Cataract Gorge Reserve
Launceston
Directions - From the centre of Launceston head west along Paterson St towards Kings Bridge. The trail head is located on the north side of the bridge, below the Cataract Gorge Reserve sign. It is only a 10 minute walk from the centre of the city so you can park your car pretty much anywhere and walk in.
The Hike - With a return to Tasmania discussed before we had even left on our last visit in October, it didn't take much convincing by Candy and Hal to get us to do the Bay of Fires. Booked in over the Easter weekend, we flew into Launceston a few days early so one of my first thoughts was were I could go hiking. Luckily Launceston is blessed with the fantastic Cataract Gorge, a very short walk from the city centre so I convinced everyone that doing the longer loop on Good Friday would be a great idea. With most of the shops shut there wasn't much else to do and it would be a good way to stretch the legs before heading off to the East Coast for the four day Bay of Fires experience.
After a lovely breakfast at our hotel we decided to take the long way to the starting point along the riverfront boardwalk section because we'd only seen it in the dark the previous night at dinner. With sunny skies and still winds it was a relaxing way to explore Launceston and we saw plenty of people enjoying the good weather along the Tamar River. The start point that we used was Kings Bridge as it was the closest to our hotel and a fun position to start and end but you can elect to start at the car park for the First Basin if you like. From the riverside walk we were doing you could see Kings Bridge and where the South Esk River meets the Tamar River. After passing a beautifully restored flour mill that is now the Stillwater Hotel and Restaurant, we walked under the big highway bridge and up towards the much quieter Kings Bridge. Being the leader of the day's expedition I decided that we would walk in an anti-clockwise direction, mainly because I wanted to walk on the bridge and get some early photos looking down the gorge. This didn't turn out to be a bad idea with the morning light illuminating the other side of the gorge, something you don't get to see much of if you go in the opposite direction as the trail takes you into the forest instead of along the gorge.
After perusing the information boards underneath the impressive looking building that serves as an artist in residence complex now, we set off on the paved path (along with half of Launceston) that takes you along the river and provides excellent views of the gorge. Created by the final breakup of the Gondwana super continent, this naturally occurring fault line has been shaped by ice and flowing water over the eons to what it is today and the result is very striking. The dolerite columns had me reminiscing about our last trip to Tasmania on the Three Capes although the effect is not quite as dramatic given they are not as tall. Spotting one of the tourist cruise boats making its way along the river provided me with an opportunity to show the scale of the gorge walls, along with mixing up the photos a bit. As we snaked our way along the various bends of the gorge we soon arrived at the first of many of the wow moments, a space looking south towards First Basin and the Alexandra Bridge. Even the views looking down at the wide series of rapids was impressive and gave you a taste of what was an excellent walking experience from start to finish.
Moving on from the amazing views we stepped away from the chiselled features of the dolerite gorge and into a land of gardens, gazebos and autumnal beauty. With a lot of paths converging we had arrived at the Gorge Restaurant and surrounding gardens where we would have to figure out what we wanted to do and how to get there. First Basin is home to the longest single span chairlift in the world (so they claim) and we were close to the drop off point on the western side of the basin. We had plans on riding it eventually and with a bit of confusion around if we could get on it at this side, some members wanting to cross the basin by foot and then return via the chairlift, I made an executive decision that we would continue on the walk I had planned and would do the chairlift when we reached the other side of the basin a bit further on. With that settled we had a chance to admire the golden colours of the leaves that the changing of the seasons had brought. While not natural to the area, the trees planted here do provide make for a lovely scene and the grassed areas are great for relaxing or having a picnic. As we were doing the longer loop on offer around Cataract Gorge (for a shorter loop head to Alexandra Bridge and cross the river) we found the path leading up the hill right next to the very Elven looking shelter.
Officially called the Trevallyn Walk, this rocky single track takes you away from the crowds and into the dry sclerophyll forest above the gorge. There are a couple of side trips from the main track to lookouts and after skipping the Alexandra Lookout we elected to take the Cataract Lookout Track up to a lovely viewing platform above First Basin. Looking down at the hive of activity below we could see the chairlift, the swimming pool and grassed areas next to the basin and further afield to the dolerite gorge and a tiny hint of Launceston in the distance. With our fill of great views and a bit of a drinks break we headed back down the rocky path and re-joined the main track as it headed uphill. As we left the moister parts of the nearby creek system that runs parallel to the track the landscape opened up to reveal yellow grasses and tall eucalyptus trees in abundance. I was much more at home here than with the crowds down near the basin and was enjoying the physical challenge of hiking up the hill (even though others were not). As we neared the top of the biggest climb of the circuit, we entered the forest properly and started seeing beautiful bracken ferns lining the side of the trail.