Any Short Walks to a Hut?

Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion.
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Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion. Please avoid publishing details of access to sensitive areas with no tracks.

Any Short Walks to a Hut?

Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 13 Mar, 2007 7:48 am

My wife and I would like to go on a short overnight walk and take our 7 month old baby with us. Of course this means a LOT of extra gear, plus the baby herself. Hence wanting to keep the walk short! An isolated hut would be nice too, so that we could set up the light-weight portable cot rather than trying to share the tent with two adults and a baby. (The Phil and Teds 'Travel Cot' is awesome - assembling it feels like erecting a tent: http://www.philandteds.com/.)

The only short walks to huts that I can think of off the top of my head are usually full of people who probably wouldn't appreciate having a baby around (eg, Scott Kilvert).

Thankfully the baby sleeps right through the night most of the time, but a change of environment would probably cause her to wake and cry more often.

The only other idea I've come up with is Echo Point, but I've never stayed there before. Looks nice from the ferry. What's the track like from Cynthia Bay? Is there likely to be other people staying there?

Any other ideas?
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Postby aprior » Tue 13 Mar, 2007 9:03 pm

Thres a rustic hut at Lake Meston. It's about a 4-6 hour walk from the Forest Road along the Lake Myrtle Track. It's nowhere near as popular as the huts in the Cradle Valley but it's a bit more basic.
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Postby The Caveman » Sun 18 Mar, 2007 4:52 pm

G'day Nik,

all the huts and info you'll need are on the link below.

http://www.kosciuskohuts.org.au/hutslist%20Tas.htm

Click on your hut of interest and it will bring up the details, pics, history and sometimes the exact location.

Meston Hut pics below as an example.

Image
Image

They're a great bunch at the association. Only too keen to help out with info, etc...

Cheers,

Corey.
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Postby kantonysen » Sun 18 Mar, 2007 6:28 pm

Lady Lake hut might be a good option, I have walked into Lake Weston 5 or 6 times over the last 5 months and have never seen anybody at Lady Lake Hut. There are entries in the log book from people who have stayed and enjoyed their stay. I've also not come across anybody at the Lake Nameless hut, but it's a very exposed walk from Lady Lake Hut to the one at Lake Nameless; or from Lake McKenzie to Nameless.

The hut at Echo Point would be quite crowded I'd imagine.
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Postby Son of a Beach » Sun 18 Mar, 2007 6:59 pm

kantonysen wrote:Lady Lake hut might be a good option, I have walked into Lake Weston 5 or 6 times over the last 5 months and have never seen anybody at Lady Lake Hut. There are entries in the log book from people who have stayed and enjoyed their stay. I've also not come across anybody at the Lake Nameless hut, but it's a very exposed walk from Lady Lake Hut to the one at Lake Nameless; or from Lake McKenzie to Nameless.

The hut at Echo Point would be quite crowded I'd imagine.


I've stayed at the Lake Nameless hut myself once a long time ago. It was just after it had been rebuilt, or refitted, or something. The ranger said there was supposed to be a whole lot of people there for the grand opening ceremony, but thankfully it was just us. A beautiful little stone hut.

Trouble with most of these huts is that they require a rather steep climb on at least part of the walk, and I'm not sure I'm up to doing that with an 7.5kg baby, and about 10kg of baby gear.

The Meston hut does look good. I've never been to Meston, always bypassed en-route other places. I'll have to give it a try one of these days.
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Postby kantonysen » Sun 18 Mar, 2007 9:05 pm

The walk into Lake Meston involves some walking uphill, either going in by the Walls of Jerusalem via the trappers hut and Lake Adelaide. The other way in is via Juno Creek past Lake Bill and Lake Myrtle.
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Postby Son of a Beach » Mon 19 Mar, 2007 9:41 am

The Caveman wrote:all the huts and info you'll need are on the link below.

http://www.kosciuskohuts.org.au/hutslist%20Tas.htm

Click on your hut of interest and it will bring up the details, pics, history and sometimes the exact location.



Nice website! I've added the link to the "Web Resources" topic here at: http://bushwalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=15#15

Some of the info there is a bit out of date, but it's still a great resource (eg, the Temple Hut was dismantled and removed several years before the 'last updated' date on their page for it).
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Postby The Caveman » Mon 19 Mar, 2007 9:19 pm

The guys on that web site are very helpful in offering local advice where possible, but do rely on updated info to keep their site current.
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Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 20 Mar, 2007 7:14 am

I've sent them a note about the Temple Hut anyhow.

