The Mount Anne Circuit

We have seen some pretty spectacular places in Tasmania over the years, and the Mount Anne circuit is no exception. In fact, in places it hands-down trumps other Tasmanian wilderness areas for breathtaking views.

But it is also a physically and mentally challenging multi day trek, sometimes with head dizzying exposure! Graded Level 5 ‘Difficult’ by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, it is a bushwalk only experienced, fit and capable hikers should attempt.

Before venturing into the area, make sure you are confident with off-track navigation, physically fit and have properly researched the route and area. Remember, even in summer you can be subject to freezing conditions and because of the unpredictable weather and difficult terrain, rescues in south west Tasmania can be delayed.

For those that are interested in the Mount Anne Circuit Abels, simply select them here to read detailed trip reports for Mount Anne, Mount Lot and Mount Sarah Jane. Keep in mind that for Mount Lot, the circuit itself covers all but the final scramble to the summit, so most of the information you need is contained within Day 2 of the circuit. For everyone else interested in the circuit itself, I have broken it down to three individual days.

Day 1 - For us was the carpark at Condominium Creek to Shelf Camp, with a side trip to Mount Anne.
Day 2 - Shelf Camp to Judds Charm via Mt Lot and “The Notch”.
Day 3 - Judds Charm to a second car parked at Red Tape Creek including a side trip to Mount Sarah Jane.

Day 1
27th January 2021
Carpark at Condominium Creek to Shelf Camp
- including a side trip to Mount Anne.

The Stats.
11km, 1325m elevation gain, 9 hours.

We knew we had a pretty big day in front of us, and wanted to set off on track as early as possible. From Blackmans Bay to the Condominium Creek carpark was a solid two hour drive. As is our norm, the moon was still hovering over the beach as we reversed the Mazda out of the driveway at my parents. We were meeting Chris -the last member of our trio - at the trailhead at 7:30am, for an 8am start. Our plan was to leave Chris’ car at the Red Tape Creek carpark at the end of the circuit, to save us a tedious 8km road walk at the end!

Note: When we finished the circuit at Red Tape Creek, we noticed some ingenious fellow or lass had left an old mountain bike chained to the southern car park sign, to save themselves the road walk back. Love their thinking - something to consider if you don’t have access to two cars!

The Mount Anne Circuit Track has recently undergone a substantial amount of track maintenance due to damage from the 2019 bushfires. Sitting in the comfort of the car, we could see the lovely new track work rising steeply - very steeply - up towards Mount Eliza.

Occasional glimpses of Mount Anne caught through the heavy morning mist, gave us hope the weather would improve by the time we reached it later in the afternoon. I’m sure this initial view of the track has instantly put equal amounts of fear and dread in walkers as they set off. It seems to rise endlessly up!

Walkers should definitely take heed of all the PWS warning signs at the Registration Hut. Seeing the lovely manicured track rising above can create unrealistic expectations that the whole circuit is like this. It isn’t. Once past Memorial Hut, the track reverts back to its former, rough state and becomes increasingly more difficult.

But for now, we enjoyed the relative ease of walking on a civilised path made of rock, gravel and timber, and were very grateful to all the hardworking track workers for their efforts. The vegetation surrounding the track was in varying states of regeneration, and it was lovely to see lots of wildflowers returning. Chris was making haste along the track, but Ben and I were taking our sweet time to enjoy (and photograph) the flowers and the views opening up behind us.

In the days of past, I liked to rush at the summits of whatever we were climbing, my sole mission to “bag” the peak and at a record speed. Those days are gone - now I try to immerse myself in the full experience. I might never get to visit these truly wonderful places again and I want to really enjoy them. To me that means smelling the flowers along the way - both literally and figuratively!

A bit over an hour from leaving the car, we had arrived at Memorial Hut, a small stone hut erected in honour of three Hobart Walking Club members who died in South West Tasmania. A hundred metres or so before reaching the hut is a composting toilet. The hut has room to sleep about half a dozen people upstairs and apparently there are a few campsites nearby (we didn’t see any, but didn’t look for them either). The rainwater tanks were full from heavy late spring rains, so we refilled our water bottles and after a brief snack rejoined the track. From here the elevation increases noticeably, as you climb ever upwards towards Mount Eliza.

