September 2020 - Buckland Gorge

This month’s walk is to the Buckland Gorge on the East coast.  After recent rain the temperature was expected to be mild on Sunday 27 September 2020 with promises of sun to warm up the day. 

The walk was organised by Bob and we had Wayne, Gerwyn, Greg, Anne, Kat, Angie, Bob and Lyn.  

We set out from Hobart on the A3 at 9.30am.   At Buckland you turn left on Buckland Road and travel about 11kms to Cutting Grass Road intersection and the start of the walk is about 600 metres past that on the edge of a cleared paddock. There are a few small areas to park on the side of the road and they are all taken today!

From the road you take the 4WD track to the east, with the field fence line on your right hand side.

 

  

Keep going right at the sandy fork and after about 25 minutes you need to find another turn to the right to take you down to the edge of the Gorge.  It can be easy to miss but look for the coloured tags which were noted to be fading.  The track descends into the Gorge and takes you along the left side of it.  

Soon you will come across the hidden sandstone cliffs and rock caves swirling with colour above and below. The Gorge is beautiful with fascinating rock sculptures and similar to the Painted Cliffs on Maria Island which is apparently part of the same rock formation.     

                                         

  

 

The track hugs the cliff and is narrow and  steep in places so care needs to be taken. There were little water showers cascading over the rocks above.

 

 

The track descends to the Bluff River and then ascends the cliff again.  There is a fine headland which gives great views over the Gorge, a good place to stop for lunch. We had lunch on the grassy knoll overlooking the river far below

The gorge is a refuge for wildlife and today we saw plenty of birds and an echidna.  

   

Watch out for stinging nettles as we encountered a few and Angie thinks she found a rare variety amongst them. 

From the top of the cliff it is a very short distance back to the west to pick up the dusty 4WD track which takes you back to the road in about 20 minutes.  

                            

 

The walk is approx 8-9kms circuit along the east side and took us a bit less than 4 hours with a few breaks and taking plenty of time to marvel at nature’s spectacular display.!