Thurs, 30th Apr, 2015 Lagoons Beach Campground (waterfalls & sightseeing)

13 degrees and cloudy at 7.30am. By the time we got organised at 9am it was only 12.8 degrees so made sure we had gloves and big coat as we are heading up to St Marys and beyond to walk to some waterfalls etc. The sky is clearing so should be a good day.

Up Elephant Pass again checking out all the skid marks on the road as we go. Put my thermometer out the window and it registered 9.5 degrees at Gray (just before St Marys) at an elevation of 400 metres. There was a low layer of cloud in the valley.

Stopped at St Marys’ Info Board (elevation 270m).

Great mural.

St Marys Hotel has been on the same site since 1861. The present building dates from 1910, after the earlier hotel burnt down.

The mist is still hanging on the Fingal Tier so we headed off further inland to Fingal.

I noticed a magnificent building. It is called Killymoon and was built in 1830. Its front gates were sent out from England to Falmouth and then the convict carted them up St Marys Pass to the property. The couple that have purchased the property have money and are in the process of doing it all up. They have only just cleared all the trees so that it can now be seen from the road.  There is a church behind it as well.

Just before Fingal is Duncan Colliery.

Lots of history in this town too. Cute little house.

Big rock escarpment in the background behind the town.

Old world charm.

Stopped at the Info Board (elevation 250m).

The RV spot is built on the site of old Fingal Saw Mill so this chimney was part of the mill.

Next door was the Post Office, built C1831 and used as a Post Office since 1907.

St Peters Anglican Church was built from locally quarried limestone and the foundation stone was laid in 1886.

Looking across to Stacks Bluff (1527m) which is on the southern side of Ben Lomond National Park.

The Fingal Hotel, originally called the Talbot Arms. Its first licence was issued 1828. Looks like it is being renovated.

We head out of town with the sweet aroma of fennel. Found out later there is a distillery further along the road. Another great view of the mountains.

Crossed over the South Esk River which flows south then up to Launceston and through Cataract Gorge into the Tamar. The Fingal Tier in the background.

Drove through a locality called Mangana (290m). Marvellous Catholic Church C1910.

Steep dirt road climb up then we stopped at the entrance to the walk into Ben Lomond National Park (570m). It is Old Storys Creek Road built C1910. It is a 2 hour walk to the plateau but we have already been there so will skip the walk.

Getting closer to Stacks Bluff.

We are looking for Storys Creek as Penny & Pete said to go there. It is an old tin mine with a lovely lady living there. Found it and what a magnificent place she has with fantastic views (elevation 750m).

We are under Stacks Bluff,

And The Sphinx.

Ann was ex Qld and was born in Tiaro though moved inland when she was only little. She is heading to Cairns shortly to travel across to Georgetown to visit her brother. Her dog and cat were very friendly.

Her dog trotted along with us while we checked out the tin mine area. Someone is doing some exploration work down there.

Zoomed in on the dolerite formations. Ann said they used to get snow around the house but haven’t in the past 10 years, though she says it is lovely looking at the snow on the mountains.

Steve kicked a Jumping Jack’s ant nest. They are half the size of the Inchman but their bite is worse.

The old Community Hall is still intact. There is one other house left here too.

Further around are more mining remains.

Doggy spotted something in the bush – it was a green parrot.

A modern water race with poly pipe.

Another shot of the mountains before we head off, the clouds are starting to move in. There is another tin mine town, Rossarden further down the road, which is renowned for its crime rate etc so we will skip visiting that one.

Nearly back to the river and Fingal when we turn off and head north to find the waterfalls. Looking back across to the coast at ‘the Pyramid’ which is St Patrick’s Head. Reminds us of home.

Through lots of tree farms.

Then into the Fingal State Forest located in hills around the Fingal Valley. Pastoralists claimed the fertile river flats for growing sheep. Miners sought their fortunes in the rich deposits of coal and gold in the hills. Forestry is a relative newcomer to the area but is now one of the area’s main employers. It is full of Radiata pine trees from California, USA. These plantations were established in the 1960s to provide work for unemployed miners. Harvesting these pine trees is now one of the main forestry activities in this area.