No sooner had we left Memorial Hut, the track changed in character. Gone was the easy walking over relatively manicured paths. From here it was more boulder scrambling than walking, and there would be quite a few sections like it until we reached Shelf Camp. With a light day pack the mostly small to medium sized boulders would pose little problem but with full multiday packs on it was a bit more physically demanding. Up we pushed, occasionally stopping to soak up the views behind us. The few times that Mount Anne popped out of the mist she appeared to be holding some snow! No matter, it would probably melt off by the time we were ready to climb it.

We were making pretty good time, even with multiple stops for filming and photos, so we made the most of a short break on Mount Eliza’s roomy summit area. Below us like tiny specs, we could see new walkers departing on the bottom reaches of the track. From here, we would follow the pad up and over Eliza Bluff before heading down towards the Mount Eliza and Mount Anne saddle. As we picked our way through the boulder field, the mist finally rose off Mount Anne. For the first time we could spy her formidable dolerite columns.

We climbed the gentle rise that was Eliza Bluff and dropped down its other side to the most lovely of areas. Small sparkly tarns, lovely cushioned and flat vegetation and views for days. This area would be the most delightful of camping areas (albeit very exposed in bad weather) but walkers are discouraged from “free” camping anywhere and everywhere to protect this pristine and extremely sensitive area. Please use only the formal/designated campsites along the route.

Shelf Camp

Car Park to Shelf Camp: Approx. 7km, 4.5 Hours with multiple stops to chat, take photos and film. 1043m elevation gain.

We had planned on making camp at very appropriately named Shelf Camp before our summit attempt of Mount Anne for two reasons. One, our shelter would already be up on our return from Mount Anne. Why? We just consider it a bit safer. Low energy, changeable weather and other unforeseen circumstances are all good reasons to have your tent up first! And secondly, as Shelf Camp is a rock camp we knew it would take longer to pitch our tent than normal. Better to do it whilst still full of energy, in daylight and while the weather was good!

Dropping down into the saddle we reached the large cairn that marks the junction between Shelf Camp and the Mount Anne track. Looking down at the elevation drop and distance to Shelf Camp we almost considered leaving our big packs at the junction (as others had clearly done, there were already a few big packs sitting there) and just continue on to summit Mount Anne first. Certainly it would save us a climb back up and out of Shelf Camp, but we erred on the side of caution for the as beforementioned reasons.

Tent sites at Shelf Camp are almost entirely rock slab. That means a freestanding tent - or the ability to make sure your tent is freestanding, as our ultra light Tarptent can - is very desirable! It didn’t take us too long to find a suitable site. The “sites” all have an abundance of free rocks to tie guy lines to. It is strongly recommended to bring along several extra metres of guy line to suitably pin down your shelter. Whilst it is relatively sheltered to weather from the south-west, there is little protection to the north-east. Strong winds and storms at Shelf Camp have been known to make a mess of inadequately secured tents. Also be aware that water does run through the entire shelf and so things can be a little damp. Whilst there are many small tarns surrounding the camp site we chose to collect water from the running streams off the rock instead. There is a toilet available at Shelf Camp but - at the time we were there - no signage to it so most people (including us!) were completely unaware. Hopefully PWS will amend this slight oversight soon.

Swapping our multi day packs for light day packs, we began the climb back out of Shelf Camp in the direction of Mount Anne. We would return exhausted almost five hours later! Thank goodness we had set up the tents already! Read our trip report to Mount Anne here or continue on to Day 2 of our three day circuit.

Day 2

Shelf Camp to Judds Charm via “The Notch”
4km
6 Hours
Grade: Bloody hard and at times a little scary!

We woke to a total white-out on Day 2. A rather restless/sleepless night had us both feeling a little weary, though ironically the solid rock base beneath our mats wasn’t to blame, proving a lot more comfortable than we had expected. Instead, some fellow hikers had partied rather noisily into the night. We were glad to be moving on. What I wasn’t glad about was that today we would face the much talked about and dreaded “Notch”. The Notch is a narrow - extremely narrow - rocky saddle separating the converging ridgelines of Eve Peak and Mount Lot, with sheer drops on both sides. You must first descend down into the Notch via a washed out gully of loose-ish rock, then climb a seven metre ledge out of it.

As most people seem to pack haul this area for safety - John Chapman’s must read South West Tasmania recommends it - Ben had bought along 10m of 7mm static rope, just in case. Chris and I expected to be a little freaked out by The Notch. What we didn’t expect is a whole lot of freak out before we even got there!

