Marrawah region

[Eremophila]

We are fairly new to Tassie, heading from Devonport over to Marrawah in a couple of weeks, looking for some walks basically between Smithton & Marrawah / Arthur River. 2-3 hour walks would be ideal for this trip, anything shorter is fine, longer ones can be done on a future trip. I believe there's a track up Mt Cameron?
Thanks!

[mjdalessa]

If I am not mistaken cameron is in the northeast whilst these places are in the northwest... Not sure about up that way though.

[Eremophila]

On further investigation the official name is Mt Cameron West..... simply listed as Mt Cameron on many websites.
Not a mountain as such, but looks worth a walk and apparently has a number of rock art sites although i'm not sure whether they are publicly accessible.

[ofuros]

Hi Eremophila,

Old info & pics I'm afraid.
Eons ago, there were a couple of sandy 4wd tracks either side of Mt Cameron West which gave you access to the greens & mt cameron beaches...
plus a third 4wd track took you along the ridgeline all the way to the summit !
Access was via Harcus River Rd.
You could also walk the length of green point beach & access it that way.
Don't forget to take a couple of litres of water with you.

The aboriginal rock carvings were on mt cameron beach heading north...... there are also numerous mounds/middens too.....
it must have been a very bountiful area for the tribes that lived there at the time.
Not sure how the sands of time have effected this area since my last walkthrough to Cape Grim......

There's also the remnants of the old tram/railway from smithton to redpa....numerous back roads cross what remains of this forgotten line.
Overgrown, but the timbers & pins are still in place.

Muttonbird rookeries, where at the right time of the year, as the light fades, you can watch & feel the beat of the returning shearwaters wings,
flooding the dunes as they try to locate their burrows for the coming seasons chicks........great area little area if you look below the surface.

Last edited by ofuros on Tue 25 Oct, 2011 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[frenchy_84]

I dont have first hand knowledge of the area however I was under the impression there were access issues regarding Mt Cameron West due to its aboriginal heritage values.
Another possibilty is for walking around temma (not along drive from Arthur River) the place is crisscrossed with 4x4 tracks, while some you wouldnt want to walk along, the closest one to the coast is pretty good and you could make the walk as long as you wanted.

[ofuros]

And so they should be hard to access frenchy_84.....
all too many site relics are stolen or vandalised and their history lost forever.
Those rock carvings are worth the protecting.....now you've got me digging into the net
to see if i can find some more info.

The guardians of the area....with contact info.
http://talsc.net.au/preminghana.htm

[Eremophila]

Thanks guys, will check out access issues. Although I was alerted to the charms of the region by an article in the local rag, the description was by a young fella from Marrawah who is (I believe) of Aboriginal descent. I think Preminghana was mentioned. He was promoting the walk up Mt Cameron. Anyhow we'll be staying close by so hopefully can glean some local info.
And we are ex-Centralians, so used to lugging lots of water with us! cheers.

[Chris]

Not quite bushwalking, but we have walked a few km north along the beach from Arthur River many times, and thoroughly enjoyed it - spectacular, varied coastal scenery and rock formations. Also the occasional wombat, lots of birds, and sometimes cattle or horses on the beach fairly early in the walk. It's always different, changing with the tides and winds.

Most of the beaches further south (except maybe Temma) are well worth checking out too. Don't think the geography allows any long walks, but different rock formations on each one, plus some aboriginal carvings. Sundown Point is rather a sensitive spot with the aboriginal community, but when last there a year or so ago the damage done to middens by trail-bikes certainly justified the unwelcoming notices . It's still well worth a visit though.

The Arthur River area gets over-populated from Christmas to Easter, but this time of year would be great. From now to November particularly there should be lots of native flora too.

[Chris]

This topic inspired me to look back over some of my more recent photos of the area, so now I can't resist posting a few which may further whet your appetite.

[ofuros]

Wild & windswept.......brings back memories.
Nice pics...captures the area well.

[bushwalker zane]

Ah the memories. I must say, I do miss the west coast, I think it's time for a road trip.

[Eremophila]

Just a shameless thread bump before we head over this way....

[ofuros]

I don't know how you can sleep at night !..... although I am hanging out for the trip report
Enjoy your North/West coast adventure.

[Kelly Jones]

Contact Jenny Archer, one of the photographers responsible for the "Wild Sight" exhibition and "Discover the Tarkine" publications. She spent several years exploring the area, including the coastline, and would have lots of advice on walks.

http://www.discoverthetarkine.com.au/pa ... oliday.php

[Eremophila]

oh thank you Kelly!
Our weekend was wonderful, weather was just great. In the end we didn't do a lot of walking, walked the Green Point(?) Beach which was about 12km all up and a few other short walks. Including an uphill hike from our cabin to the pub
Great area, did the "devil tour" which was fantastic. Return trip/s definitely on the agenda.