First to Evercreech Reserve.

Lovely big picnic area and shelter shed. Chatted with a couple and their 4 kids from near Perth, WA.

After lunch we headed off to find the waterfall. Across Evercreech Rivulet.

Lovely walk through the wet forest, which was wet as it has started to sprinkle.

Following the creek upstream then we climbed up hill for a bit till we found another stream coming into the main one. That is where the falls were.

Lovely ribbon of water coming down the mossy rocks.

Climbed back down to the main creek, you can see where the falls water comes in.

The path then goes back down the other side but we have to cross the creek first. Not the safest of crossings though.

Halfway across I stopped for some photos. Saw a couple of little trout along the way.

This side is a drier environment.

Great burl on this tree.

Back to the picnic area where an old tree shows the old logging days.

The others had just come out of the walk to the ‘White Knights’ and said they were attacked by leech. Falling on them when they did the walk up to overlook the trees. We decided to just check out the trees.

Sir Viminalis ‘White Knight of Evercreech’ is 91.3m high making it one of the tallest trees in Tasmania. It also has a big girth.

Unfortunately the interpretive signs the brochures say are here to tell us all about the trees are no longer. Forestry Tasmania is in the news as they are talking about selling it off so I don’t think anyone checks these reserves anymore.

Steve’s greeny pose.

A couple more White Knights.

We headed back out with the clouds closing in and a misty drizzle starting. Turned off to another forestry road.

Drove up a narrower road, the greenery is closing in on both sides of the road, to Mathinna Falls (elevation 390m). Mathinna Fallsis a four tier waterfall which cascades over a total drop of about 80 metres. A 20 minute return walk so we headed off with the mist closing in.

We could hear the falls and I could see part of the falls through the leaves. The photo looks like an oil painting.

The track got quite narrow and with a few obstacles.

But the falls were worth the walk. Would have been better if I could have gotten over to the other side so I could get the top part of the falls too but it was a bit wet and slippery.

Back to the van for a cuppa under our awning as the mist got heavier. No shelter shed here. Stopped to pick up pine cones and some timber along the way. Pine cones are great for the bushcooker. Lots of wallabies hopping across the road as we head out.

Back over the South Esk River to Mathinna. We were told that you won’t see anyone here as they just peer out from behind the curtains – reserved community!!! Or hiding something!! Stopped at the Info Board (only a map) with some old mining equipment and a shelter shed and BBQ beside the sports ground. They found gold around here as well.

Cute cottage. I thought it was a cute little township and quite neat – not light some little localities!!

Heading back to Fingal the valley area is all grazing land.

Drove up to the ‘lookout’ spot I saw on the map in Fingal for a view over the Fingal Valley.

Getting dark early now, it is only 5.30 and the lights are on at the Colliery as we leave Fingal.

Passed the road to Mt Puzzler and Meadstone Falls but there is a road closed sign on that so we will have to give it a miss. Steve is so disappointed!!

Back to the van. Cooked up the fish which was very nice. Put out some chicken carcass for the kittens which they enjoyed.

Leanne & Rick rang to say Rick had been accepted for Bathurst Volunteering but she hadn’t as yet. I said they take a while to work through them all. The rain has started in Brisbane so I hope they don’t have any flooding problems.

I went online to see if we have been accepted yet but no confirmation email – still pending. Saw an email from Jetstar about their sale - Melbourne to Cairns for $99. Worked out some dates then booked our flights home for a visit. Paid via internet transfer so will have to wait a few days for confirmation of our tickets. Booked to leave Melbourne on 20 Aug (we will have been gone one year) and fly back to Melb 16 Sep which gives us enough time to get up to Bathurst for early Oct. Will be great to see our boys, mum & dad and all our friends again.