Tamar Island – Sunday 20th September
Just to break our normal routine, and to give people a chance to join us for a short and leisurely walk at a peaceful wetlands area on the very edge of the city with plenty of bird life to observe, this Sunday afternoon walk begins at the Tamar Island Wetlands Centre, not much more than a kilometre from the last traffic lights at Riverside. The visitor centre may still be closed due to the pandemic, but will be explored if open. After that, follow the boardwalk past wildlife viewing points, tidal branches of the Tamar River, historic scuttled vessels and hundreds of birds to the island itself. Total return walk distance is 4 km. For more details, see https://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=19983
Normally, entry fees apply: adult/child/family $3/2/6, but we are unsure if this applies at present, and may depend on visitor centre being open.
The boarded walkway to the island is level and will suit some wheelchair users and those with prams and strollers. Tracks on the upper part of the island have natural surfaces and are generally not suited for wheelchairs.
This walk, rated "Family-easy", is suitable for families with young children who could turn back if the distance proved too much. Water and perhaps a snack should be carried, and normal precautions should be taken against cold and rain.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone your walk leader, John Potts, ph. 0418 576 011 to book in. The meeting place for this walk is at the Tamar Island Wetlands Centre car park at 1:30 pm.
If you need transport, please discuss with the leader, who may be able to connect you with someone attending from your area. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of the listed time. It is also courtesy to let the leader know if you have have changed plans and are no longer coming.
Normally, the leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along, although this will not apply for a known easy walk. You should always contact the walk leader if intending to participate in a particular Boots N' All walk.To access this area from northern Tasmania: To access the walk from Launceston, head north on the West Tamar Highway (A7) through Riverside. About 1 km north of the Cormiston Rd. traffic lights, there is a turning lane to the right, which will allow you to cross into the Tamar Island Wetlands Centre car park. There is signage to assist this, and also signage if coming the other way from Legana.
Warnings:
No warnings apart from a reminder that weather in Tasmania can be very changeable in September, so warm clothing, sensible shoes and a raincoat should be carried. A drink and snack will also add to your enjoyment of the afternoon.
Follow this link for further information on clothing suggestions for various walking conditions. Click this link for a more detailed discussion of Preparation, Food and Safety guidelines for Boots N’ All walks.
Map details:
Tamar Island: 1:100000 map is Pipers (Tasmap 8315) and 1:25000 map is Launceston (TasMap 5041)
Map reference:
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Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
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There are no peakbagger points for the area covered by this walk. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger’s Guide (2000 revision) which can be found and downloaded (as an Excel spreadsheet) from http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.
For GPX (.gpx) and Google Earth (.kml) versions of the track: Click here to download.
When you have downloaded the track file, double-clicking on the Google Earth (kml) track should open Google Earth and zoom in to the location if you have Google Earth installed on your computer. The .gpx version of the track should import into mapping software or devices that support gpx tracks and waypoints.