Winterbrook Falls Car Park & Track

[waterfallman]

Greetings all. My partner and I will be shifting (retiring) from Melbourne to Devonport next year some time and I'm doing a bit of advance work on certain outstanding items that I have very little data on. I've managed to access a fair number of Victorian waterfalls over the years, and I can't wait to get cracking on some more Tasmanian Falls. What I'm trying to get an idea of is an accurate location for the car park for Winterbrook Falls. Google earth and the old 1:25,000 tasmaps go only so far. I've gleaned from previous discussions, that the car park is somewhere near the end of Smiths Plains Road, but that's about it. As far as I can see, there are 4 possibilities. (See the attached image of the area). Also, can anyone give me any idea of the rough alignment of both the "Tramway Track" and "Maxwells Track"? How does it all work? Distances and grades are important to me, when attacking new tracks, as I need to ensure I can get my partner in and out again in a reasonable time (Say 3 hours), and with a not too excessive effort. (I am a structural design draftsman by profession, so I can't help being a bit pedantic about layouts of tracks and such).
Cheers.. Steve.

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This is all I know of the access to the area & the tracks. Something a bit more definite would be much appreciated.

[billshep1]

We have just done a lot of work clearing and marking the Winterbrook tracks so you should have no trouble following the route. Allow 2 hours to reach the falls and 5 hours for the circuit by the Tramway and Maxwell tracks. Three hours is not enough. The Tramway track gets steeper, wetter and rougher as you climb up towards the Falls. Most of the Maxwell is lovely walking but you will have to walk the 3 kms or so between the car parks if you can't arrange a shuttle. You may want to contact the North West Walking Club as they sometimes have walks in there. If you feel the whole circuit is too much, just go for a stroll in the beautiful rain forest on the Tramway Track, you will be in the finest forest within 20 minutes of leaving the car park. The Falls are best after rain of course, they were almost dry in February.

The driving route is signposted at the road junction at Nietta south of Ulverstone. Take the C129 road to South Nietta and Smith's Plains. The road gets rougher as you approach the walking tracks. There are several side roads, keep an eye open for the green forestry signs to Winterbrook Rainforest Walk. The Maxwell track car park is on a spur which goes straight ahead just before you turn off to the Tramway car park. It has a small yellow sign and tapes. There is a collapsed culvert at present about 1 km before the Winterbrook crossing so you have to walk this section of road. Best to go in by the Tramway and return by the Maxwell.
If you look at theLIST website http://maps.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/app/list/map and search under Winterbrook Falls you will get a range of mapping options and references for the car parks, and you can print a map. The walking tracks are marked until you get beyond a certain point on the sliding scale! The tasmap 1:25000 series is unfortunately on two maps Loongana 4041 and Lea 4040, Loongana covers most of the walk.

[icefest]

Here is an overlay of the walking routes on the old 25k maps:

FULL SIZE http://puu.sh/8olWD.jpg

I think carparks are at the arrows.
Preview:

[ILUVSWTAS]

Here

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Black Bluff.JPG (106.26 KiB) Viewed 2598 times

[waterfallman]

Thank you all. Much appreciated. A little knowledge is indeed a wonderful thing! And a bit more doesn't hurt most times! We may not do the whole loop, but simply go in via Tramway and have a stickybeak at the falls from a distance, zoom cameras etc, and then retreat to the car park the same way we came in. I can't wait to check lots of other Tassie falls and natural wonders. I'm as excited as all getout!
Cheers.. Steve Garth.

[billshep1]

Have fun! There is an excellent lookout about15 minutes before the Falls with great views of the Winterbrook cirque. Just the place for zooming. There is a track up there called the Eye of the Needle(it threads a slot in the rocks) For more waterfall and river walks check my blog http://billshep1.wordpress.com or google Wilmot River Walks.

[waterfallman]

Thanks Bill.. Will do. I've also seen the some of the posts re your work on the Secluded Falls (nice name choice) area tracks, and it's wonderful that another lovely feature is now more accessible to us all. I'll try these ones at some point also. Many thanks to you and all the other workers who contribute to keeping various tracks open. I've done some shockers in Victoria, and most times, keep a pair of hand secateurs in my back pocket to do a little "on site snipping", as I go.