Travellers Rest River – Travellers Rest Lagoon to Derwent Bridge

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Paddle Australia
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1379

Canoe Tas Inc

Central Tasmania

Travellers Rest River

Travellers Rest Lagoon to Derwent Bridge


steep
waterfalls
wilderness

Distance:&nbsp9.0 km.
Average Grade:&nbsp25 m/km
Peak Grade:&nbsp70 m/km
Difficulty:&nbspGrade 4.
Paddling Time:&nbsp2-6 hours.
Entry Point:&nbspTravellers Rest Lagoon (Grid ref. 376 420), east of Lake St Clair. Take the Forestry road off the Lyell Highway (Grid ref: 404 369), until it’s condition deteriorates, at a sharp right turn (park here). Carry boats for 3km along the road and disused tracks until the river comes into view, at the second button grass plain (Grid ref 380 420), then head left to the end of Travellers Rest Lagoon.
Exit Point:&nbspDerwent Bridge after the confluence with the River Derwent.
Water Level:&nbspThis river needs a good flow to be paddlable. The only trip to date was after 40mm of rain in the 3 days prior. Too low would be very hard on boats, too high would be dangerous as all rapids would link up.
Tasmap:&nbsp1:100 000 Nive (Topographic Series) as a minimum, 1:25 000 Olympus and Rufus sheets preferable..
Shuttle:&nbsp
General Description:&nbspThe Travellers Rest River is a cold and steep creek, draining the highland lakes on the 1000m high plateau east of Lake St Clair. The river starts as a swift alpine stream, then, after 500m the first waterfall is encountered, with a drop of 7m which can be shot on the left. The 2nd waterfall follows 300m further down, which is a jumble of rough dolerite boulders (portage left). 2km of steep continuos creeking follow, with no major drops, the stream bed is very rough dolerite blocks and is hard on boats.
From here, the river deteriorates markedly, braiding through trees, disappearing into scrub and button grass, requiring much walking. A better option would be to mark your exit point, on the river, adjacent to where the car is parked and finish there.

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Dan Hall – Traveller Falls

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