Old Bill's Monument - Ben Lomond  - Sat. 9th June 2018

It's an interesting time of the year to take a walk close to Tasmania's best ski field, but the snow doesn't usually settle until July, and we're fulfilling a birthday wish of one of our retired but very active senior leaders. Which one? Come along to find out!
Walk route:
From the Carr Villa car park, at 1240 m altitude, we will walk along the Carr Villa track for about 1.5 km, climbing about 170m in the process. From here we head off track in a westerly direction, climbing about a further 70 m across alpine terrain. We will visit Old Bill's Monument.  If the weather is unpromising, we might just find a sheltered spot there for some food and birthday celebrations, and eventually return to Carr Villa (a round trip of about 6 km), but if the weather is glorious, as it can be at times, even in June in Tasmania, our options could include a visit to Circinus Peaks, just under 2 km further west, and/or wander a couple of km south to Sprent Plains, returning northeast via Cigar Rocks towards the Carr Villa track and the cars. These options would add 3-5 km to the walk. Generally this should be relatively easy alpine walking, though it is mostly off track and therefore may be uneven underfoot in places. The steep ascent isn't particularly long - perhaps comparable to doing the Zig-Zag track from King's Bridge in Launceston 2-3 times in a row, so reasonable fitness is required. Energetic children should cope well, but must be equipped for chilly conditions.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Basil Tkaczuk on 0438 664 402 or 6331 1155 to book in (or reply to the email which will go out a few days ahead of the walk). The departure time is 8:00 am from Door of Hope carpark in South Launceston. An alternative meeting point could be the turnoff to Ben Lomond National Park at 8.30 am, or the Carr Villa Car Park at 8.50 am. However, you still need to contact the walk leader per details above if intending to walk. The leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time. Please note that if you are bringing your vehicle, it will need to have a current valid Tasmanian Parks Pass.

To access this area from northern Tasmania: 
From Launceston, proceed via St. Leonards (St. Leonards Rd and Blessington Rd) to the Ben Lomond Road, just short of Upper Blessington - about 48 km. Turn right into Ben Lomond Rd. A little over 10 km up this steep gravel road, take the right turn to Carr Villa and continue to the end of the road where there is a car park and building. The walk will start from there.

Warnings:
 S    Steep incline for at least part of the way
 E    Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped.
Walkers are advised to wear strong shoes or boots. Gaiters recommended due to off-track walking. You should always carry wet weather gear as well as warm clothing including gloves and beanies in case of sudden weather changes. This entire walk is above 1200 metres altitude and can be very exposed if the weather turns bad. Be prepared!
Winter bushwalking can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped; see http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/Pages/Equipment_Safety.htm for some guidelines.

Map details:

Ben Lomond Plateau (northern area): 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8414 (St. Pauls) and 1:25000 map is 5440 (Giblin)
Map reference for Circinus Peaks:
Short ref. n/a
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G       5 50 470      54 02 860    -41.52431    147.60493 

Although there are several peakbagger peaks on the Ben Lomond plateau, none will be visited on this walk. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be downloaded (Excel) from http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm  The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.

GPX version of the track: Click here to download. Google Earth version of the track: Click here to download.
Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice. (Suggest you click the Last modified at top to sort by date to get the most recent at top to find the file for the next walk).