Ben Lomond National Park | Tasmania

CONTENT: Tasmania / Central Highlands / Devils Gullet / Mole Creek / Mersey River / Lake Rowallan / Ben Lomond / Griffin Park
TRAVEL JOURNAL:
13-23.03.2022
After hiking at Cradle Mountain, we have East and South-East corner still to explore. The drive is passing the Tasmanian Central Plateau.
Wolf wants to have a spell at Mole Creek and use sunny days for fishing, but Agni being already too familiar with that camp, would like to see something new.
17km from the Mersey river camping is Devils Gullet State Reserve with a dramatic lookout facing 220 metres down to the Fisher river. Prior the last ice age the valley had gentle slopes, but melting ice cut the gorge sharp. Constant cycles of freezing and thawing of the water have shaped bare rock columns and extensive boulder fields. Devils Gullet Lookout gives great view over the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair World Heritage Area, Fisher and Mersey River Valleys and Walls of Jerusalem which we would like to have a closer look.
The Mole Creek campsite has very weak internet signal - when we on the 15th March start to venture towards Walls of Jerusalem National Park, we have no awareness of the possible hiking tracks. As Walls of Jerusalem is only 25km from the camp, we decide to go and check the options out on spot.
We follow the Mersey River Road to Rowallan dam and have short stroll along the flooded lake with the dead trees. Shortly after crossing a little bridge over Fish river there is car park where the hike to the Walls of Jerusalem starts. It's noon and hike up to the plateau would take 3-4 hours. Theoretically it is possible to do a day-hike up and down, but to walk inside of “the walls”; visit the peaks and tarns; 23km 3 days circuit is advised. First, to actually see something, it would be too late to start today; second we have no tent with us for a multi-day hike; third the forecast predicts few days of rain pushing in.
We follow the Mersery Forest Road instead and stop at Lees Paddocks car park where walk down to bush on a 4wd track which leads to a suspension bridge. Other side of the bridge is beautiful valley with a hut by the pebbly shore of the Mersey river. We explore Pine hut, the valley and Wolf fishes.
We return to Mole Creek free camp and prepare for the rainy days. After 2 days of rain and listening wet trees and branches falling down, on the 18th March we decide to continue towards East.
An easy one hour-drive from Launceston takes to the only commercial ski and snowboarding resort in Tasmania. During our vineyard-working-days we passed Ben Lomond National Park few times, but today decide to drive up.
Ben Lomond has several access points for hiking, but the current most convenient route which since 1963 allows to drive up to the plateau via the scenic “Jacobs Ladder”, was not used by the first recreational hikers. Though Leggers Tor with it's 1572 metres is the highest peak, it's so unimposing that the first European mountain enthusiasts did not consider northern side and were more drawn to the southern end where a landform known as Stacks Bluff (1527metres) drops 600 steep metres down the foothills.
Driving up from the Jacobs Ladder there is a 30 minutes hike over the boulders to the Legges Tor. Maybe not the steepest summit, but allows view over the Australia's largest boulder field. As we arrived summit for the sunset, our best option is to spend the night at the base of the mountain - Ben Lomond Campground - free with the National Parks Pass. It's dark and the camping area has only 6 sites. When we try to fit our rooftop tent to some notch where we would not block someone's way, a solo-camper approaches and invites us to park to his drive-in and join his fire. The bloke has plans to hike up to the Ben Lomond. Inspired by him, we decide to return and explore the high plateau bit more.
We park to the Ski-village and follow the marker over the cross-country ski-fields. The walk gains no elevation, but not to get the feet wet in the tiny streams and puddles, involves hopping over the boulders. There is no marked track on top of the plateau and at some stage we sight cliffs and a considerable drop facing down the valley. As phone GPS is not very precise, it's hard to say where we actually reached before tracing our way back to the village.
Surprise, we are just 50 kilometres from Wolf's already favourite fishing spot - Griffin Park by the South Esk River.
It's 21st of March and birch-trees are starting to show some yellow leaves. The slopes by the Griffin Park are covered with pine plantations. It seems to be right place and time for saffron milkcaps. Yes indeed, the orange caps are poking out between the pine needles. In addition to brown trout, we add mushrooms to our diet. We pick so many mushrooms, that need to drive 30km to Fingal to buy vinegar from a tiny store and get some jars from the op-shop. In addition to fresh, we have pickled mushrooms to take along.
NEXT
We reach to East Coast where continue with Freycinet Peninsula.

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