The pad leading out of Shelf Camp was at times vague, but the one consistent theme was slippery roots, rocks and mud! With no real visibility ahead or of the views around us, it felt a bit like a trudge. Chris and I were also feeling a little apprehensive about The Notch. After a little while the “pads” became fewer and we were travelling mostly on slabs of rock and over boulders. A series of knolls would eventually bring us towards The Notch, but before reaching it we had to negotiate some slightly “airy” climbs downwards.

The first challenge came in the form of what appeared to be a dead end. We had been following cairns up a bouldery knoll when they suddenly stopped. With the heavy morning mist making the moss-encrusted dolerite slippery and cairns hard to spot, we regrouped and hunted around. We had two choices. One - upwards towards the peak of the boulder field, but that didn’t look promising as it was pretty sketchy. Or two - down through a few other boulders off to the north, that also seemed to lead to a sketchy end!

Ben carefully climbed down a series of very large boulders to forward scout what seemed like the route, but after several minutes of looking around pronounced it “doable, but not great” - which is Bender-speak for “sketchy as!”. A pair of fellow walkers who’d caught up to us -Justine and Craig - took the high route and confirmed that it surely couldn’t be the way. I could spy some cairns way down below in what appeared to be more horizonal ground, but how to get to them? After a little more looking we could see marks and signs where people had climbed down a steep and somewhat exposed vertical slab of rock about two metres high. It was the least sketchy option we could see, so the five us settled on it!

Craig led first then Ben, helping to haul our packs down to safer ground. Justine followed, then Chris with me bringing up the rear. After what seemed like forever stuck in the one spot, it felt good to be moving again along the route.

Our progress was painfully slow. It reminded me of the Western Arthurs, particularly around the Beggary Bumps. That too was less walking, more scrambling, where no amount of forward progress came easily. The damp, slippery rock meant we couldn’t rush ourselves, lest we injure ourselves or worse. Picking our way ahead through the almost constant mess of boulders required tonnes of concentration and saps energy more than you appreciate, but I love that sort of hiking. We distracted ourselves from the grind with conversation, chatting with our new found and dolerite-bonded friends Craig and Justine. As we sidled around the northern slopes of the last real ridge before The Notch we got fleeting glimpses of Lots Wife! Mind you, no sooner did we whip out our cameras, the mist rolled back in!

Finally off the rock and back into low scrub, we began to climb upwards again. We would climb steeply south, up to the very top of The Notch, then heading east drop steeply into it. Although it looks tempting to sidle directly into The Notch, this is not recommended as it is next to impossible to do safely (without rock climbing gear anyway). Following the narrow pad we gained elevation rapidly. Cresting the top I caught my breath! The Notch! There were some other walkers already on the other side, pack hauling right in front of us. I stood mesmerised, watching them for a few moments.

They had secured a rope for pack hauling (very sensible) and the last of the two walkers in their group were in the process of getting themselves up The Notch as we approached. From my vantage point I tried to take mental notes of where each climber struggled with hand or foot holds. The last gentleman in their group needed a bit of a haul up, and I was thinking that is so going to be me! We yelled out to them asking if they had any tips? To which they answered ”Go slow and take your time”, “pack haul” and “it’s only really the last section that’s a bit tricky for holds as its smooth and slanted”. They then generously offered to leave their rope, to save getting ours out, and we would return it to them at the next camp.

But before we got to attempt climbing up and out, we had to get down into it first! This looked particularly tricky but actually proved relatively easy in the end. One at a time we descended. There is a lot of loose gravel and rock on the descent, so we were careful not to be close to each other. Even with all that care, whilst filming me Ben accidentally dislodged a not-small rock which came bumbling down the chute and stopped just short of my head as he screamed “ROOOCKKK!” I was so focused on my foot placements I barely registered what had just happened, but the look of terror on his face left no doubt that I’d just avoided a potentially serious injury. Let me say again, be very careful here and give each team member plenty of room!

With Craig, Justine and I now at the foot of The Notch we waited for Ben and Chris to join us. Removing our packs for hauling we were careful with where we placed them. Many a pack and other belongings has gone over the sides and been lost forever.

With all five of us in the saddle it was time to just get up the damn Notch! Craig and Justine are experienced climbers and boulder gym junkies so they offered to go first. After a bit of recon and study, Craig climbed straight up and kept his pack on too! Once up he yelled down to us that it was just the very last section that was awkward as the hand hold was right at the back of the top platform, and the rock slanted.

