Du Cane Circuit |
Getting There |
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The rugged landscape of the Du Cane Range |
Day 1 – Lake St Clair to Du Cane Gap (14.5 km - 390m ascent - 90m descent) |
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Setting off from Cynthia Bay |
Looking over Lake St Clair to the cloud-topped Du Cane Range |
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Overland Track signpost at Narcissus Hut |
Narcissus River |
Suspension bridge over the Narcissus River |
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Drier eucalyptus forest |
The damp shade of myrtle beech forest |
An echidna "hiding" from the passing walkers |
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The fluted rock columns of The Acropolis |
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View from Windy Ridge Hut |
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Where the big eucs grow |
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Mossy creek near Du Cane Gap |
A cluster of pandani |
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The secret campsite - Du Cane Gap |
Time to relax |
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Some very tall pandani |
Short break on a scrubby slope ... |
... before tackling the boulders |
Crossing the dolerite blocks on Fallen Mountain |
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View over the upper Mersey River Valley |
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Surveying the route ahead ... |
... which sometimes went under rocks ... |
... as well as over the top |
Tarn backed by Mt Pelion East |
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Cathedral Mountain and the Mersey River Valley |
Cushion plant in flower |
The distant peak of Frenchman's Cap |
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Another beautiful tarn on the Du Cane Range |
Late afternoon reflections |
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Evening light over Fallen Mountain |
Campsite on the saddle between Fallen Mountain and Mt Massif |
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Pelion East framed in the morning mist |
The route ahead - towards Mt Massif with Mt Ossa to the north |
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Looking south over the Narcissus Valley towards distant Mt Olympus |
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View of The Acropolis and Geryon from Mt Massif |
The big cushion plant (ca. 50m2) |
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The beauty of dolerite |
Edging around a bluff |
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The brooding east face of Geryon |
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The ascent of Geryon North |
Tarn on the plateau of Geryon North |
Crossing the high plateau (easy walking at last!) |
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The fluted spires of The Acropolis |
Barn Bluff (in duplicate?) |
Evening shadows on the southern Du Cane Range |
The ponds at our camp site |
The mountains of Tasmania in blue and black |
A golden sunset |
Rupert watching the sun set (in pink and blue) |
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Early morning fog on the plateau |
A band of cloud wrapped over Mt Ossa |
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Looking down on to the tarns of the Upper Labyrinth |
Lake St Clair and the dark edge of The Acropolis |
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View over Lake Tartarus |
Tarns of the Labyrinth |
Lake Ophione framed by Geryon and The Acropolis |
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Looking towards Mt Gould from |
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Deep in the myrtle beech forest |
Reaching a saddle beyond The Parthenon, we commenced our final descent of the Du Cane Range, on a track that plunged steeply off the ridge – first through scrub, then taller eucalypt forest and finally into the superb stillness of the myrtle beech forest. How nice it was, and how cool, to wander past those mossy trunks and gnarly roots beneath trees that reached as high as 40m. How hard it is to capture the mood of forest in a photo! |
Forest giant |
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In the deep shade beneath the myrtle beech canopy |
Creek beneath the myrtle beech |
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A dark pool in Cephissus Creek, speckled with leatherwood flowers |
Boardwalk across a sphagnum bog |
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Swampy area near the Pine Valley -Overland Track intersection |
Button grass flats in the Narcissus Valley |
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