Tasmania - Derwent Bridge and Lake St Clair

30 December 2016 - 1 January 2017

We   left around lunchtime for the drive to Derwent Bridge via the Great Lakes. The GPS tried to get us to go via Burnie which would have added about 100km and 1 hour to the trip - but we weren't fooled, having driven this way before. This drive does take you along unsealed roads, but apart from a couple of very short narrow sections and a couple of tight corners, it's a good road and easy driving in good weather. There are a few lookouts along the way and the usual spectacular views once you achieve some altitude. This part of Tasmania does get snow and Julia, Josh and Jo had driven through falling snow just two weeks prior - yes, that's right it snowed in Tassie on 18 December and we have the video to prove it!

It took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Derwent Bridge so we were too early to check into our cabin. We drove the short distance up to Lake St Clair and picked up a couple of  booklets and brochures from the National Parks office and had a coffee at the cafe (it was awful) before heading back down the road to check in. Our cabin was close to the main road but quiet and with a view out towards the bush. Being a Friday we ventured down to the pub (Derwent Bridge Wilderness Hotel) for a drink. We discovered that caravans and campervans can now use the carpark for overnight stays. Not real flash but certainly a good incentive to spend a bit more time in the area, and a welcome break on the drive between the West Coast and Hobart.

Yellow Wattlebirds were around but further away and higher up than the ideal.

Yellow Wattlebird. My photography bogie bird. This is an improvement on what I had but still a very large crop.

Taken near our cabin. Like the Yellow Wattlebird, this Green Rosella is a Tasmanian endemic.

Juvenile Laughing Kookaburra.

Because we have visited the area several times, we accepted the advice of the cabin owner to drive out to Laughing Jack Lagoon. The turn-off was almost all the way back to Bronte Park, and then along 12 km of unsealed road. This road provided a couple of blind corners and narrow bridges but was otherwise a fairly good road. For part of the way it follows the old pipeline, some of which is made of timber! Part way along the road we came to an old dam wall on the Clarence River, then eventually found Laughing Jack Lagoon, another dam. On the way back to the highway we stopped to look for birds and to take some photos.

It was cold and windy when we found Laughing Jack Lagoon.

This is a section of steel hooped, wooden pipeline that is still in operation. We passed a few spurting leaks but it is still good.

Detail of the tensioning system.

Native White Iris (Diplarrena moraea) were flowering in the surrounding bush.

Striated Pardalote

We had decided to have lunch at the pub but changed our minds when we saw the uninspiring menu. We have eaten both lunches and dinners here and have never been disappointed until this visit. Instead, we had a really nice burger at the Hungry Wombat Cafe just down the road then drove back up to Lake St Clair for another look around. We stopped at the dam and walked across the wall - this is close to the headwaters of the Derwent River which rises in Lake St Clair, flows through the highlands, ends up in Hobart and eventually empties into the Tasman Sea at Storm Bay. 

From there we drove out towards Pumphouse Point. This luxury accommodation can be seen from across the lake but can only be accessed by road via a locked gate. Just before reaching the gate there is a parking area with signs indicating public pedestrian access to fishing spots. We walked through the bush close to St Clair Lagoon and Derwent Basin, eventually coming out at the Pumphouse Point property. It was then just a short walk back down the road to the carpark.

Strong-billed Honeyeater at Pumphouse Point.

We had been told by the National Parks officer about a new, as yet unfinished, walk along the southern shore of Lake St Clair so that was next on the agenda. This walk is accessed via the road to the boat ramp, but you have to park at the main car park. The track is clear but travels over small rocks or large pebbles for much of the way so sturdy footwear is essential. After a few hundred metres the path disappeared under water so that's where we turned around. It was a pleasant short walk and we look forward to its completion.

I love the patterned bark of blue gum trunks in Tassie.

We enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve with some nice food we had brought with us and a few bubbles. We didn't feel like joining the crowds expected at the pub. In the morning we set off for home, again via the Great Lakes. The day was clear and bright as we headed off, but when we drove along the edge of Great Lake we could see some unusual cloud in the distance. Not sure if it was an incoming storm or just cloud, we eventually discovered it was indeed low cloud. We drove carefully due to the significantly reduced visibility. We had spotted the Pine Lake Nature Trail on the way up to Derwent Bridge and wanted to take this short walk on our way home. Undeterred by the cloud, we donned our warm jackets and beanies and set off along the boardwalk, It was quite weird to be walking in the clouds in such a magnificent spot. There were wildflowers blooming everywhere and good interpretive information. The walk ended at Pink Lake - not that we could see much of it!

Old fence posts disappear into the mist.

Bright green cushion plants can be seen in the foreground.

Well...there's a view there somewhere.

Ancient pines dotted the flowering alpine heath giving the impression of a Japanese garden.

We eventually came out of the clouds and drove on to Deloraine for lunch at the pub - fabulous soup and wood fired pizza bread - then home to Devonport.