Justine was up next and opted to have her pack hauled up. You could see her confidence and skill as she scaled up The Notch with Craig just helping her to the top rock. My turn. I was actually feeling pretty OK about it all after watching Craig and Justine. I made it to the top rock without issue, but for the life of me could not get my little arms to reach that last hold to mantle over the last ledge. With Justine and Craig already up, they simply allowed me to use their wrists as an anchor and I was up, up, up and away! Yay! I was so happy, relieved and excited all at the same time. Must have looked a little pale though, as Craig asked what my heart rate was - my Garmin said 198bpm. Not bad!

Chris was up next and similarly needed a little reef up by Craig and Justine to make the last bit. With four of us now up, Ben then duly tied each pack in succession as they were carefully hauled up, then climbed up himself, with pack on no less, because that’s just how he rolls. After maybe half an hour, The Notch was done and dusted!

With the dreaded Notch now behind us, it was free sailing all the way home. Well, not quite. We still had a LONG way to camp, but nothing super sketchy left in our path. The track sidles close to the western side of Mount Lot, all the time hugging its shoulder as it undulates up and down. There are a few very minor sections that required a little extra concentration, mostly areas of steep, loose shale that demanded care, but otherwise progress was proving much easier now. Chatting, laughing, walking, climbing. Getting to know our new friends. What a lucky bunch we were. The views were opening up, the weather was just right and we were in Deep South West Tasmania. I ask you, does it get any better?!

Thanks to the route now moving over dry rock of a more manageable size, we were through the next section quickly before popping out onto the small plateau area a mere 50 metres from the summit of Mount Lot. Dropping the big packs we made a bee-line towards the summit. Most of the blogs I have read and advice from friends have said to scale the ledge to reach the summit. After Mount Anne the day before - and The Notch earlier - I decided I had had enough of ledges. To the left/east, there is a very easy scramble all the way to the summit. We all took that!

Unfortunately our views from the summit of Mount Lot were still fleeting. The white mist had returned for now, muting some of the views but not our enthusiasm! Ben, Chris and I would have lunch at the summit of Mount Lot, while Craig and Justine would push on as they were going to skip the next camp. Sitting in the little sheltered area below the summit ,we feasted like kings on salami and peanut M&M’s. Even better, the weather gods did a rapid about-face and cleared the skies above us. Talk about the best restaurant in the world. But we couldn’t laze around all day. We had plenty of distance to cover to camp. It was time to descend Mount Lots rocky spine.

Chris announced he was reluctant to be in the lead off the summit, so I was forward scout for the descent off Lightning Ridge. Route finding was easy as there were ample cairns below, but there were quite a few misleading pads. It was important to check and re-check every directional change to ensure we stayed on track and avoid unnecessary double-backing. The rocky spine was entirely manageable in boulder size, but a few areas just required more faith then others in minor hand or foot holds. Not scary but plenty of concentration required. Boy was it time consuming and energy sapping though. The morning mist had now burned off, the sun was surprisingly hot - as was the rock radiating the heat from below - and there was little to no breeze for reprieve. The three of us were covered in sweat and grime. It seemed to take forever to drop down, which was weird as we were descending at quite a fast rate.

There were collective sighs of relief all around as we disappeared under the scrub line. It might have been steep, slippery, full of roots and horizontal and with a few false leads too, but the shade was most welcome. And it meant we were getting closer to camp!

The shade in the forest was reviving our heat-affected bodies, but we knew it would be short lived. From our vantage point high up on Mount Lot, we had looked down past the band of scrub and saw open walking after the forest that led up a minor hill, and then onwards to camp. The Lonely Tarns were sparkling in the sun and man we could not wait to jump in!

Occasional pieces of tape and cairns aided our passage down through the forest. Our pace made quicker by a little mud-skiing - not always intentional! A very obvious pad wound up the small hill after the forest, before descending to the tarns.

It had taken us around six hours for a mere 4km, but we were finally here at the Lonely Tarns known as Judds Charm. Although there were already a few campers set up, there were ample tent platforms spare. The whole campsite had quite a luxurious feel to it, not just because of the new tent platforms, toilet and interconnecting walkways, but also the convenient running creeks for water and - of course - great company. It was time to pitch the tent and head for a swim in the mighty refreshing (read: bloody cold!!) water to wash the day off and kick back for sunset. Pretty damn spoilt.

Day 3

Lonely Tarns to the car including a side trip to Mount Sarah Jane
14km
7 Hours
Grade: Easy to moderate.

