It is delightful to spend the best part of two weeks in the wilds of Tasmania on a fairly relaxing trip. I travelled down to Hobart and then caught a bus to Lake St Clair. My plan was to walk around the lake to Narcissus and then continue up to Pine Valley and use that area as a base. If the weather was good, then I would head up high and camp in the Du Cane Range. If the weather was not so good, then I could stay in the sheltered valley and photograph the beautiful forest, Cephissus Creek and the amazing fungi to be found in the area. And if the weather is really bad then Pine Valley Hut provides a good refuge.
The bus dropped me off at Cynthia Bay outside the visitor centre a bit after 11 am. This gave me time to buy a national park pass and grab a cup of coffee before setting off. The weather was not great – cold with light rain, but after that the weather forecast was excellent – fine weather for the next 5 days. This was as far as the forecast went.
I wanted to walk around the lake slowly to see what fungi was out. There certainly was plenty out, but I was a bit frustrated. I tried taking a few photos but it really was a bit too wet. So I continued on to Echo Point where I planned to camp or stay in the hut. The area around the point for some reason is very good for fungi, so if the weather eased then I could photograph later in the afternoon. This worked out OK. The hut was fairly full and some of the occupiers (from Broome) did not seem at home in the ambient temperatures of the mountains of Tasmania and had come down with colds. So, for me, it was an easy choice. I set up my tent outside. Continue reading