I wish I could remember the year that I saw it being dismantled. It was New Years day... 2002 at the latest, probably more like 2000. Hopeless memory, I've got.
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Postby Joe » Mon 26 Mar, 2007 10:53 pm

How steep is the track up to lady lake hut? Im thinkng of organising a hike for some guys on another forum for digital SLR camera users. could be some guys who dont do a lot of walking. What sort of fitness is needed for Lady lake? from the road it looks like a good climb at the beginning at least.
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Is the hut on the upper mersey still there? You can park you

Postby delphin » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 2:12 pm

Is the hut on the upper mersey still there? You can park your car and take walks from it - rather than walking in you walk away as it where.
Plus there's this handy little river close by if the fly rod needs to get out and about...
It must be 17 years since I've been up there. Run by the scouts or something? At the start of the mersy falls track I think.
Kind regards,
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OOOps! Meander not mersy!

Postby delphin » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 7:35 pm

:? :oops:
Meander river falls - not mersey. I told you it was years ago.
Meander river - it was really nice.
Ahhh. getting old. I'm looking forward to irritating my kids with memory loss.
Just thinking about it - it'd be great if someone could relocate it - I'd like to go back up there...
Kind regards,
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Postby Joe » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 7:46 pm

A hut in the meander area would be great....there is a heap of walks in there that would be great to spread over a couple of days.
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Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 8:26 pm

I can't find much info on anything in this area, but a few vague references to "Stone Hut" and "Stone Hut Track", as per these two web pages:

Deloraine Access Centre

Norther Forest (PDF)

Is this the one? Sounds like it would be worth checking out, anyhow.
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Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 8:31 pm

Getting a few great ideas here.

The only problem is that I was planning to use this information for a short easy walk over Easter some time, but as it turns out, it looks like I'll be moving house at Easter. Maybe I'll get around to it later this year... except that our daughter will weigh considerably more by then!!! :)

Well, at least I've got some good info here ready.
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Postby Joe » Tue 27 Mar, 2007 11:29 pm

I can't find much info on anything in this area, but a few vague references to "Stone Hut" and "Stone Hut Track", as per these two web pages:

Deloraine Access Centre

Norther Forest (PDF)

Is this the one? Sounds like it would be worth checking out, anyhow.



that OAC site claims its not a hut at all but a "inhabitable cave"!! That sounds like heap of fun to me!
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Postby kantonysen » Mon 02 Apr, 2007 7:41 am

"How steep is the track up to lady lake hut? Im thinkng of organising a hike for some guys on another forum for digital SLR camera users. could be some guys who dont do a lot of walking. What sort of fitness is needed for Lady lake? from the road it looks like a good climb at the beginning at least."

People with reasonable health should be able to walk up to Lady Lake hut. It takes me about an 1hr&10 minutes to get to the plateau, then its about 5 minutes to the hut. If taking in a group that are not used to physical exercise you could have a rest stop every twenty minutes or so.
I get my camera out as soon as I get to the plateau. That's the first rest I take. In steepness I suppose the track is about the same as going to the trappers hut on the way into the Walls. Though the Higgs track to Lady Lake does not have any flattish spots on the way up as does the Walls track. Great spot for photos around Lady Lake hut.
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Postby Joe » Thu 05 Apr, 2007 11:50 am

kantonysen wrote:People with reasonable health should be able to walk up to Lady Lake hut. It takes me about an 1hr&10 minutes to get to the plateau, then its about 5 minutes to the hut. If taking in a group that are not used to physical exercise you could have a rest stop every twenty minutes or so.
I get my camera out as soon as I get to the plateau. That's the first rest I take. In steepness I suppose the track is about the same as going to the trappers hut on the way into the Walls. Though the Higgs track to Lady Lake does not have any flattish spots on the way up as does the Walls track. Great spot for photos around Lady Lake hut.
Keith



Thanks for all the info. Im definately going up during the easter break, the camera club guys are all soft as hell and arent keen :)
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Huts to walk to easily in Tas

Postby Viking181 » Sat 19 May, 2007 10:18 am

Hi, I'm the webmaster for the hut site listed by another - http://www.kosciuszkohuts.org.au - there are about 3000 pages on this site now which has more than half a million hits - go to the tassie section under "the huts" and enjoy. For others, if you have any info on other huts you would like me to update or add, please email me.

