Once again up for an early start to get to Mount Field National Park and Russell Falls, we had thought a quick stop here and then attempt a dash for the Gordon Dam (some 3 hours away), little did we know we would fall in love with this park and spend almost the whole day here, thoughts of driving to the dam soon dropped off, the more we explored this park. After stopping at the Visitors Centre we walked to Russell Falls, no doubt the best falls we saw on the entire trip, a pleasant 10-minute walk, beside a babbling creek with small cascades, tree ferns and sunlight forest of moss and ferns, and fungi. The falls were gorgeous and running well, sweet, crystal clear water, no foamy brown you see after a recent rain. Being there early meant we had the place to ourselves.
I must admit I turned a 10-minute walk back to the visitors’ centre into a 45-minute fungi shooting bonanza! We then continued our drive further up the mountain. Stunning scenery and more fresh snow (two days in a row) on Wombat Moor and the surrounding peaks, blue skies and sunshine, calm winds made it very pleasant. Of course in these conditions, the snow did not last, but getting there early was a boon. People arriving later in the day had no idea what they missed. OK, so it wasn’t a huge covering of snow, but still plenty for us!
Driving even further got us to Lake Dobson, and the end of the road, you can hike further from the car park, we just did some of the Lake Dobson track. The water was so crystal clear and looked so inviting, but I am sure would have been very cold, there was ice in some of the runoffs and creeks. The views and the warm sunshine made for an incredible walk and I fell in love with this park all over again. Everyone told us Cradle Mountian was the place to go, obviously, these people have never seen Lake Dobson and Wombat Moor. I fear my photos cannot totally convey the sense of peace and tranquillity and the beauty of this area.
We also did a walk around Lake Fenton, but it was not quite as pretty.
We then drove back down the mountain and through some very pretty countryside along the Derwent River, with Aumun colour ablaze and reflecting in the calm slow currents in the gorgeous afternoon sun, we had to stop and capture that.
We spent so long ambling along the river and stopping to take photos, it was then a race against the clock to capture sunset at Richmond Bridge, we arrived, just in time, great cloud formations, but sadly very little colour.
We had vacated our Hotel in Hobart CBD that morning, hoping to find accommodation in Richmond, but sadly we could not find any, so we made a quick drive back to Hobart, but this time much closer to the outskirts (right near the airport – thankfully it was quiet). Finding any accommodation in Hobart and surrounding areas was becoming increasingly difficult, possibly due to the Targa Car Rally, which was in town. Actually, apart from the weather, we were having to dodge and weave away from this as well, because in many areas they had closed roads off, making it difficult to get around.
This is where I end Day 5, tomorrow we will head back to Richmond to explore this historic old town.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |
Julie Powell - Photographer & Graphic Artist 
Gorgeous photos
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Thank you so much
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Don’t you just love the early morning in a forest! And then to have a lovely stream and an awesome waterfall all to yourself at the same time!
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totally awesome……love it
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Amazing!!
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Thanks. We thought so
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Nice collection of photos.
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thank you
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Reblogged this on Touching the Summit and commented:
Bucket list dream
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