Nestled deep into the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park amongst the fickle climate of Tasmania’s Southwest lies pristine Lake Rhona. An icy basin that is hugged and fed by the surrounding Denison Ranges and charmed with button grass and quartz sand. What a magical place to wake up.
This adventure was a last-minute quick trip with an aim to experience some of Tasmania’s remarkably unique and spectacular Southwest. The hike itself is not overly challenging, especially considering the unruly terrain that this area is renowned for, thus we were expecting a rather relaxed few days in the bush. Alas, the trip played out with the quintessential nature of our family, inclusive of many bumps and hurdles along the way but never lacking in laughs and smiles.
The first day of this hike involves a 14 km bushwalk through alpine rainforest and button grass plains, finishing with a steep ascent up the sharp and craggy ridge-line followed by a winding descent with picturesque views all the way down to the campsite at Lake Rhona. Underestimating how long the 14 km hike into Lake Rhona would actually take, we began the day with a slow pace, taking our time to pack and prepare whilst sipping many casual cups of tea and soaking up the sunshine on a glorious Sunday in Hobart.
Before hitting the road we decided a famous Tasmanian Wallaby burrito from the Farm Gate Markets was an essential stop to ensure we weren’t starting the hike on empty tummies. After indulging ourselves in many tasty treats that the markets had to offer we eventually hit the road and began driving toward Richlea Creek. A few wrong turns later and we finally made it to the start of the track. Our faffing and cruising at a leisurely pace had gotten the better of us and it was now 4pm… Oops.
A lovely National park Ranger was camped out at the entrance of the track and watched us pull up. She kindly advised of the incoming weather and all the nice campsites on the way, with a spectacular spot to spend the night only 5kms away. We felt confident that we were prepared as we were dressed head to toe in waterproof Mont shell wear and all our camping gear was safely packed into Mont bushwalking backpacks. We reassured the ranger that we would be careful and would stop at the closer campground in Gordonvale to rest for the night.
The first sprinkle of the storm began, so we quickly piled on our backpacks and began walking. After about an hour the sun went down, and the heavy winds and wild weather began. We were still determined to keep trotting along and make some distance before we set up camp. Albeit, as the night got darker the trail became harder to follow, we kept persevering along what we thought was a rough trail until we hit a dead end. We realised we had gone off course and suddenly everyone had a different idea of which way we came and where we were headed, everyone’s navigation skills were put to the test.
After quite a while spent wandering around in the dark, climbing over fallen trees, and falling into hidden deep mud swamps we eventually found our way back onto the track. We walked for another hour until stepping into a humbly inviting clearing nestled deep into the alpine rainforest. We all looked at each other with grumbling tummies and muddy cold feet and agreed it was time to call it a night and set up camp.
We set up our Mont Moondance EX and new field test sample of the Krypton tent and heated up our spaghetti Bolognese. I can’t remember a bowl of pasta ever tasting so good! As we got set up for bed I was hit with the dreaded realisation that I had forgot a rather essential item for camping… my camping mat. After checking everywhere three times over I finally accepted I was in for an uncomfortable two nights, shamefully poking my head out of the tent I asked the group “did anyone happen to bring a spare camping mat?” unsurprisingly the answer was no. Luckily I was sharing a Moondance Ex with two of my older brothers, they groaned and said, “We’ll figure something out.” We ended up laying their Exped Synmat Duo horizontally along the width of the tent allowing our heads to hips to be supported by the mattress, and our legs rested on backpacks and spare clothes. While it wasn’t my most comfortable sleep it was far better than sleeping straight on the cold rocky ground and my brothers have since forgiven me for their sore legs in the morning.
The storm cleared in the morning and we woke up to a perfect blue-sky day with rays of sunshine pouring through the rainforest, lighting up the beaded raindrops from the night before into millions of sparkling diamond-like specks sprinkled through the rainforest. Our tents dried quickly in the morning sun and we packed up our camp and began day 2 of our adventure. What an awe-inspiring place to be, the Southwest of Tasmania really does offer everything from charmingly compact shrubbery and soft button grasses forming the carpet of vast fields to fiercely jagged rock faces bursting through the mountain tops. The contrasting idiosyncratic landscape of this area is unprecedented in the rest of Australia’s outback - making it a place that should be on everyone’s bushwalking list for Tasmania.
We made it to Lake Rhona in the late afternoon with just enough time to set up camp and catch an incredible sunset over the surrounding mountain ranges. This was one of the most peaceful spots I have ever camped. We pitched our tents on the white quartz sand beach and fell asleep to the calming sound of the lake lapping onto the sand.
The next morning we woke to a soft blanket of mist charming the lake and valley, it was a freezing morning, however this did not deter my brothers from braving the ice-cold waters of Lake Rhona for a morning dip. Any animals still resting in the valley would have awoken with a fright as they heard the shrieks of the boys putting their heads underwater. Eventually they dried themselves and warmed up and we set out on our long walk back to the car.
A sneak peek of the, soon to be released, Krypton Tent
A huge highlight of this walk was the Gordon River crossing where a huge 20-metre tree has fallen across the river forming the perfect bridge for bushwalkers to cross. The Gordon River is strikingly grand with remarkably strong currents weaving through chaotic rapids; it feels rather surreal to be able to walk over such a wide fierce body of water purely with the assistance of nature itself.
This is a magical place that I would highly recommend to everyone, while I would encourage better planning and an earlier start than the disordered journey we embarked on, nonetheless it was a wonderful few days in an astonishing part of the world, which I will never forget. Thank you Mont for keeping us safe, confident and comfortable in the bush, as always.
Check out other Mont bushwalking adventures on the blog
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Robert P Davies
August 22, 2022
Excelent article S