This road trip is one of the most scenic drives and the beginning of the west coast. On the way you will stop by cute little towns, Mount field national park, Waterfalls, Lakes and of course Gordons dam. Mt field national park is 1 hour out of Hobart and is one of the oldest and most diverse national parks in Tasmania, it is a place you definitely should add to your Tasmania itinerary.
New Norfolk Is a Perfect stop to step back in time. Located 35 minutes outside of hobart, as your heading to Mt field national park you will pass this town. We stayed a couple of nights at the Derwent Tea house for $10 a night. There is plenty of things to explore in New Norfolk we Drove up to pulpit rock lookout and peppermint hill lookout, We explored the antique shop and we walked along the Derwent cliff walk which is a 1.5km loop up and over the cliffs and along the river. Whether you are staying for a night or stopping by it is worth a stop to look around this little town.
Mt field National park
3 falls track you will pass Russell falls, Horseshoe falls, lady barron falls -Can be walked in a circuit where you could see all 3 Waterfalls, This circuit is 6km return and will take about 2 hours. You also have the choice to just do Russell falls which is part of the 60 great walks in tasmania and is an easy 20 minute walk as you walk towards the waterfall you will walk along the river and be surrounded by ferns. This waterfall is one of the most photographed waterfalls in tasmania.
Lake dobson- Pandani grove walk Is a leisurely walk in the forest it will take 40 minutes to complete the circuit. The track goes around Lake Dobson and through ancient pencil pine.
Tall Trees Walk 30 minute circuit, you can see the world’s tallest flowering plant and the giant swamp gum with a height of up to 30 metres. You can do this walk as a side trip on the three falls walk or drive 5 minutes from the visitor centre there is a carpark.
The drive to the gordon dam is spectacular it will offer many stops along the way. We stopped off at Junee caves just outside of Maydenna a 4km drive to the start of the walk. It is an easy 20 minute walk to the cave, the walk follows the Junee river upstream through the rain forest.
Twisted sisters loop just off timbs track. This is an easy 1.5km 20 minute return walk through deep rainforest and small wetland. The short loop that takes you to the base of a Eucalyptus tree known as Twisted Sister.
Creepy crawly nature trail is a easy 30 minute 1km return walk. This walk takes you through a cool temperate rainforest. It is fully-boarded track that gently weaves its way around moss-covered trees and over giant logs. The track is not recommended for people who cannot climb a lot of stairs or who are unable to bend down and duck under branches.
As you continue your drive to the Dam you will want to stop many times to take photos of the scenery one look out is at the entrance the amazing sentinel ranges and the other is Lake Pedder lookout. There is two places to free campTeds beach and Serpentine dam, we camped at Serpentine dam and had Lakeside views.
Gordon dam
2 and half hours from Hobart and just 12km out of Strathgordon sits the Gordon Dam. The dam is the tallest in Tasmania at 200 meters long and 140 meters tall, the concrete wall features an arch both horizontally and vertically. Visitors can walk down the 185 steps and walk across the wall. The dam is actually higher than the Sydney Harbour bridge and holds 12,359,040 megaliters of water, and powers 15 % of Tasmania’s power.
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