Day 49 Arthur's Lake Tuesday 16th March 2011

Morning mist at Lake Burbury


Nelson Falls


View from nature walk lookout

Hi Folks,

It’s about 910pm and we are sitting by the campfire in the Pumphouse Campground at Arthurs Lake. The wood was left by the last people in residence so we thought we would use it. This park is in the Camps 5 book mainly because it is $4 per night per person. Apparently it’s very popular and can be hard to get into peak season.

The day started at Lake Burbury. We toodled down to try our luck with the trout. I managed to loose a nice Helin Flatfish lure and as we were about to leave for camp I realised that my Swiss Army knife had fallen from its belt pouch. Not a great start to the day. We scoured the long gravel and rock banks for about 20 minutes until eventually Susan spotted it. Phew! Big relief.

We breakfasted leisurely and were among the last to leave at after 10, which allowed the dew to dry off the swag. We took the road towards Lake St Clair pausing to stop at the signposted attractions. Nelson Falls then a Nature walk up to a lookout with great views of Mount Franklin and the Franklin River followed by the last stop a “wilderness walk” along the banks of the Franklin and Surprise Rivers. Along the path of the latter a large Beech Myrtle tree had fallen and a section had been cut out to allow a clear path. The cutting was very fresh in fact the foliage on the tree was still in good condition. I took the opportunity to grab a wedge that had been left on the ground for future use and also to cut a section of straight branch for conversion into a walking stick at a later date.

At the lookout we paused to chat to a female cyclist who we first noticed on the drive to Cradle Mountain and who stayed at the Discovery Park. We later saw her at Queenstown and she was also at Lake Burbury last night. She has been riding around Tassie for three weeks and has three days to get back to Hobart.

We arrived at Lake StClair at around three and had afternoon tea and a visit to the visitor centre when I once again resisted the urge to buy nice winter jacket. It was then back on the road towards Hobart turning off at Bronte along the Marlborough Highway towards Miena. The word highway was a misnomer. It was a dirt road in average condition. We were soon at Arthurs Lake and after some initial confusion we finally located the camp ground. It’s a nice spot.

The highlight of the evening was our neighbour popping over and giving us two reasonable sized freshly caught brown trout which are now in our fridge. Something to pop in the camp oven!

Time to hop in the swag for some shut eye. Night folks.

Cheers Simon