Getting around Peddar

[eggs]

This is probably a bit premature as I am just daydreaming and scheming, but I am interested in a boat option to get around Lake Peddar in order to do some day walks onto Mt Solitary and onto parts of the Frankland range.

The complication is that I am not living in Tasmania, so it would have to be "arranged."

I have done a little bit of research, and it appears one could hire a boat for use out of Hobart, but you would need a boat license to do this.
It does seem that a low end boat might not need a license, but this needs to be clarified.

It also appears that kayaks could be hired out of Kettering, but you would have to have satisfied them that you had proficiency by completing a course before hand. I presume the hire would include some form of trailer? And I don't know how easy it is to transport a back pack (outfitted for a few nights walking) on a kayak.

So I noticed today that there are some cheaper inflatable boats/rafts (not the expensive backpacking ones) and wondered if anyone has any experience paddling around Peddar? Or general thoughts on how fast you could get around a lake that size?

Feel free to follow any angles on this one.
[Apart from - "don't be a wus - just walk the whole thing end to end!" ]

Cheers
eggs

[sthughes]

Under 4 HP motor boats don't require a licence.
You'd want a decent size Kayak for a full pack, unless you are an under 10kg type guy - then just wear it
Rafts are hard work and slow on flat water, especially in wind, don't like going in a straight line either.
Perhaps a big canoe might be best. No idea where from though.
Or find a friend in Tassie with a power boat!
That's it for my thoughts.

[BarryJ]

Pedder is a big body of water and can be very rough when it's windy (not an uncommon occurrence out there) so extreme caution needs to be exercised when boating on the lake.

[Son of a Beach]

You don't need a boat license for low horse power boats, but they're going to be very slow to get anywhere. I've not tried walking around Pedder, but I have read that it's very thick scrub in places, and generally recommended against (this may depend on the water level at the time?).

So chartering a boat, or getting somebody you know with a license and boat to take you across is probably the best way to go.

[eggs]

Thanks for your answers.

Not sure about the availability of boat charters. I had noticed one trip report that someone had paid the folk at Strathgordon to take them down to the base of Mt Frankland.
That is probably the nicest way to walk the Franklands with 1 car, but I believe Strathgordon is winding down still further.
[When we were there last January there was not really much response from the staff to my queries on the boat.]
Later, I heard was some announcement that the chalet there is closing down for all except petrol and tourist info, so I am not sure if the boat hire would still be there. There has just been not enough business to make the chalet viable.

It was a bit of a shock to travel back there to find most of the old town totally gone - no store or caravan park that we had stayed in for our honeymoon.
Even many of the streets have been ploughed up in order to remove the township.

Yes - I should plan for a leisurely trip if I took a raft, and the wind would be a factor, although we would be hugging the western shore, which should be relatively calm. I have not seen any canoe hire, but kayaks appear to be much faster and more manageable if I were to chase that kind of option.

[GerryDuke]

The challet closes from the 1st of July 2009. It was in the press. No mention of fuel still being available. From memory 19 people were to remain in the town! Try ringing them before they close.

Gerry

[dee_legg]

The Chalet is closing!!!! NOOOO! that place serves truly amazing steak.

[GerryDuke]

You're right Dee - the restaurant was fantastic!

It is a pity it is closing. Unfortunately the area was never promoted (no Forestry Product nearby)! Beautiful under snow. The Mt Sprent walk must be great. Has anyone done it? Starts just across the Serpentine Dam.

Gerry

[Azza]

The ollster and I went up Mt Sprent earlier this year as a bit of scouting mission with the view to do the Frankland Ranges at some point.

It was a pretty good walk, only 4-5hrs or so return. Less than we were expecting.

It climbs pretty steeply up from the dam, then you pop out on the side of the mountain and its fairly open button grass terrain.
You then reach the ridge line and a bit of a saddle before you start climbing towards the top. The track becomes a bit indistinct at this point
with lots of pads etc zig zagging all over the place. Didn't help that we're in cloud at this point and couldn't really see what was going on
or how far from the top.

I'm sure the view would be spectacular on a clear day.

[tasadam]

While there's some discussion here on Strathgordon I thought I would share a little story.
When I first moved to Tasmania in 1985, me and my trusty Gemini travelled a lot.
So it's no surprise that I one day found myself at Strathgordon. I went to the Gordon Dam, and was amazed by its size. There was the hexagon visitors centre, and the rail car underneath it, which I at the time mistakenly thought was for tours to the base of the dam wall.
No way of knowing at the time though, because the visitor centre closed at 4, and I arrived at 4:05. No-one there but me.
So I thought, darn, I've missed the tour.
No big deal. I'll give myself my own tour.
So I grabbed my 110 instamatic camera, and in my cheap sandshoes I walked across the dam wall.
On either side of the dam wall, there is a steel ladder winding its way down. But the tops of the ladders were locked off. So I think to myself, doesn't matter - I climbed down the first rung on the outside so I could gain access to the ladder proper. Then continued all the way to the bottom, looked around, took a couple of photos, collected a rather unusual greenish rock, then climbed up the other side. Of course, reaching the top, I had to climb on the outside of the ladder cage for the last rung to make it back to the dam wall because the ladder was locked at that end as well.
These days I look at that and think to myself how stupid I was when I was younger...
Seemed like a good idea at the time, and of course I had one of those OOPS moments when I found out the rail car was only for maintenance...
Looking at all those stairs still spins me out what I did.

[Taurë-rana]

Good story Adam, amazing what we do when we are young and stupid - a friend and I found the gates open to the tallest tower on Mt Wellington (which I think isn't there any more) so we climbed up the ladder. We had no problems, but I now think that the electro magnetic radiation we exposed ourselves to might have been rather massive.

The Chalet was a nice place, we worked for the Hydro collecting seeds one summer and often stayed there. It's hard to believe that it's not a popular tourist destination, as GerryDuke said, no Forestry nearby to need PR for.

[eggs]

I just saw a Launceston Walking Club you-tube on walking to the Provis Hills.
They carried in some form of demountable kayaks!!
Does anyone know anything about what they were or where you could get some? - they looked very good for access across a lake.

[bcshort]

You're right Dee - the restaurant was fantastic!

It is a pity it is closing. Unfortunately the area was never promoted (no Forestry Product nearby)! Beautiful under snow. The Mt Sprent walk must be great. Has anyone done it? Starts just across the Serpentine Dam.

Gerry

Aha, so that's what that track is. I spent the day going around the Huon-Serpentine impoundment with all the dams, last stop being the Serpentine. Wondered where those stairs went to on the far side - even climbed them to take a look. seemed like a damn hard track from there on in.

[GerryDuke]

I did the same BC. I got as far as the log book - and very steep!!

Gerry

[farefam]

Pretty sad to hear of the Strathgordon Chalet closing. I have memories of a great meal, great service, good company and an inexpensive but very comfortable bed there the night before I set off on the Frankland Range. The fellow at the chalet also picked me up from the bus at the Scotts Peak turnoff and dropped me off at the start of the Mt Sprent track. He also indicated that from time to time he would ferry people across Lake Pedder to access parts of the range. Would be a shame if that is no longer possible as I can assure you that walking/wading from the end of the Frankland Range around to Scotts Peak dam is no fun at all. He also said that the hydro don't advertise the chalet to the public as they use the accomodation there mainly for scheduled maintenance on the Gordon Power station/dam etc.