If you need short walks to huts overnight, there are some very well hidden huts on Mt Wellington that are great and rarely visited. After that, my favourite is the hut at Twisted Tarn at Mt Field - a beautiful walk and brilliant hut (even ice-skated on the lake there once!)

Of course there are also many in Vic and NSW that would suit. The most famous is Whites River Hut above Guthega, past Jindabyne. A perfect walk with a family.
Cheers - Olaf
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Postby Son of a Beach » Sun 20 May, 2007 8:35 am

Thanks Olaf - the huts web site is a great resource!
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Echo Point Hut

Postby corvus » Mon 21 May, 2007 8:34 pm

Echo Point is a fantastic little Hut however it is now listed as Emegency shelter only (I suspect owing to the poor Toilet facilities) it also contains a healthy native rat population that I would not expose my baby to ,the walk in from Cynthia Bay is easy and flat in comparison to any others .
The Scout Hut at Cradle is still your best option as you can be assured of your booking but I suspect that the seasons have left you behind as the weather can cut up very rough from now on.
Most folks who take their babies to BP Lodge(Scout Hut) do a double header Dad ,Mum and Bub then Dad back to the car for the rest of the gear it only means a double trip for Dad of around 2 hours ,less if you take some friends with you to lighten the load and overall cost .
I note that you have done part of the Lees Paddocks track with Bub why not consider going the extra distance (not much) and stop at Lees Hut it has good bunks running water and a good wood heater however not guaranteed free on any given weekend .
The Huntsman Hideaway on the upper Meander River run by the Deloraine Apex Club envolves no walking but you have access to some nice day walks and finally The Arm River interpretation centre has great accom modation run by Forestry Tas Deloraine and is a good base for short day walks.
Hope this helps.
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Postby bushwalkinGeeks » Tue 22 May, 2007 12:05 am

kantonysen wrote:The walk into Lake Meston involves some walking uphill, either going in by the Walls of Jerusalem via the trappers hut and Lake Adelaide. The other way in is via Juno Creek past Lake Bill and Lake Myrtle.


Is the start of this track easy to find? Where?
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Re: Echo Point Hut

Postby Son of a Beach » Tue 22 May, 2007 8:13 am

Thanks Corvus.... some good info there. Sounds like Echo Point should be off my list.

corvus wrote:The Scout Hut at Cradle is still your best option (-snip-) Most folks who take their babies to BP Lodge(Scout Hut) do a double header Dad ,Mum and Bub then Dad back to the car for the rest of the gear it only means a double trip for Dad of around 2 hours ,less if you take some friends with you to lighten the load and overall cost .


This won't be a problem for us, as we have some very good light-weight baby gear. The portable cot, when packed up, is smaller and lighter than our Mac Pac Olympus tent. If we don't have to take a tent, stove, fuel, etc, then baby gear will hardly be noticed, I reckon. Our packs will be about as full and heavy as if we were doing a week-long walk in tents, and the only extra weight will be the baby herself. So the scout hut is definitely the go. Only trouble is the weather, as you mentioned. We may end up leaving it to late spring, but then the baby will probably weight twice as much! :D

The Huntsman Hideaway on the upper Meander River run by the Deloraine Apex Club envolves no walking but you have access to some nice day walks


This one sounds interesting. I've not been there before, but have a friend who has used it, I think. Could be worth checking out, by the sound of it.
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Scout Hut

Postby corvus » Tue 22 May, 2007 7:23 pm

G'day
When Bub is older you wont need the cot as the bunks can be sorted to suit a little one.
Spring can also be unpredictable and as Hut Warden over a 6 Month period have experienced Snow in Summer :o

Good Luck whatever you choose :D

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Postby kantonysen » Tue 22 May, 2007 8:20 pm

bushwalkinGeeks, in relation to the track to Lake Meston via Lake Bill the beginning of the track is somewhat hard to find. It begins at Juno Creek which takes about a 15 minute drive past where you turn off for the Walls.
I have an old Mersey Map which does not show the road on the Eastern side of Lake Rowallan; but would suggest that the grid reference is pretty close to 350705. You can always drive to the end of the road and use the Mosses Creek track which takes you past Chapter Lake.

The other route goes via the Walls track, you go maybe 400 metres past the trappers hut and take the bottom fork in the track which takes you onto Lake Adelaide and then Lake Meston.

