Bushwalk Australia

All going well, I'm heading up to Pine Valley and the Labyrinth on 6/7/8 March. I'm hoping to camp up in the Labyrinth for a night (for the sunset/sunrise thing), but I've heard the ants can be really bad. Does anyone know much about this? I can imagine it's a summer phenomonen - would they still be around in early March?

Any other info about camping there greatly appreciated. Cheers. Peter.

I haven't personally had any ant problems up there and have camped in the area (Lake Elysia) several times.
I was up there for 5 days at the end of March last year & didn't see any in or around the area.
Lake Elysia is one of my favourite camp sites anywhere, the sunsets / reflections are pure magic in the right conditions.
There are several terrific areas on the western shore near where the track hits the lake, tho some can be damp.
One of my favourite spots is a little up the hill (50m or so) north of this point on a pineapple grass terrace with great views of the lake, The Acropolis & Mt. Geryon.
The day walks from a base camp here are fabulous (Walled Mtn, Macs Mtn., Upper Labyrinth area, Mt. Geryon North, Mt. Hyperion, Du Cane Range high point etc. etc.), tho it sounds like you may not have a great deal of time
Hope you get great weather up there Peter; a few pics from my Easter trip up there last year to inspire.

Cheers.

Stuart.

woka wrote:All going well, I'm heading up to Pine Valley and the Labyrinth on 6/7/8 March. I'm hoping to camp up in the Labyrinth for a night (for the sunset/sunrise thing), but I've heard the ants can be really bad. Does anyone know much about this? I can imagine it's a summer phenomonen - would they still be around in early March?

Any other info about camping there greatly appreciated. Cheers. Peter.

Yes - the ants can be amazingly bad up there at the Labyrinth. My experience is based on camping there in January. When I have camped there in April or May they have not been a problem. I am not sure what they will be like in March. When bad in the Labyrinth - they are often bad (but not as bad) in other similar places - eg the Traveller Range.

The ants in question are small black ants - they bite and sting but are not too painful - but there are so many of the little buggers......perhaps as many as hundreds or thousands for every square metre of land - so bad that you certainly cannot sit on the pineapple grass. So bad that you can not sit in one place on the rocks for very long. You need to seek refuge in your tent - and do up all the mossie netting or seek refuge by sitting on a rock in the lake (some of the small islands are no good - they contain nests). This can be a problem if you spend a rest day in the labyrinth - too hot in the tent, too many ants to sit outside in the shade, try and seek out a rock in the lake.....grrrr!

They are bad not only at Lake Elysia but also at the Pool of Memories. I'm sure the times they are bad is related to the weather - perhaps they are worst (most active) in fine weather just before it turns bad? They don't seem to be around on cold wet days and they do (thankfully) go away at night. The best solution may be to take a pack full of echidnas up with you.

General advice on camping in the Labyrinth - National Parks do discourage camping there - but it is still allowed, and they ask you to camp on the hardened (worn) sites at Lake Elysia rather than creating new campsites. When walking around - try and stick to walking on rocks if you can as much as possible. Crap well away from the lake - and not in the catchment - eg walk to the Walled Mtn end and drop down a bit towards Lake Persephone. If you want to take photographs - then it can be very nice and moody there in wet weather.

Also - a bit of general advice - if you are staying in Pine Valley - then there are fantastic views of the Geryon and Acropolis - but not many people take the trouble to look. You need to go out to the helipad - and then walk about 50m south, down the valley (yes it can be boggy) - to near the small thicket of trees. Look up and you should get clear views (weather permitting of course) of the peaks. A great place to be - a bit before sunset. See -

http://www.david-noble.net/Tasmania/Eas ... age38.html

for an example view

Dave

Thanks for the advice guys. Sounds like it might come down to the prevailing weather for the weekend. I guess we can always retreat back down the hill if they're too bad.

Thanks for the great photographic inspiration as well, makes my shutter finger itchy!

These ants are in lots of Tassie highland areas. They're a tad larger than the tiny black house ants many of us get around our homes, and bite hard for something so small. I don't think they have any venom, just a nasty nip, but I could be wrong. Last time I had trouble with them was between Frenchman's Cap and the Irenabyss (just a lunch stop, not camping) in December 2007, so that fits with the theory of them being active in summer.

We had a day in the Labyrinth recently, dumped packs at Elysia and shot up Walled Mtn. When we got back our packs were totally overrun with ants. As Dave said the only way we could eat lunch without being covered was to find a rock surrounded by water in the lake.

It would be awful camping there in these conditions I would imagine. Personally I would stay at Helious or down at Pine Valley.

Many areas of the western lakes are bad also.Places such as Christy's creek, Lake Butters ,Lunka lake and Lake Antimony to name a few.

Mossies can also be bad some years out there, particularely around New years lake and Pillans, but probably all over.

I was in the Labyrinth in February and the ants didn't come out till around 9am. They aren't a problem if you are planning to spend the daytime climbing the surrounding peaks as they disappear again in the evening at sundown so you can enjoy a relaxed evening meal

It's more than 25 years since I've camped in the Labyrinth.

My overwhelming memory is of.......ants.

JamesMc

An update on my own experience: It was pretty cold and wet the day we went up, so opted to stay in Pine Valley instead. The next day was dryer, but still relatively cool for February and we had a few light showers of rain. The ants were around, but not in great numbers and when we stopped for lunch they weren't particularly bothersome as long as we kept our eyes peeled.

dem ants....

Certainly with locust plagues back here and talk of other insect numbers (moths, I think), if you've experienced drought breaking rains down where you are then it might be a season for the return of all sorts : ants, Marchflies, leeches etc. I've seen the ants in the Labyrinth. In March '09, they didn't make any impact, camped close to Elysia.
It would be interesting to see if any of you regulars notice any difference, or if there are any news reports. I don't suppose there are any Ent-ymologists among us to comment on seasonal variations. Marchflies don't seem to know about any rules of nature.