself, and was thrilled with the affirmation that conquering them gave him. His dad, being 6′ 2”, possibly had more difficulty, actually, and Abby went her required “number of kilometres to match her age” rule, and then hitched a ride on mum’s back. Her mother’s feat in dodging dangers whilst carrying a rather heavy, mobile sack was extraordinary.

Normally when I bushwalk, I do not take all that many action shots. I have crashed my sternum against my camera enough times to make me cautious with regard to my former methods of camera attachment. However, today I made an exception, and photographed the expedition rather than the goal. If you want to see the actual falls, please turn to
www.natureloverswalks.com/creekton-falls/

These photos are here to give people an idea of what the actual track (past Duckhole Lake) is like, and to give parents encouragement to get the kids out there in nature. It is so much better for them than staring at screens. Nature provides for them the very best playground. It is not sterile and smooth like the risk-free government ones: it is far, far better. I am so glad the government is too busy and too impoverished to interfere with tracks like this and dumb them down to the lowest common denominator, as they do with so many of the more popular tracks.

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Willies Falls 2018 Oct

Willies Falls 2018 Oct

The sign at the start of Jeffries Track, leading (kind of) to somewhere near Willies Falls, did say you needed a quality 4WD and warned of ditches and bogs, but the way ahead seemed innocuous enough, and surely that was a notice for wet winters and not this dry October. We would drive as far as I could, and then stop. That seemed a good plan. Ha. The first few ruts were sort of bearable and well, by the time we realised we were in trouble over our waists, we were actually in over our necks. I just had to keep going forward and hope against hope to get as far as the intersection on the map where turning was possible. I was a bundle of shaking nerves by the time I parked. Meanwhile, my daughter was eyeing up the thick scrub and hating all that she saw. I assured her the bit nearest the light was always thickest, and that it would be much better once we got into the forest proper. I forced my way through the dead branches and cutting grass with merry bravado to encourage her.

The forest really was lovely once you got properly inside, but my daughter’s concerns turned from her lovely tights that were endangered by this scrub to  the fact that the cliffs were so steep and the grip on her shoes so minimal that falling and not being able to play the next game of touch football was a danger. “You didn’t mention bushbashing”, she accused gently. “Well, plan A didn’t have any, but we took so long to get here that I had to change to plan B …. which does have just a little.” I tried to wriggle out of this as we lowered ourselves precariously through amassed contours. Her face told me all I needed to know about the level of enjoyment she was experiencing.

At last we got to the base, except, because my map didn’t actually have the falls marked, I had to “aim left” (downstream here) and then work my way up to where the falls were, so as to be sure, which meant the bashing lasted longer. She was reconciled when she saw the lovely falls, and took it all in with good grace, even agreeing that it was beautiful down there – although not volunteering to ever return. She felt much better about the way back up, knowing what lay ahead, and so was more secure about things. It will be a long time before she goes “bush bashing” again … if she ever does.


I’ve put this route in dark magenta for a change as there seemed to be too much cyan on this map. The breaks in the line are just the gps turning itself off by mistake. The route is still clear if you join the lines in your head. The first line stops at the base of the falls. The second begins near the top and then has a random break in it on the way back up the spur that we followed.
(These falls are on the southern part of the Mt Wellington Reserve.)