Mount Field National Park

After Lake St Clair, we moved on to Mount Fields National Park, famous for its alpine hikes, waterfalls and giant tall trees. 

Russell Falls

We did a rather wet but mercifully short walk to view Russell Falls. Srini disappeared and then reappeared to frolic under the falls, adorned in his  GoPro helmet, to the great amusement (and respect) of all the onlookers. What a champion he is!!

The Tarn Shelf

This hike was one of the highlights of our whole trip.  Our 6 hour hike along the stunning Tarn Shelf took us through a wonderworld of gorgeous lakes with amazing reflections.  We returned via Twilight Tarn and Lake Webster.  

Reaching the plateau after a pretty steep walk up from Lake Dobson.

We were rewarded with gorgeous views of The Tarn Shelf (left) and Lake Seal (right).

Srini embracing the view.

Another view of The Tarn Shelf, a network of alpine lakes nestled on a narrow shelf between The Rodway Range and a sharp drop down into the valley.

The day was overcast mostly but in places where the blue sky showed through, the water sparkled into a gorgeous turquoise blue.

I loved the textures on the rocks in the foreground.

We walked along the shelf and were greeted by lake after lake.

This is one of my favourite photos of our time in Tasmania. Unfortunately I didn't take it.  Well done, Zante!

Here we are, exhilarated by all the amazing scenery.

Time for a leap.

Individual leaps, trying to include the reflections.

Some rare "behind the scenes" footage of leap capturing.  As you can see, it is an art we take seriously.  It requires getting down very low to get the shot!  

A beautiful little "Bonsai Tree."

Lots of lovely alpine vegetation.

The Pencil Pines (left) are everywhere in alpine Tasmania.  I love them.  I haven't noticed them elsewhere in Australia.

Gorgeous moss, with tiny white flowers.

Stunning flowers out in abundance.

An amazing photo of a dragon fly, captured by Liz.

I loved the warm colour and the texture in the rocks.

We arrived at a forest of dead trees. This occurs in many places in Australia. I'm not sure what kills them (flooding, fire?) but it always sets up some great photos.

Srini climbed a tree to get a better view of things ...

... and inspired us all to do the same.

Here we are at the largest lake on The Tarn Shelf.

Later in the morning, the sun came out more and the reflections in the little lakes were sublime.

More reflections.

I absolutely adored this gnarled dead tree.  Beauty even in death.

On the way back, we passed The Twilight Tarn. We were delighted to find it contained old memorabilia from when it used to be a popular shelter for skiers back in the day.

Some more photos of the intrepid hikers.

What an amazing hike, one I'll remember for a long while.



Next stop

• For our next adventure, we moved onto  Cathedral Peak (Mount Wellington).

Places in Tasmania we visited

• Cradle Mountain National Park
• Lake St Clair National Park
• Mount Field National Park (The Tarn Shelf)
• Mount Field National Park (Tall Trees walk)
• Cathedral Peak (Mount Wellington)
• Freycinet
• Leaping in Tasmania
• Daily life on our trip
• Previous Tasmania visit (2008)

Photos by others in the group

• Lauren
• Liz
• Srini
• Zante