Mount Field National Park 22nd, 23rd March

So, whilst travelling from one wonderful hiking wilderness area to another, what do you seek at 10am….a distillery of course! Lawrenney Distillery lies on our path to Mount Field National Park, just outside Ouse, we almost passed the understated signage at the turnoff. Set in truly beautiful Estate parkland and gardens with the most wonderful old 2 storey home, it is worth the detour just to drift back in time to a more genteel lifestyle (if you lived in the big house rather than the servants quarters). Using the old stables and sheds, the owner, a very entertaining gentleman, has installed a distillery to produce a range of Gins which are currently available, and Whiskey, that are beginning to be aged in the casks stored in another large old building. We were the only people there at the time so we received a very personal tour and tasting, and of course, after a tasting, we walked out with a bottle of Gin infused with Blood Orange

The roads are virtually empty, of which we cannot understand on this day pre-lockdown. Gary and Jenny left the Derwent Bridge a day before us so we are heading to Mount Field NP to join up again. After a few gins we need food, so we stop at a really cool cafe, The Possum Shed, at Westerway for a coffee and a toastie (unknowingly to be the last time we get to sit in a outlet to eat or drink). Sitting on the banks of the Gordon River, if you’re fortunate you can see platypus here whilst enjoying the fine fare.

Another 8klm along the valley we turn into the Mount Field National Park main entrance, Info Centre and campground. Here we see Gary and Jenny’s van, but no sign of them. A quick camp setup and we decide on a 90klm drive up to the famed Gordon Dam. This road traverses some truly spectacular country and a wide variety of scenery from farmland, National Parks, several mountain ranges and extensive lakes. It’s a winding and undulating road, but fortunately, probably due to CoVid it is particularly quiet today. Climbing over the lower shoulders of Mount Wedge we glimpse Lake Gordon to the north, then very soon after we skirt Lake Pedder with the impressive Frankland Range forming a backdrop.. The snub nose of a big Dodge Ram appears over a crest and so Gary and Jenny flash by with a big wave.

Lake Gordon is Tassies largest lake, and with the construction of the dam in the 1970’s it has since been a main source of electricity for the State. Even more impressive is a canal connects Gordon and Lake Pedder, hence forming a truly massive reservoir, 37 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour. We stop a few time for photos along the way, but the expanse of the view makes for difficult photography to capture the feeling of the scene, our lenses are too limiting. The dam itself is impressive, at 198 metres across the top, and 140 metres high, from our perch above the dam the wall disappears into the shadowed depths of the gorge. The wind is brisk, refuses to abate and its chilly fingers seem to find its way into our jackets, we don’t linger.

The day of wind continues into the evening, a bit unusual, and a dampener on our Happy Hour with Gary and Jenny. A quick drink and we soon retreat to our respective vans, us to plan a walk for the next day, our friends intend to head to New Norfolk near Hobart. The morning is brisk but with only a zephyr of a breeze it is quite comfortable. The morning news details that no tourists are now allowed to travel to Tassie, things appear to be getting more worrying. About 9am we begin our walk from the campsite, only about a 5klm loop trail, so we’re in no hurry. We begin uphill but are soon surprised to begin a long descent dow a set of stairs into a lush gully with a bubbling creek lined with ferns and palms. The path is well maintained as it twists along the gully until we come to a fork, to the right to continue the trail, left to a small noisy waterfall.

Having left the gully we climb once more along a hillside track till we emerge into a surprisingly open parkland of massive tall, straight trees, aptly called the Tall Trees Walk. These trees are the worlds tallest flowering specie, Giant Swamp Gum, growing to 30 metres tall and straight. We linger here for a while to enjoy the clean freshness and solitude, Next attraction is the Three-tiered Russel Falls that can be viewed from several vantage points.

Upon our return to camp, relaxed and in great spirits, we are greeted by the camp caretaker with the news that all National Parks and campgrounds have been closed, immediately! Really? Well, they await clarification of what’s to happen, hopefully soon, but in the meantime we can stay in the camp until then. Later we are informed that we may stay this night but need to be gone by 10am tomorrow. This is a surprising and disturbing turn for us, and will now fill our days trying to make sense of the situation and what we shall do,