LAKE RHONA

Hey strays! This one is a mix between a hiking guide and a mini history lesson! Enjoy!

A special little adventure in the Southwest of Tasmania. Lake Rhona is an alpine lake that is the result of Ice Age Glaciers located deep within the Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Known for its tannin-stained water, and its pink quartzite sand, this picturesque beauty is worth the hike. The walk requires pre registration, as well as a Parks Pass.

The hike itself is Grade 4 (hard). 28km return, and takes between 2-3 days.

My high school pal Jess and I set off early on a Sunday morning in March, bags full of soy crisps and lollies to keep us charged! Parking in the Richea Creek carpark, we left the vehicle and set off on foot. Within the first hour you will come across the Gordon River crossing - a giant fallen tree for you to walk across! It's a wide, flat log crossing that doesn’t cause much grief. If there has been recent heavy rain, there is worry that the water will be too high to cross, it is suggested by Parks & Wildlife that you allow an extra day or so for the river to calm. We had no trouble, the log was high and dry!

A short walk through eucalypt forest takes you to button grass plains which we spent a few hours crossing. All the while we played “tell me who I’m thinking of” - a game my brother and his school buddies play from time to time, in which you think of the most obscure people from your time at school, and answer yes or no questions about them until the other person guesses who you were thinking of. It’s a hilarious game, and helped us pass the time nicely! The track was somewhat damp due to recent rain, and some low points in the trail were extremely muddy. Jess took a step in what looked like a shallow muddy creek, and ended up waist deep in mud. We. Were. Cackling. Nothing a handful of Jaffas can’t fix!

We plodded along and reached a luscious grassy clearing that looked like a fairy garden, which was an extra nice sight after hours of button grass marshland. A small picket sign said ‘Gordonvale’. Gordonvale was the 81 hectare home of Ernie Bond who purchased the land in 1934 in the Vale of Rasselas. Ernie was an osmiridium miner and bushman who was often referred to as the Prince of Rasselas. Ernie kept bees for honey, and cows for milk and butter, and spent his spare time preserving raspberries, strawberries and blackberries, along with fresh vegetables which he would sell to the shops of nearby Adamsfield. In 1936, a footbridge was built over the Gordon River. It was destroyed in a fire in 1950 and was never replaced. Instead, a flying fox was constructed. Now non-operational, the remains of the flying fox can be found on the southern bank of the Gordon River. After the fire severed Ernie’s access to supplies, it became increasingly difficult for him to live there. In 1952, Ernie, now in his 60’s, left Gordonvale. He took all of his livestock with him. Except for one bull who refused to cross the river. Ernie leased out the land to the Hobart Walking Club and the Launceston Walking Club who were to be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings in Gordonvale. Ernie died in 1962. In 2013, Gordonvale was purchased by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy as a permanent nature reserve.

From here, the incline began. Slow at first, before the track starts ramping up. It’s approximately a 370 metre climb before you catch your first glimpse of Rhona at 900 metres above sea level. We were warned of the ‘false peaks’ tricking you into thinking you were at the top, when you really weren’t all that close. After each false peak, we had a dance party to keep spirits high - it worked. When we reached Rhona, it was beginning to drizzle, so we had our final dance party, and set up our tent. A cute little orange number that we set up on the sand. There are also campsites behind the beach tucked into the vegetation that Parks & Wildlife recommend you use, but we couldn’t resist a lakeside campsite. There is chatter about rats that live at Lake Rhona (must be nice), and tales of holes in packs and nibbled food, but we didn’t see any!

We went for a swim, it was cold, but we are Tasmanian (built tough). The sand and icy cold water felt so nice on our tired little tootsies. After drying off we had wraps and noodles for dinner and lollies for dessert. Knackered, we snoozed for a few hours before being woken by HEAVY rain. Relentless, it pelted down all night. Up early for a morale boosting hot chocolate before packing up in the rain, and hiking home in the rain.

Jess and I only had two days that aligned with our rosters (if you ask me, that’s a huge win for two shift workers), hence the one-night-wonder, but we both agreed next time we would tack on an extra day so we could summit Reeds Peak, and view Lake Rhona from above.

A little safety note for those not used to hiking with packs: when crossing a river, remember to unclip your pack, so if you end up in the drink, you can release it quickly, helping you to stay afloat, and not drown. They may look pretty calm, but below the surface there can be some pretty gnarly current!

Stray beautiful,

BEAR.

Lake Rhona

LAKE RHONA

Floating Sauna Lake Derby