Today was our final day on the circuit. It would be the longest in terms of distance, but we didn’t anticipate any sketchy stuff or steep climbs. We did know though it would be our muddiest day. The evening before, we had discussed leaving early to beat some of the day’s heat, and also because we wanted to be out in time for a burger in Maydena!

Leaving Lonely Tarns required a short but stout climb back up onto the plateau heading south. It was boggy and muddy, so my poles came in handy for balance, but boy what amazing views. The mist and clouds had settled in the valleys below and it floated like fluffy, white marshmallow for as far as the eyes could see. Just WOW!

The walking was pleasantly straightforward once we reached the plateau, but our pace was no quicker than the proverbial tortoise! We cooeed and ahhhed at the views all around, took a tonne of photos, gazed at wind-pruned Pencil and King Billy Pines and literally swore that the mountains rising around us could not be more grand anywhere else in the world. Tasmania, you are a superstar.

What a wondrous place we live in. Even the boggy ground and frequent sections of mud couldn’t detract from my bliss as we wandered along. The track was obvious for the most part due to the bog, but as we reached the small climb up to where we would leave the main track for our side trip to Mount Sarah Jane, we briefly lost it, and had to carefully renegotiate our way back onto it some 100m or so further along.

A large cairn marked the spot where we would drop our big packs and head off to climb Mount Sarah Jane. If you want to visit Mount Sarah Jane then feel free to head to the essay here. Otherwise the rest of the circuit continues below.

The long, long, long march home!

Our multiday packs felt heavy on our backs once more we set off along the pad. We took a few final moments to absorb as many views as possible, before we started the steep descent down to the plains below. All that stood between us and the open plains surrounding the Anne River and its boardwalk was a long and quite taxing descent down through the scrub to Lake Judd. Then from there, we would continue onto the car via the Lake Judd track.

Initially the obvious pad led us briefly south, before turning south west and descending rapidly. No sooner had we turned the obvious pad became multiple obvious pads! I forward scouted a little to ensure we were on the right track. The sun was intense and we were all feeling a little weary from the previous couple of days. It was about this stage that we got a lesson in being careful what you wish for! The three of us had been looking forward to less rock and more scrub and we certainly got that!

After winding down through light vegetation and quartzite rock we entered what would be our claustrophobic home for longer than any of us foresaw or enjoyed. From up high it had looked like a simple enough descent before reaching the miles of boardwalk below. It was anything but simple.

While the path down was easily followed, it was steep, slippery and muddy. When we weren’t sliding over slippery wet rock or tree roots, we were wading through boggy mud. The mud smelt rather unpleasant too. My knees weren’t loving it any more than I was! I am however, much better down than up and so made speedy progress, with Ben and Chris following a little behind me. I would stop and wait in whatever patches of shade I could find until I heard their voices again.

It felt like an eternity before we broke out and saw board walk! Thank goodness for the multiple streams and rock trickles that gave us easily accessible and cold water as the descent had been too long and too hot!

Boardwalk! Yay! The ease of walking on the boardwalk was not lost on any of us. Though without the overhead protection of scrub cover we were feeling the now stifling heat, and decided to break for lunch at the Lake Judd junction before the final 6kms. It appears the Lake Judd track is popular with families given the amount of people we passed heading in to Lake Judd. A lunch in the shade and an impromptu boot repair for Chris, and we were off again.

Obviously there has been substantial track maintenance on this section of the track too as evidenced by the new sections of board walk and lovely gravel paths. As is usual with our trips, there is always a sting in the tail and the Mount Anne Circuit is no exception. This trip’s sting came compliments of a bit of mud, a few gentle ups and downs and a fair number of stairs. I made a game out of counting how many stairs in every set we came across. The biggest set had I counted had 119 stairs in it.

After what seemed like a very long day, we had reached Scotts Peak Dam Road and Chris’s car was a welcome sight indeed! I would not have relished a hot, dusty and boring 8km road walk back to ours! It was time to freshen ourselves up - well as much as you can after sweating in the bush for three days without showering - and head to Maydena for a beer and hot chips. This is living!

Maps

Almost all maps and map apps will show the Mount Anne Circuit. You can find out more information on map apps here. Another great mapping resource is Listmap. The relevant paper map can be purchased from the TASMAP eShop. Below you will find each days map from our circuit including side trips.

Need more information?

I hope you find this information useful in planning your trip to the Mount Anne Circuit. If you have any questions at all I am always happy to help where I can. Simply submit any questions you have here.
- Xing