This was the last walk I did on my visit to Tasmania, and once again I thank my brother in law, Shane, for inviting me on this walk. It was one he had organised for the North West Walking Club.
The party started from Lake Mckenzie on the Central Plateau, and followed a track that headed in the direction of the Blue Peaks. At first track the track passed through open moorlands.
As we gradually climbed higher there were stands of pencil pines, but there was also a burnt out area – where the alpine vegetation had been destroyed in a bushfire early in 2016.
Leaving the burnt areas, we entered a fantastic alpine garden. The endemic Richea scoparia was blooming nicely. Lots of other flowers were also out.
This is a really special place to walk.
After a morning tea break, we left the track and climbed up onto the first of the Blue Peaks. It was untracked country, and the scrub can be scratchy, but the thickets can generally be avoided by being walked around. There always seems to be an easy route as long as you are prepared not to walk in a straight line.
The first of the Blue Peaks is higher, but the second one has a better view. It overlooks a series of lakes, so we made our way there.
Once on top of the second Blue Peak, we did indeed have an excellent vista.
It was windy on top, so we descended down a bit and found a sheltered area to have lunch. Then we climbed down more back to the track. On the way we passed through some more amazing gardens of flowering scoparia.
Then it was time to start heading back to Lake McKenzie.
It was easy walking on the track and there was time to stop for some more photography. The best conditions to photograph scoparia in flower is not in direct sunlight or in dull overcast weather, but rather in stormy conditions, when colours are more saturated. It was not stormy on our walk back, but conditions were certainly better than the walk up for photography.
These alpine gardens are one of my favourite places to visit. They should be cherished. It was a stark contrast to visit the burnt areas again.
I expected this to be a good walk, but it exceeded my expectations. The alpine scenery was so delightful and it was nice being able to walk off track with such ease. Also it was nice to meet the walkers from the North West Walking Club.