Must visit spots - Walls of Jerusalem

[Vern]

After living in Tassie for 5 years I didn't get to Walls of Jerusalem once...shame on me I know!

Well finally, my wife and I are heading down there for 4 days and I really wanted to make the most of it. It looks like a pretty open expanse with plenty of lakes and lightly forested areas and from what I understand a fairly good place to vernture off track (Without damaging the sensitive area's of course) and look around. So from those who know I was wondering if there are any spots there that you would consider 'must see spots' that I really should check out?

[tigercat]

Solomon's Throne, Dixons Kingdom, Lake Ball, Pool of Bethesda is a start

[ryantmalone]

Solomons Throne must not be missed. If you're feeling energetic, the walk over to King Davids Peak is an easy scrub bash/boulder hop from Solomons Throne. Its an incredible view point, and I can not recommend it enough. Just stay away from the edge. Its a very big drop!!

Dixons Kingdom is very pretty, as is the Pool of Bethesda. All in all, it's all about how far you want to venture, and whether or not you want to stay on the track or not. The area is very fragile, however there are many great places that can be reached off track that are not far from the cut track. Eg, George Howes Lake, Solitary Hut, Pool of Siloam, and so on.

As for camping, Parks recommend using Wild Dog Creek (which is where I stayed last time). Although you are allowed to camp other places (although frowned upon by Parks Tas), camping in the central Walls is not permitted. That said, there are plenty of other places that you can choose to camp. Solitary Hut has some great spots in the bush behind the hut, there are some very nice spots near Dixons Kingdom, and I've heard that the spots at Lake Ball are pristine.

Enjoy your trip!

[Scottyk]

Dixons Kingdom is very photogenic.
Lake Ball at the western end is great too where the track goes down the Lake Adelaide.
Go up The Temple for excellent views of the Western Wall and valley
The ridge line traverse from Solomon's Throne along the western wall and down into Herods Gate is a must in fine weather.
The place is so open that you can sort of choose your own adventure.

[eggs]

The view over the central plateau from Mt Jerusalem is fantastic - the land of a thousand lakes.
And the small tarns you pass on the way up are well worth the effort as well.
Views from the Temple are also very good and you can explore around a bit up there.
Western end of Lake Ball in good light is gorgeous, and Lake Adelaide is nice as well - making a loop back via Lake Loane with Clumner Bluff as the back drop..

[Don R]

All of the above suggestions are great. The view from Mt Jerusalem is great, and it is only about an hour's walk from Dixon's Kingdom hut. However the weather can be variable, so prepare for cold weather and rain. I recommend camping at Wild Dog Creek on the provided platforms for the first night and Dixon's on the second night. You can visit the top of the Throne and Mt Jerusalem on that day. The walk down to Lake Ball can be boggy so stick near the tree line. From Lake Ball to the next lake there is really only one reasonable camp spot and a hut. Camp at the lake (my memory is going, is that Meston ?) and walk out the next day. All in all a great walk, but it can be challenging in poor weather. Enjoy.

[Haydynb]

The view from the Temple is also very special...

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk13 ... 20-800.jpg

Heres a Pano...

[Strider]

Going to be a sea of white with snow to 300m tonight!

[gregm]

Get up before dawn & head to the top of Mt Jerusalem to watch the sun come up. Awesome, with all the lakes towards the east sparkling as the sun's rays hit them. A good headlamp should easily light the way of what was a well marked track 2 years ago. Recommend 2 nights in this area to see it properly.

[tigercat]

Sunrise from Solomon's Throne is also stunning.

[simonm]

Has anyone walked in through Bernes Valley lately?

[whynotwalk]

Camping at Silver Lake

Has anyone walked in through Bernes Valley lately?

Yep - it's lovely, without being spectacular. There's a neat area to camp by the north-western shore of Silver Lake, which is at the easternmost end of Bernes Valley (pic attached). Walking through the valley is mostly easy, following the Pine River. There are some boggy sections around Lakes Sally, Sonja and Solveig. Towards the western end, it's worth the semi-grunt to get up on Great Pine Tier. It's been devastated by (old) fires among the pencil pines, but there are some great patches of pencil pine still up there.

cheers

Peter

[simonm]

Thanks Peter.

I have a trip planned into the Walls, and thought this may be a nice way to walk in.

[whynotwalk]

Thanks Peter.

I have a trip planned into the Walls, and thought this may be a nice way to walk in.

It is - just longer, more windswept, and not as spectacular. But also far less trodden. Worth a trip sometime, imho,

cheers

Peter

[simonm]

Thanks Peter.

I have a trip planned into the Walls, and thought this may be a nice way to walk in.

