FIELDS OF GOLD
It also goes by the endearing names of Nothofagus gunnii or tanglefoot. Bushwalkers can vouch for tripping on the crawling, twisted branches of a tree that fights to reach two metres in height. The locals call it the ‘turning of the fagus’. It’s a colourful insight into our Gondwanan heritage. - Discover Tasmania
Our Fields of Gold route is named in honour of the picturesque beauty of Tarn Shelf and the Mt Field alpine regions come Autumn. Each year, in the weeks leading up to Anzac Day on the 25th April the Northofagus gunnii turns. Nicknamed 'Fagus' by our local residents, this plant is Australia’s only cold climate winter-deciduous tree, growing at a very narrow altitude band in the mountains. Mt Field is one of the absolute best places to see the Northofagus gunnii which turns from yellow to red to orange, before the leaves fall to the ground or are blown into the tarns where they float like royal confetti.
This route begins at the Lake Dobson Carpark at the top of the Lake Dobson Road. This is only accessibly by private vehicle. The route traverses this loop in an anticlockwise direction, initially passing Lake Dobson on the Lake Dobson Track, a well groomed fire trail, before turning right and heading down the valley on the Lake Webster Track past Lake Seal. After passing Lake Webster the track then climbs gradually but continuously up to Tarn Shelf and the famous Twilight Tarn Hut. In Autumn this region is a paradise for photographers. After pausing the gather your breath you will then meander back along Tarn Shelf past numerous small lakes and tarns. This will be a highlight of the trail as you gaze up to the Rodway Range (1377m). This range is also covered in expansive fields of Northofagus whilst the tarns provide a magical swimming experience, especially when the red and gold leaves lazily float on the water's surface. After reaching the far end of Tarn Shelf and the Mt Field Ski Area, you will descend quickly down a large fire trail back to the Lake Dobson Carpark. If you are brave, Lake Dobson also provides a refreshing swimming experience after your day on the trail! Whilst this route is magical at many times of the year, Autumn is especially rewarding for the rich blaze of colour here in the mountains. Winter can be a very problematic time due to substantial snow and ice cover and we strongly discourage participants from venturing here during that time of year. Summer and Spring are both glorious too with many plants flowering and adding colour & perfume to the day. Just be wary of snakes during peak summer! |
Overview
Difficulty Level 1, Growing Wilder Distance 14.0km Ascent 355m Descent 355m Terrain Varied terrain from earthen hiking trails to rocky, alpine trails. Some stairs and many uneven single trails. There are some short sections consisting of boardwalks and smoother fire trails. Approx. Duration 2.5 – 4hrs |
The Route
- Begin at the Lake Dobson Carpark at the top of the Lake Dobson Road. Please note, this road can be closed during winter or cold, snowy days. Our route follows the large firetrail on the eastern side of Lake Dobson for approximately 800m before turning right onto the Lake Webster Track. This is a narrow singletrack that follows the valley at a mostly downhill gradient.
- You will see some small left-hand junctions off the Lake Webster Track. These take you to Lake Seal and Lake Webster, as well as a few smaller lakes. They are well worth visiting if you have the energy!
- After passing Lake Webster the track begins to climb, at first gently and then in some places steeply until you reach the right-hand junction to the old Twilight Tarn Hut. This short side-trip if well worth the effort! We suggest a rest in the sunshine here as you have already covered 6km.
- After leaving Twilight Tarn Hut you will return to the main trail and turn right onto the Tarn Shelf Track. This is a 5km section over quite rocky and rough terrain. Be prepared to take your time and enjoy the expansive vistas out towards Mt Field, and down into Lake Seal from a couple of vantage points. We also recommend a swim in one of the lakes! Furthermore, we would like to caution you if you are doing this route during the latter autumn, winter or early Spring months. On clear, cold nights the track can be covered in snow or black ice and be very slow going! It is also susceptible to holding snow and snow drifts during these seasons. Please check the weather forecast and be prepared for all conditions on this section of the track!
- At the end of Tarn Shelf the track climbs up back the rope tow and then meets the track heading up to Rodway Range. Turn left and head back to the main ski field where there is a day use shelter, ski huts and toilet facilities.
- From this ski field descend down the fire trail back to Lake Dobson. Near the bottom of the hill you will see a small hiking track to the right that will take you on the western side of Lake Dobson back to the carpark. This is a beautiful section of trail beneath Pandani trees and snowgums.
- This route concludes back at the Lake Dobson carpark. We highly recommend another swim and a picnic on the shores of the lake. Congratulations! You have now completed the 14.2km Fields of Gold loop!
Start/Finish Facilities
Toilets Yes - at the Lake Dobson day-use shelter.
Water Yes - at the Lake Dobson day-use shelter and throughout the trail from streams and lakes.
Parking Yes.
Services The closest services are located at the Mt Field Visitor Centre at the entrance to the Park. Here there is a small cafe, toilets and gift shop.
