Two Sams TravellingWhen we were planning a trip around Tasmania, something high up on the list was to go to Strathgordon and visit the Gordon River Dam. If you are camping, a great place to base yourself for a day trip to that area is the Mount Field National Park.
Unpowered sites were only $16 for two people and had full toilet, shower and kitchen and laundry facilities. These were the best facilities we have seen at a national park! You can’t make a booking and it is first come, first serve basis so if you are planning on going on a public holiday or when a large event is on, you need to get there early. Powered sites were also available and you can pay for your booking at the visitor centre or at the self registration booth. You have to have a Tasmanian parks pass to stay here, and you can organise that beforehand online or when you get there at the Visitor Centre.
There are heaps of things to do at Mount Field National Park. The Visitor Centre has a great playground, toilets and a cafe, with there also being a day use area with sheltered picnic tables and bbqs.
There are also walks you can do in the area, with there being a Three Falls Walk circuit that allows you to see many natural features of the area on a 6km loop. We didn’t quite have enough daylight to do the entire circuit, but managed to see Russell Falls and Horseshoe Falls, with both being very spectacular. If you are looking to complete an easier walk, you can just do the circuit to Russell Falls that is flat and wheelchair friendly if they have someone there to help.
At night, if you walk along the track and turn off all lights, you can see glow worms! There are handrails to guide you along the way as well as the track being nice and flat. We didn’t have the best weather on this trip, so we weren’t able to explore everything in the area, but just another excuse to come back!
Strathgordon is a bit over an hour from the campground but there is plenty to look at and see along the way. Maydena is just 15 minutes from Mount Field National Park and has a great mountain bike path if you are into mountain bike riding. Some basic facilities are also available in the area. When driving towards Strathgordon, you drive through the protected Tasmanian World Heritage Area and get to experience amazing scenery, but you also experience the devastation of the bushfires that occurred in late 2018. There were so many other things to see and do, but on the day it was freezing cold and raining so we experienced most of the area in the car.
You need to drive through Strathgordon to get to the Gordon River Dam. Strathgordon is the last town on the road, and you can stay at Pedders Wilderness lodge if you want to stay in the area. The Gordon River Dam is 10 minutes from Strathgordon and is the tallest dam in Tasmania. You can climb down some stairs and walk around the area and it is something we would definitely recommend! The view was spectacular, even on a rainy, four degree day and it was so peaceful. You can also abseil down the dam if you are feeling adventurous, but bookings are required. We would recommend rugging up and wearing wet weather clothing, as we were cold and saturated by the time we got back to the car.
On the way back to our campsite, we stopped and had a look at the Ted Beach campground. This is a free camp with toilets and a large shelter, but no phone reception. As it isn’t suitable for tent camping and our friends were in a swag, we decided not to camp there on this trip.
If you are looking for somewhere to have a meal in the area, we would recommend the National Park hotel. A short walk from the Mount Field National Park campground, this quirky pub had a pool table (with the cheapest game we have found), a variety of local alcoholic beverages to try, and vegan options on the menu. No parmy unfortunately, but everyone still enjoyed their meals by the fire.
South West Tasmania was somewhere we hadn’t explored before as it is quite far from Launceston, but we very much enjoyed our time there and would recommend it to anyone looking to do a trip around Tasmania.
