Nelson Falls - more info needed

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Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby walkinTas » Mon 20 Oct, 2008 10:25 pm

Name: Nelson Falls
Tasmap: 3833 Owen
Latitude: -42.1003614
Longitude: 145.7370726
Stream: Nelson River

I believe this is the correct reference to Nelson Falls. There are three other sets of falls in the area. Two further up Nelson River, and one in a tributary of Nelson River. Does anyone know if these are named falls? Has anyone visited these falls?
NelsonFalls.png
NelsonFalls.png (415.55 KiB) Viewed 5432 times
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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby tasadam » Tue 21 Oct, 2008 9:13 am

The most likely place for information on these falls is the Parks office in Queenstown, so I phoned them.
I spoke to a pleasant lady who has been in the Queenstown office for 16 years - she is aware of the existence of these falls, but us unaware of any other detail - she cannot recall anyone visiting them, and is unaware of whether they are named.
She did say she'd be prepared to hunt around for further information if I liked - so if you're really keen you could always call...
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=7710#18

Or use their online enquiry form to ask, perhaps?
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=5979

Be aware to anyone reading - off-track, remote areas, likely in thick scrub. Like, over the road (or thereabouts - within 4 km or so) is Victoria Pass - the bush bash down from Raglan Range to Victoria Pass was pretty tough going 19 or so years ago, and it's grown a lot since then, so I reckon the forest around these falls would be quite something.

Interested to hear how you go!
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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 21 Oct, 2008 10:40 am

tasadam wrote:the bush bash down from Raglan Range to Victoria Pass was pretty tough going 19 or so years ago, and it's grown a lot since then


Was rather horrendous last year too! I didn't know it was possible for so much vegetation to grow on loose scree, covering the scree so much that you can't see it, and yet the scree is still loose. Everything moves - the trees, the ferns, the ground, and everything is steep, and yet it's still hard to bash through it.
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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby walkinTas » Tue 21 Oct, 2008 8:21 pm

Thanks Adam and Nik,

That explains why I haven't been rushed with info by people who have visited these falls - they might be too hard to reach. My 1:25K map shows a 4WD track that follows up the boundary of the Franklin-Lower-Gordon National Park from Victoria Pass, and then a walking track the comes round almost to Nelson Falls. Do you know anything about either. You can see the end of the walking track on the left side of the previous clip from the map.
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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby tasadam » Tue 21 Oct, 2008 8:41 pm

Nelson Falls is very touristy, with a wheelcharr-access boardwalk all the way to the falls (which isn't far) and a big enough car park on the side of the highway for a couple of buses and some cars / campers.
Don't have any other info, sorry.
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Nelson Falls
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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 21 Oct, 2008 8:47 pm

I don't have my map handy right now, but the track that comes to the southern side of the road (across the road from Nelson Falls area) is the Raglan Range track. This, and many of the other tracks that are marked as 'walking tracks' or 4wd tracks in the area, and which all appear to go nowhere, are in fact the old bulldozer tracks left over from making the area easily accessible for people researching the best place to dam the Franklin River in the early 1980's.

However, the Raglan Ranges track (or at least part of it) is actually used for people who've walked out of the Irenabyss from Frenchmans Cap. I walked it as far as Bubs Hill (as directed in John Chapman's SW book), and it certainly made that stage of the walk much much easier than the previous day and half of walking, some of which was scrub bashing on and off through very tough bands of tea tree and other scrub and Bubs Hill was the insane bit of scrub bashing I mentioned in my earlier post.

I would not recommend this route to anyone who does not have some significant walking and navigating experience. The scrub bashing is very demoralising at times (but the views and locations in some spots are truly amazing).
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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby tastrax » Thu 23 Oct, 2008 3:00 pm

Having worked at Collingwood River for a few years, and helping with the initial construction of the walk, I can assure you that many of the "roads and tracks" shown on the 1:25,000 maps (especially in that area) are a "figment of the cartographers imagination"!....and that back in the mid 80's!

They may have existed many, many, many years ago but most would be very hard to find these days. To get some idea check Google Earth - the highway and the Raglan track show up well but none of the others. The start of the track you are interested in has been chopped just by the highway.

Turn on roads, places of interest and terrain to see what you would be in for. Going to the east of the falls you will see the "road" near Snake Creek even peters out eventually.

:D Good luck with the search ....

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Re: Nelson Falls - more info needed

Postby tasadam » Thu 30 Oct, 2008 10:50 am

Just found another photo of Nelson Falls, here.
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