It is - just longer, more windswept, and not as spectacular. But also far less trodden. Worth a trip sometime, imho,

cheers

Peter

Sounds perfect .

[ofuros]

Just watch out for slithering sticks....for some reason it's heaven for them in that valley !

[simonm]

Just watch out for slithering sticks....for some reason it's heaven for them in that valley !

So send someone out in front then

[whynotwalk]

Just watch out for slithering sticks....for some reason it's heaven for them in that valley !

Too true! I found this one swimming in Silver Lake

cheers

Peter

[simonm]

In March I will be taking my sister and brother in law in to WOJ and since I have just purchased a Shangri La 5 I am contemplating taking this instead of 2 tents. It has a very large footprint though, will it be ok finding sites to pitch it? The site at Silver Lake, Dixons looks fine, what about Lake Ball? I wont be camping at Wild Dog Ck. Any other suggestions?

[sthughes]

In March I will be taking my sister and brother in law in to WOJ and since I have just purchased a Shangri La 5 I am contemplating taking this instead of 2 tents. It has a very large footprint though, will it be ok finding sites to pitch it? The site at Silver Lake, Dixons looks fine, what about Lake Ball? I wont be camping at Wild Dog Ck. Any other suggestions?

Plenty of good, spacious sites in the area. Both ends of Lake Adelaide, north end of Meston and north end of Lake Myrtle are all excellent and huge. Haven't camped at Lake Ball but I remember thinking it was a great camp site when I passed by. There would also be room at Dixons. Personally I like the Meston and Myrtle spots the most, particularly Meston in summer with it's neat little beach and warm shallow water and a sandy bottom. Perfect spot for a swim in the crystal clear water

[ofuros]

Another Walls option.
Scramble up Solomons throne, traverse along the length of the precipitous Wailing Wall down to the Lake Ball hut,
return via dixons kingdom...nice little circuit.

[Captain Cool]

Sunset just by the turnoff on the track up to Mt Jerusalem is spectacular (just up from DKH) - if there's not too much cloud cover the whole side of the mountain turns bright orange. Wish I had my camera when we were there, it only lasted a few minutes before the sun dipped below the horizon. The views from the top are pretty good too!

[tigercat]

Another Walls option.
Scramble up Solomons throne, traverse along the length of the precipitous Wailing Wall down to the Lake Ball hut,
return via dixons kingdom...nice little circuit.

very nice indeed

[simonm]

In March I will be taking my sister and brother in law in to WOJ and since I have just purchased a Shangri La 5 I am contemplating taking this instead of 2 tents. It has a very large footprint though, will it be ok finding sites to pitch it? The site at Silver Lake, Dixons looks fine, what about Lake Ball? I wont be camping at Wild Dog Ck. Any other suggestions?

Plenty of good, spacious sites in the area. Both ends of Lake Adelaide, north end of Meston and north end of Lake Myrtle are all excellent and huge. Haven't camped at Lake Ball but I remember thinking it was a great camp site when I passed by. There would also be room at Dixons. Personally I like the Meston and Myrtle spots the most, particularly Meston in summer with it's neat little beach and warm shallow water and a sandy bottom. Perfect spot for a swim in the crystal clear water

Thanks mate will look into those sites when I go prior to March.

[dplanet]

Camped near Mt Jerusalem on an extended trip some years ago.

[Happy Pirate]

One of the delightful things about Dixon's Kingdom is the Eastern Quolls that come out at dusk and gambol about on the grassy flats among the Pencil Pine Forest forest.
One of the great delights of a Tassie hike.
You just need to sit quiet away from the tents and kill any light and they will appear just as the light fades. Like frisky kittens they run about chasing insects and frolicking.
Truly special.
Steve

[north-north-west]

From Salome, up over Ophel, down to Siloam, up Zion, down across the valley and straight up Jerusalem, then back via the track. Camp at Bethesda (if you're still allowed to). Then up Hall's, along the Wailing Wall to Moriah, down to the hut and out via Lake Adelaide. Great little circuit.

[Vern]

Thanks everyone for all the replies! Appreciate everyone taking the time out to help with the advice. Heading down there on Friday and just praying for good weather now...looks cold but good on the forecast so far...fingers crossed!

[simonm]

Thanks everyone for all the replies! Appreciate everyone taking the time out to help with the advice. Heading down there on Friday and just praying for good weather now...looks cold but good on the forecast so far...fingers crossed!

Have fun mate. I might see you in there this weekend, I didn't make it as planned last weekend so will try for this week.

[Vern]

Have fun mate. I might see you in there this weekend, I didn't make it as planned last weekend so will try for this week.

Great...I'll be the one in the bright orange jacket so you should be able to see me in any weather