I've turned the place upside down and located a newer Mersey Map, the reference is more like 3466975.
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Re: Echo Point Hut

Postby tasadam » Fri 25 May, 2007 10:02 am

corvus wrote:Echo Point is a fantastic little Hut however it is now listed as Emegency shelter only (I suspect owing to the poor Toilet facilities)
When I was there a couple of months ago, the construction of a double decker toilet was well under way. So the toilet concerns are probably resolved by now, can't comment on the rats. I recommend having a chat with the ranger station at Lake St Clair on 03 6289 1172. They can probably fill you in on the status of the toilet and whether it is still indeed "emergency only".
My impression was that it was a valid option for a hut - again check with the ranger.
I do know that the talk was Pine Valley hut has mice...
I preferred my tent but that involved chasing away a frisky possum.
Ya get that.....
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Echo Point Hut

Postby corvus » Fri 25 May, 2007 3:40 pm

Thats good news about the Toilet and I have confirmed that the Hut is available for normal use ,I doubt that the rats have moved on though as I know Parks staff trapped and moved them a couple of times but they came back .
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Re: Any Short Walks to a Hut?

Postby Dick » Sun 03 Feb, 2008 4:23 pm

Son of a Beach wrote:My wife and I would like to go on a short overnight walk and take our 7 month old baby with us. Of course this means a LOT of extra gear, plus the baby herself. Hence wanting to keep the walk short! An isolated hut would be nice too, so that we could set up the light-weight portable cot rather than trying to share the tent with two adults and a baby. (The Phil and Teds 'Travel Cot' is awesome - assembling it feels like erecting a tent: http://www.philandteds.com/.)

The only short walks to huts that I can think of off the top of my head are usually full of people who probably wouldn't appreciate having a baby around (eg, Scott Kilvert).

Thankfully the baby sleeps right through the night most of the time, but a change of environment would probably cause her to wake and cry more often.

The only other idea I've come up with is Echo Point, but I've never stayed there before. Looks nice from the ferry. What's the track like from Cynthia Bay? Is there likely to be other people staying there?

Any other ideas?
A bit late I know as a new member I just saw the note about Echo Point hut , not many hikers stay there over night , the track to the hut is good but can be slippery in wet weather due to the many exposed tree roots, 3 of us stayed the night, the wood fire was great , the views over the lake were spectacular at dusk and dawn, and we had no problem with rodents or animals.
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Re: Any Short Walks to a Hut?

Postby kramster » Wed 20 Feb, 2008 8:58 am

Ok, I know this thread is a bit old, however thought of adding my 2-cents worth...

- Cooks Beach (Freycenit NP) has a hut, which I think has been renovated a bit in the past year or two. Nice sheltered camping otherwise. The walk in is 3 easy hrs (or less if you are working on a land-speed record).
- Mt Field also has some huts that are not too hard to get to (K-Col, Lake Newdegate, Twilight Tarn), there is even some (cheap and cheerful) cabins that NPWS manage just before Lake Dobson which would make a good base-camp for a family
- Lee's Padocks has 2 (Lee's and Wadleys), of which Wadley's is nicer I think
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Re: Echo Point Hut

Postby kramster » Wed 20 Feb, 2008 9:05 am

tasadam wrote:
corvus wrote:Echo Point is a fantastic little Hut however it is now listed as Emegency shelter only (I suspect owing to the poor Toilet facilities)
When I was there a couple of months ago, the construction of a double decker toilet was well under way. So the toilet concerns are probably resolved by now, can't comment on the rats. I recommend having a chat with the ranger station at Lake St Clair on 03 6289 1172. They can probably fill you in on the status of the toilet and whether it is still indeed "emergency only".
My impression was that it was a valid option for a hut - again check with the ranger.
I do know that the talk was Pine Valley hut has mice...
I preferred my tent but that involved chasing away a frisky possum.
Ya get that.....

Was in at Echo point last October, and camped there for 1 night (on our way back from Pine Valley). Brand-spanking-new toilet (not even sure if the paint was dry when we got there). Its the 2-level sort, where they swap and take out (helecoptor) the alien-spaceship style containers from under the loo. Fantastic pretty hut, great for Platy-spotting... but watch out for Mighty Mouse (there is some pretty inventive food-hanging devices strung up in the hut too).
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