Phone coverage Telstra & Optus reception. Vodafone reception exists but is patchy on Tarn Shelf.
Toilets Yes - at the Lake Dobson day-use shelter.
Water Yes - at the Lake Dobson day-use shelter and throughout the trail from streams and lakes.
Parking Yes.
Services The closest services are located at the Mt Field Visitor Centre at the entrance to the Park. Here there is a small cafe, toilets and gift shop.
Phone coverage Telstra & Optus reception. Vodafone reception exists but is patchy on Tarn Shelf.
Mapping & directions for this route
We have created 4 easy ways for you to choose from to safely and enjoyably navigate your way around this route. From a physical map to the more technology savvy, we have your safety at heart!
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FREE TO DOWNLOAD
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Digitally interactive map for use on your smartphone (FREE)
This map is available for use on a smartphone using the Avenza Maps app. It runs on Android or iOS (iPhones & iPads) and lets you display the route map in detail and see exactly where you are on it. This will be invaluable in an emergency or if you are just unsure of your location on the course. You don’t need to be within mobile phone range to use the map as it’s stored locally. To load the map, open the Avenza app, go to Add Map, select the QR code icon and point your phone at the QR code here. To get the Avenza map app for your phone, see www.avenzamaps.com or just search for Avenza on the App Store or Google Play. For instructions on loading and using Avenza maps, see www.terrainium.com.au/UsingAvenzaMaps |
Concluded the route? Don't forget to get your completion badge or lapel pin!
About the Mt Field National Park
With thanks to the Tasmanian National Parks & Wildlife Service for access to the following information...
History of the Mt Field National Park & Wilderness World Heritage Area
Mount Field National Park is part of the homelands of the Big River nation of Tasmanian Aborigines. They resided and utilised this place when it was covered in glacial ice, and later as rainforests and eucalypt forests flourished. Cave sites, ochre mines, hand-stencil art, rock engravings, and stone tool quarries provide a glimpse of their lives here.
From the 1830s, the first white people here were trappers and snarers in the high country, arriving via a packhorse track from Ellendale. Soon after, bushrangers and escaped convicts hid in the country around Bushy Park. In the mid to late 1800s the region became popular with botanists who first described plants such as the snow gum, urn gum, cider gum and cushion plants. One of these early botanists was Leonard Rodway, from which the Rodway Range got its name.
In 1885, Russell Falls in the lower, forested region of the mountain was made the State's first nature reserve. By the early 1900s, a railway line extended to the park, with a guesthouse built in 1911 at the present day park entrance to accommodate visitors.
On 29th August 1916, Mount Field (known until 1937 simply as 'National Park') and the Freycinet National Park on our east coast became Tasmania's first national parks. While the park received its name from a NSW Supreme Court judge called Judge Barron Field, the driving forces behind its creation had been William Crooke, Leonard Rodway and Henry Dobson. It was Crooke's vision that the park be “not merely a reserve marked on the map, but a thoroughly valuable and useful and popular feature of Tasmania for residents and tourists alike".
William Belcher became the first ranger in the Park and ultimately became responsible for clearing a track from the Park's entrance to Lake Fenton, along with building many of the huts still seen in the park today. Skiing, and even ice skating, became popular activities from the 1920s and this helped to instigate the development of the ski fields and the road to Lake Dobson.
The new road also paved the way for the development of the Lake Fenton water supply scheme (completed 1939), which included the excavation of a tunnel to carry water down the mountain, to be piped along the Derwent Valley and into Hobart. Amazingly, today, 20% of Hobart's drinking water comes from Lake Fenton and its surrounds.
In 2013, Mount Field National Park was incorporated into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (declared 1982).
From the 1830s, the first white people here were trappers and snarers in the high country, arriving via a packhorse track from Ellendale. Soon after, bushrangers and escaped convicts hid in the country around Bushy Park. In the mid to late 1800s the region became popular with botanists who first described plants such as the snow gum, urn gum, cider gum and cushion plants. One of these early botanists was Leonard Rodway, from which the Rodway Range got its name.
In 1885, Russell Falls in the lower, forested region of the mountain was made the State's first nature reserve. By the early 1900s, a railway line extended to the park, with a guesthouse built in 1911 at the present day park entrance to accommodate visitors.
On 29th August 1916, Mount Field (known until 1937 simply as 'National Park') and the Freycinet National Park on our east coast became Tasmania's first national parks. While the park received its name from a NSW Supreme Court judge called Judge Barron Field, the driving forces behind its creation had been William Crooke, Leonard Rodway and Henry Dobson. It was Crooke's vision that the park be “not merely a reserve marked on the map, but a thoroughly valuable and useful and popular feature of Tasmania for residents and tourists alike".
William Belcher became the first ranger in the Park and ultimately became responsible for clearing a track from the Park's entrance to Lake Fenton, along with building many of the huts still seen in the park today. Skiing, and even ice skating, became popular activities from the 1920s and this helped to instigate the development of the ski fields and the road to Lake Dobson.
