Smoko Creek

[ILUVSWTAS]

Just wondering if anyone knows if Smoko Creek got it's name because of the colour of the water?? Also what causes it to be this milky/smoky colour??

Does anyone know?

Also, shortly after crossing the log bridge across the canyon, I spied some tags off to the left, they seemed to keep going for a ways.. I wondered if this was an alternate track to the huntsman hut???

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[Chrisbulldog]

Not sure about the smoko name ILUV ,but my guess would be it has something to do with having a smoko break during the cattle droving days up there. Yes i noticed the water too , not sure about that . As regards the signage , what seemed to be good signage once has turned into a bit of a dog's breakfast in that area with a few old discs on posts etc .perhaps some old maps might show more

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Signage towards Smoko Creek and Mother Cummings Peak

P1000541.JPG (175.99 KiB) Viewed 3345 times

[DaveGwy]

I would have suggested glacial flour if it was NZ.

[gayet]

The milky colour looks similar to the water found in the dunes behind the Sandy Cape area. I haven't got any images handy for comparison but it would be some indication of minerals in the water, I guess At Sandy Cape, there was a fine layer of whitish silt on the sand surface below the water - disturb this and it became very milky. Different type of mineral at Smoko Ck probably though.

[doogs]

I may be wrong but there is a lot of limestone around that area. The coloration could well be fine limestone particles.

[ILUVSWTAS]

I may be wrong but there is a lot of limestone around that area. The coloration could well be fine limestone particles.

A good theory, but then there's a hell of alot of limestone in the SW, and you dont see that colour in the water down there... but then the water is all brown down here from the Tanin, maybe that overweighs the limestone??

[north-north-west]

Hmmm, it wasn't that colour when I was there.

Yes, I was going to ask if anyone knew about the track marking. There's only one set of markers really obvious on the way up, but when you get to the crossing on the way back, there's a spot where they point in three different directions: up the creek, over the creek, and down the creek. I was hoping there was a new track being made, down that side of the creek to the carpark.

[GerryDuke]

I have been up to Smoko Falls a few times now NNW. Never seen the water that colour!

There is a track to the falls on the eastern side of the river from the car park (not the old one - the one we now can't get to due to the recent rain). The first two times I visited the track was not clearly visible. It heads up a steep slope 'hidden' by the bush! As such the river does not need to be crossed. The topic was discussed here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=697&p=4885&hilit=smoko+falls#p4885

Note also, the names of the creeks have been swapped over between two editions of the relevant Tasmap.

Gerry

[GerryDuke]

I have been up to Smoko Falls a few times now NNW. Never seen the water that colour!

There is a track to the falls on the eastern side of the river from the car park (not the old one - the one we now can't get to due to the recent rain). The first two times I visited the track was not clearly visible. It heads up a steep slope 'hidden' by the bush! As such the river does not need to be crossed. The topic was discussed here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=697&p=4885&hilit=smoko+falls#p4885

Note also, the names of the creeks have been swapped over between two editions of the relevant Tasmap.

Gerry

[ILUVSWTAS]

This is not the river that runs into Smoko falls remember, they are different creeks. This is near Chasm Falls which had the same coloured water, The other creek coming down to merge into this one was crystal clear.

[north-north-west]

Ahh, different creek.
It looks more like temporary discolouration due to runoff or some sort of contamination. An unusual colour for Tassie water.

Gerry: Thanks. I'll have a look for it next time. Will at least go down that way, if nothing else.

[Neil Grose]

I've been up and down Smoko Creek for nigh on 20 years, and I've never seen that colour in the water. We saw it ten days ago and decided it was decidedly odd.

Upstream from the washed out creek the river has changed its course quite significantly, and that may be the cause, but it is certainly a worry.

I believe it's called Smoko Creek coz the bushies had smoko by it to boil the billy - could be wrong though.

Neil.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Thanks Neil, very helpful!!