For new year’s eve, H and I drove up to Lake Mackenzie with Deb Hunter to embark on an overnight hike.
Our intended route was to walk from Lake Mackenzie dam to Lake Balmoral via a scoparia field Deb wanted to show us, and from there onwards to the northern end of Lake Lucy Long, where we would go over a wildflower saddle, down to Explorer Creek and then back along the western side of the dam to the carpark. The route was a loop and mostly off track. I had done the loop the first time approximately two years ago, with Deb leading the way. This time though it was going to be my memory and a basic map for guidance.
As the dam was very full, we left the carpark and headed around the northwestern end of Lake Mackenzie in the general direction of Sandy Bay hut. Instead of going all the way to the hut, we connected up with Parsons Track and made our way up to the scoparia field.
The tarn on Parsons Track.
Having lunch among the ants.
Scoparia.
An large echidna we spotted. I could feel how soft its spines are.
On the way we stopped at a very pretty tarn for a pit stop and to be dazzled by the wonderful view back to the dam. The scoparia field is one of the remaining undamaged pockets in an area that has been burned by two bush fires. It gave us insight into what it must have looked like before with its abundance of colour and sweet flower nectar.
After we explored the area, Deb bid us farewell and headed back to the carpark, while we continued on to Lake Balmoral. It was mostly scrub bashing along wallaby trails and a creek, with tussocky grass and hidden holes of water everywhere. We saw quite a few wallabies with beach blonde fur compared to their darker cousins down on the plains.
The direction to Lake Balmoral was marked by a line of pencil pines leading up to it. Arriving at the lake is a stunning sight, even more so when you realise you’re the only people there. The only way to get from the northern to the southern end of the lake is to rock hop on massive boulders for about 45 minutes til you reach a sandy beach, just perfect for swimming. Although we didn’t swim, we setup camp and enjoyed the warm evening and a good meal. New year’s day was brought in without a bang.
Bouldering around Lake Balmoral for an hour.
The large ancient pencil pine trees at Lake Balmoral beach.
The next morning we woke to a warm sun rise and headed off fairly early to beat the heat. We followed the left side of the creek that empties into Lake Balmoral and soon found the old fence line left behind by graziers - a sure sign we were on the right path. There was plenty of water in all the creeks and streams and after taking off our boots to cross one of them, we refilled our bottles and headed across cushion grass and more bog to find the right saddle to climb from where Lake Lucy Long was visible. Once at this lookout, I could see the next saddle, off to the right, which would bring us to Explorer Creek.
Choosing the right way to go.
Looking down at the western end of Lake Lucy Long. On the right track.
There was an abundance of wildflowers blooming on the saddle ranging from scoparia to mountain rocket, and all the ones inbetween that I don’t know the names of, as well as cushion plants and more bog. (I’ve learned that cushion plants are the only plants that intentionally create their own climate and a system of water reservoirs allowing other species of plants to thrive and grow).
Waratah still flowering.
So far so good!
We stopped for a break before our descent down to find Explorer Creek track which trails along side Explorer Creek, and was grateful that I hadn’t led us astray until that point. Little did I know what was ahead of us.
Explorer Creek crossing.
Explorer Creek is beautiful, it runs down to Lake Mackenzie and empties into there. The twisted shape of pencil pines line the creek and there are many cascades and pools where you can refresh yourself. The track is well defined with cairns and there’s no possibility of getting lost. As we approached the dam, it became boggier but we found our way to the creek and prepared to cross it. The creek is about six metres wide and while the current wasn’t fast, it was quite deep in several places. We found a place where several rocks were close together, which could support us as we clambered across with barefeet in water and soon found ourselves on the other side. We basked in the sun with a short lunch break and the notion that we would be back at the carpark in no time.
That illusion was soon rattled when we arrived at the place where the track along the western side of the dam should have been but saw that it was underwater thanks to the high level of the dam. Not really remembering if there was a road or other track going through the thickly treed vegetation onshore, I wasted a fair bit of time looking for a route or footprints left behind by other hikers who may have met the same problem. I soon realised the only way we were going to find our way back around the dam was to go down to the water and scramble over the boulders - and hope that we wouldn’t meet a dead end.
After a while of this and some wet feet, we saw the track coming up out of the water and leading into more thick vegetation. Feeling rather relieved, we got off the boulders and followed it. This relief was short lived as the track headed back down into the water. This time the boulders to hop on were massive monoliths and if we were to continue around the dam scrambling over them, we’d need to swim and leave our packs behind.
The only option was to head up. We disappeared into the bush and made our way up a steep hill with thick brush, finally coming across a well trodden track, whether used by humans or animals we didn’t know, but it took us away from a potentially risky water undertaking and we eventually found the actual dam track.
Feeling rather chuffed, we rounded the corner and could see the dam wall and carpark up ahead. This time we controlled the urge to celebrate, as again the track plunged back into the water. However, we were only two hundred metres away from the dam wall and the boulder hopping was going to be easy pie.
We made it back to our trusty Skoda after almost two hours of superfluous bush bashing and drove to Mole Creek for a new year beer. It was clear to us that 2024 was going to be a year of expecting the unexpected, of not taking anything for granted, and being mindful at all times. The final two hours could have turned pear shaped, but common sense prevailed and we got through a small yet fun challenge.
Happy 2024!