The new road also paved the way for the development of the Lake Fenton water supply scheme (completed 1939), which included the excavation of a tunnel to carry water down the mountain, to be piped along the Derwent Valley and into Hobart. Amazingly, today, 20% of Hobart's drinking water comes from Lake Fenton and its surrounds.
In 2013, Mount Field National Park was incorporated into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (declared 1982).
The significance of Northofagus gunnii
... this little stunner is found nowhere else on the planet but Tassie. - Discover Tasmania
The tale of the fagus dates back some 100 million years, when its ‘forebears’ first appeared here in Tasmania. That was when we were part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. Nothofagus became common in South America, New Zealand, Antarctica and Australia when Gondwana separated. There are around 35 species of southern beeches dotted around the world – nine in South America, 18 in New Guinea, New Britain and New Caledonia, three here in Australia and four in New Zealand. There’s also the Antarctic beech and although the southern continent is now covered in ice, fossils show that trees stood proudly, once upon a time. The living descendants, Tassie’s colourful fagus, is one of the oldest lineages of flowering plants.
Fagus is Australia’s only cold climate winter-deciduous tree. The seasonal losing of leaves comes down to plant chemistry and Tassie’s weather. During warmer months, chlorophyll in the leaves assists with the conversion of sunlight into sugar and is responsible for keeping the leaves green. As the days get shorter, chlorophyll breaks down and is superseded by anthocyanin. This is a pigment that gives autumn leaves their splendid colours. When the leaves eventually fall, they deliver precious minerals to the soil that feed the following spring growth. The Northofagus gunnii holds the key to understanding how vegetation has evolved in the Southern Hemisphere.
Fire is an enemy to Fagus. It is very slow to regenerate and quite often does not recover when fires passes through, unlike many other Australian plants. Fagus has very thin bark, meaning adult trees are quickly decimated by flames and sometimes it can take over 1000 years to recover. Fagus does actually thrive on land disturbance. Around seven years after land has been disturbed by human or natural forces, seedlings sprout. For example, in the Andes Mountains in Chile where earthquakes and landslips are common, species of Nothofagus are prolific.
The fagus is at its full glory from late April to May.
Fagus is Australia’s only cold climate winter-deciduous tree. The seasonal losing of leaves comes down to plant chemistry and Tassie’s weather. During warmer months, chlorophyll in the leaves assists with the conversion of sunlight into sugar and is responsible for keeping the leaves green. As the days get shorter, chlorophyll breaks down and is superseded by anthocyanin. This is a pigment that gives autumn leaves their splendid colours. When the leaves eventually fall, they deliver precious minerals to the soil that feed the following spring growth. The Northofagus gunnii holds the key to understanding how vegetation has evolved in the Southern Hemisphere.
Fire is an enemy to Fagus. It is very slow to regenerate and quite often does not recover when fires passes through, unlike many other Australian plants. Fagus has very thin bark, meaning adult trees are quickly decimated by flames and sometimes it can take over 1000 years to recover. Fagus does actually thrive on land disturbance. Around seven years after land has been disturbed by human or natural forces, seedlings sprout. For example, in the Andes Mountains in Chile where earthquakes and landslips are common, species of Nothofagus are prolific.
The fagus is at its full glory from late April to May.
Fagus is Australia’s only cold climate winter-deciduous tree - Parks Tasmania
Flora & Fauna
I just fell desperately in love with it once I saw it... It's sort of like the vision of a Japanese garden made more complex, and developed in paradise, in amongst this gothic scenery. You have plants that look like rocks — green rocks — and these plants have different colours in complicated mosaics: red-green, blue-green, yellow-green, all together. It's an overwhelming sensual experience really. - Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick
Mount Field is one of Tasmania's most diverse national parks. From the tall forests at the base of the mountain to the unique alpine plants at its summit, this national park offers an array of natural wonders.
This diversity is a result of various influences, including the Park's geographic location central to both the eastern and western floras of Tasmania, the range of geological substrates present (including dolerite, sandstone, and quartzite) and its altitudinal range, which extends from lowland to alpine habitats.
The landscape has been shaped by glaciers from the previous ice age, which have formed the valleys and the numerous tarns. Periglacial blockstreams are a feature in several locations throughout the park, including the fine example that dams Lake Fenton.
This diversity is a result of various influences, including the Park's geographic location central to both the eastern and western floras of Tasmania, the range of geological substrates present (including dolerite, sandstone, and quartzite) and its altitudinal range, which extends from lowland to alpine habitats.
The landscape has been shaped by glaciers from the previous ice age, which have formed the valleys and the numerous tarns. Periglacial blockstreams are a feature in several locations throughout the park, including the fine example that dams Lake Fenton.
We ask you to tread gently, remembering that we are visitor's to their habitats.
Help the Mt Field National Park!
There are some active volunteer groups who help to preserve & protect the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park. We strongly encourage you to get involved!