Lake Rhona walk (Richea Creek Track) road access

[DonQx]

We've just spent a few nites at Lake Rhona as our Xmas Escape.

Road access is via Eleven Road. The Florentine River bridge on Tiger Road is out and it looks like a pretty permanent arrangement ... meaning it has been thoroughly blocked off and doesn't look like anyone is in a hurry to fix it.

https://www.sttas.com.au/using-our-forests/road-and-track-closures (accessed 17/12/17)

For queries on road/track closures in Southern Tasmania call our Southern Region on (03) 6235 8100 OR (03) 6295 7111
...
Tiger Road - The bridge over Florentine River on Tiger Road ( two kilometres in from the intersection with Florentine Road) is closed due to bridge failure. Access to the west side of the Florentine River is via Eleven Road. (Posted 16/12/16).

dq.

[L_Cham_67]

What's the condition of Eleven Road like, as well as the other roads to access it (such as Range Road)? Is it okay for a 2wd? I ask because my car has annoyingly low profile wheels (it's second hand) and after a flat tyre on the road which you use to access Stacks Bluff I've become a little paranoid on certain gravel roads.

[DonQx]

Yes, ok for 2wd.
Eleven Rd is good. Closer to the car park it gets a bit more bumpy & narrow with overhanging vegetation. Probably not a bad idea to bring a saw/axe in case something needs to be cleared away. Still ok for any 2wd I reckon.
Quite a few 2wd's parked there, including a small one, maybe a Toyota Yaris.
We went in a Corolla wagon.
dq.

[CasualNerd]

Related question, is there a way to judge the level of the Gordon River to know when crossing will be possible ? i.e. from a BOM river height reading nearby ?

[DonQx]

We looked at the Hydro info for Gordon River @ Denison River junction and at Hydro & BOM info for the Florentine River which runs parallel to the upper Gordon.

Florentine River data wasn't helpful at all ... river level & volume graphs pretty much flat for the preceding 1 month.

Gordon River data maybe slightly more useful, but not sure that you can tell much from that about what the crossing is going to be like.

Our observations/what others told us:
- 23/12 2.00 pm - crossing log at lowest point ~10cm above water
- 26/12 10.00 am - log ~ 25cm under water at lowest point
- 26/12 2.00 pm - ~ 10 cm under
- 26/12 5.00 pm - ~ 25 cm under
- 27/12 9.00 am - ~10cm under

Would love to hear from someone who knows more about it.

a.

https://www.hydro.com.au/docs/default-source/water-flow/Web_Rivers_GordonRv.pdf

https://www.hydro.com.au/hse/system/files/water-storage/Web_Rivers_FlorentineRv.pdf

http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDT60152.html

[hobes]

The log was underwater late yesterday afternoon.

[Paul]

Is it possible, if travelling from Launceston, to access Tiger Road at its northern intersection with Florentine Road, then Range Road to Richea Creek Track to be able to walk to Lake Rhona ??

I was thinking the shortest route might be over Poatina, Bronte Park, Wayatinah, Florentine Road. ( instead of the Midlands Highway then Maydena )


Thanks for any info,
Paul.

[stepbystep]

Is it possible, if travelling from Launceston, to access Tiger Road at its northern intersection with Florentine Road, then Range Road to Richea Creek Track to be able to walk to Lake Rhona ??

I was thinking the shortest route might be over Poatina, Bronte Park, Wayatinah, Florentine Road. ( instead of the Midlands Highway then Maydena )


Thanks for any info,
Paul.

Sadly no. The bridge over the Florentine in the north was destroyed by fire....need to go via Maydena

[daywalkertas]

14TH FEBRUARY 2018
Planned 2 nights ended up being a recce / daytrip due to very nasty forecast ( very accurate - well done BOM). We drove and walked to the river, bad weather and dangerous winds as we drove out, would have been miserable at the lake.

Roads as per previous posts all good, some minor branches, worth carrying a hand saw just in case.

The log was above water, but V-E-R-Y slippery in the rain, had dipped and cracked at the western end and a good flood will see it gone. The ford was easily crossed.

Enjoy!

[tastrekker]

Is it possible, if travelling from Launceston, to access Tiger Road at its northern intersection with Florentine Road, then Range Road to Richea Creek Track to be able to walk to Lake Rhona ??
I was thinking the shortest route might be over Poatina, Bronte Park, Wayatinah, Florentine Road. ( instead of the Midlands Highway then Maydena )
Thanks for any info,
Paul.

Sadly no. The bridge over the Florentine in the north was destroyed by fire....need to go via Maydena

If you like gravel roads the most direct route from Launie to the southern end of Eleven Road would be via Poatina, Wadamana and Ouse then the Lake Repulse and Dawsons Roads into the north end of the Florentine Valley via Misery Plateau. That cuts the distance down to a neat 200km.
Going via Poatina, Bothwell, Hamilton and Maydena is 275km.
Down the Midlands and through New Norfolk is 300km but probably a similar time to the above routes.

It's also worth pointing out that the Florentine Bridge at the north end of Eleven Road near the Wylds Craig track is impassable due to lack of maintenance. Accessing Wylds Craig now involves driving the full length of Eleven Road from the south.

[L_Cham_67]

A 2020 update.
The southern Tiger road bridge has been repaired, so the detour along Eleven Road is no longer necessary.

The infamous log was totally out of the water and dry which surprised me, considering I'd read about that log not being safe to use anymore. I guess it's been pretty dry recently.