Lake Nameless and Blue Peaks Circuit - March 20-21

This overnight camping trip will take us past several beautiful highland lakes, with views of many more. It will include the opportunity to climb two easy mountains: Forty Lakes Peak and Little Throne. The walk joins two tracks, Explorer Creek Track and Blue Peaks Track with a short off-track walk. The off-track section is mostly easy, but there is a little light scrub to be pushed through. It is suitable for walkers who have had some experience with off-track alpine walking. Energetic older children should be able to manage this walk..

Walk route:
From the car park at Lake Mackenzie, already 1100m altitude, we walk around the boom gate, along the road across a bridge and past the southern end of the dam, heading south east for about 2 km to reach the Little Fisher River. The route crosses the river and continues a further 2 km south-east, following Explorer Creek to reach Lake Explorer, Snake Lake, and Lake Nameless. From here Forty Lakes Peak can be climbed, before backtracking a little and then turning west to camp on the grass between Lakes Chambers, Douglas and Halkyard.
The second day will involve continuing off-track west to to Lake Little Throne, and climbing the tiny mountain, Little Throne. Then walk north to Middle Lake and pick up the Blue Peaks track back to Lake McKenzie. Depending on time and energy, it may be possible to climb the northern high point of Blue Peaks, only 500 metres (+50m alt.) from the track.
Apart from the two mountain climbs, the walk is fairly flat. The track is quite indistinct at times, so it is critical that the party keep together and navigate carefully.
As this is a camping trip, a checklist of essentials is a good idea. Parks and Wildlife Tasmania have a comprehensive Safety in Parks page which covers many aspects of bushwalking safety and equipment, including a Walker Pack List that is well worth a read. However, much of this gear can be shared with a partner - perhaps a more experienced walker who already has some of the big ticket items such as tent and stove. Make sure you are prepared for wet and cold weather no matter what the forecast is.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Nik Sands on 0429 387 777 to book in, preferably by Wednesday night, 17th March, so that cars, tent sharing etc can be arranged. The departure time is 7:30 am from Door of Hope carpark in South Launceston. Meeting points along the way could be 8:00 at the Mole Creek Road roundabout at the western end of Deloraine, 8:20 at Mole Creek or 8.35 at the Lake Mackenzie (Devil's Gullet) Road junction with the Mersey Forest Road. 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.

To access this area from northern Tasmania:
From Launceston, proceed along the Bass Highway to Deloraine (about 51 km), but do not turn off at the eastern exit into Deloraine. Instead, continue across Meander R. and up hill to the western exit, and to the roundabout at start of Mole Creek Rd. A further 24km will bring you to Mole Creek. Continue west past Mole Creek, on what is now Liena Rd, making sure you turn south at the caravan park 4 km from the town. The road continues west until about 14 km from Mole Creek, it branches south, now called Mersey Forest Road. A little over 6 km south, you will pass a  turnoff to Cradle Mountain and Sheffield, and about 300 metres further, take the turn on left to Devil's Gullet/Lake Mackenzie. Follow this road about 19 km, and just short of the Lake Mackenzie dam, turn south to find the car park and boom gate from where the walk starts.

Warnings:
  The following codes [from our 2021 walks calendar] apply:
    B     Boulder field – walkers need to be able to confidently step from rock to rock.
    C     Climbing sections using rocks and vegetation as hand holds.
    D     Drive distance requires early departure – usually 7:30 am
    L    A long day’s walk – in excess of 3 hours each way.
    M    Marshy or muddy sections be prepared to walk with wet feet.
    E...Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped.
This walk is above 1100 metres altitude for the whole distance and can be very exposed if the weather is bad, even at this time of year. Be prepared! Walkers should wear sturdy boots due to uneven surfaces. Gaiters recommended due to off-track walking. You should always carry wet weather gear as well as warm clothing in case of sudden weather changes. For equipment guidelines, CLICK HERE.     


Map details:  Click here for image of map with track
Lake Explorer general area: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8114 (Mersey) and 1:25000 map is 4438 (Lake Mackenzie)
Map reference:
Short ref. n/a
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G      4 51 765      53 82 811 

Forty Lakes Peak (alt. 1351 m): 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8114 (Mersey) and 1:25000 map is 4437 (Pillans)
Short ref. 527798
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G      4 52 870      53 79 940     -41.73095     146.43330

Little Throne (alt. 1283 m): 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8114 (Mersey) and 1:25000 map is 4437 (Pillans)
Short ref. n/a
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G      4 49 320       53 78 500     -41.74370    146.39049

Blue Peaks (alt. 1350 m): 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8114 (Mersey) and 1:25000 map is 4438 (Lake Mackenzie)
Map reference:
Short ref. 479815
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G      4 47 890      53 81 640     -41.71533    146.37357            

For the peakbaggers, there is 1 point up for grabs - Forty Lakes Peak, none for Little Throne, though.. Perhaps Blue Peaks - 1 point, if time permits. 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.
Note that the linked track is approximate, and may be varied if areas are difficult to traverse, or leader changes plans.
For GPX (.gpx) and Google Earth (.kml) versions of the track: Click here to browse our collection.
Direct links: GPX for this walk …. KML for this walk