One of several reports in a series covering the Subaru 4WD Club's Tasmania excursion from 17 September to 17 October 1999
Tasmania
Day 14
3 October 1999
Lake Pedder & Mt Wellington By Night
Sunday was devoted to visiting the famous man-made lakes, Pedder and Gordon, about 130km west of Hobart. Both of these play a considerable part in providing Tasmania with its hydro-electric power. The drive was very scenic and an experience not to be missed by others visiting Tassie in the future.
Passing tantalisingly close to the Cadbury chocolate factory on the banks of the Derwent, we then journeyed through rich green cow country around New Norfolk, through the freshly planted Hop fields of Glenora, and into the rugged mountain ranges surrounding the lakes. As a warm-up to the Cascade Brewery visit planned for the following day, Danny described the use of hops in beer making as we passed by other temptations, such as the Salmon Ponds, Junee Cave, Creepy Crawly Walk, and a golf course advertised as being the last one for 25,000km – the next landfall west being Argentina.
As
we got closer to the lakes, the ruggedness of the terrain became ever so more
apparent. The snow had disappeared some weeks before and as we weaved in and out
of the thinning forests, we noted that most of the summits were showing their
fractured granite tops in spectacular fashion. It would be marvellous to see the
lakes framed by mountains dressed in the snows of Winter, in stark contrast to
the bare rock of Spring that we witnessed.
On
arriving at the lakes, we visited the Gordon Dam visitor’s centre where a very
knowledgeable lady told us the history of the Gordon power scheme, and described
in great detail, how hydro-electric power is generated. Once our scientific
curiosities were satisfied, we headed back a little ways for lunch, to a place
on Lake Pedder called Ted’s Beach – the local water sporting hang-out for
tourists and locals alike. It was a little cold for swimming, so we just sat and
ate lunch instead. As we departed, Arnold was noted parking the Forester near
the lake. At first we feared the car was going to get yet another tub, but it
was a false alarm, proving to be only a glamour photo shoot for the green
machine, or maybe Arnold.
Enroute
to Hobart, we turned off at Frodsham’s Pass to visit Edgar Dam and Scotts Peak
at the extreme southern end of Lake Pedder. The dirt road must have scared off
the Forester, as it headed back to Hobart alone; the rest of us continuing on to
enjoy some spectacular lake and mountain scenery, the likes of which you won’t
find on the mainland.
As the day neared an end, we retraced our steps back to Hobart and an appointment with panoramic night time views from Mt Wellington. Enroute, we somehow got separated from John again but eventually relocated him on the wrong side of the Derwent River - he and Matt having overshot the turn off to Hobart on the southern side of the river – but then, we did that too!
By the time we got back to Hobart, night was settling in, so to save time we made a detour to Fisherman’s Wharf to stock up on takeaways before heading up the mountain to meet the others, already set up at a BBQ site. After taking care of the fish and chips in short order, we continued our long and winding ascent to the mountain lookout, which by night, was equally as spectacular as the daytime views, albeit significantly cooler – no, make that colder! Certainly Matt and Big John thought so as they had not bothered to bring warm clothes with them on the day’s outing. As the wind increased and the mist and drizzle moved in, Matt’s blue legs were a spectacular contrast to his yellow shorts. The locals must have really thought the Queenslander’s were shy a few sandwiches at that particular picnic. But with the night viewing square firmly ticked, we made our way down the mountain side again and back to the 220 steps of the caravan park for a well deserved rest.
Danny Williams SC412
Previous Report - 2 October - Dover to Hobart
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