Walls of Jerulsalem

January 30th until the 2nd of February

Well finally i have managed to pen my report on our "beat the heat meet" trek that guided us through the heavenly Walls of Jerusalem high up in the central highlands of Tasmania!

This was to be our second real hiking trip with the originals Jamie,Jed and Joel! Unfortunately Joel couldn't make it as he had a tapestry class to attend that weekend!!

So it was just the three of us this time organising our plight in a manner that was a little less formal than last trip! With each of us oozing with the confidence of last trek! We highlighted pack weight managment as a priority and all of us managed to carry about 22kgs for the 4 days! Jed had prepared a special arrangement of gourmet dehydrated meals ( I must add here that Jed you are a talented man!).
Jamie had organised the maps and had memorised every landmark within 40km of the carpark! I had the ardous task of lamenating the maps! We were ready to rock!!!

Arriving after about a 3.5 hour drive we loaded up for the first leg of the trip to Trappers Hut this involved a walk of only 4-5kms the killer being one the 35 degree day we had encountered and secondly the 700m ascendment! Hydration and overheating were to be the measure of the day!

Exhausted we arrived at Trappers Hut which is filled with some great info on the history of the area and provided some much needed shade! To me trappers Hut will be remembered as a generous offerings of omega honey and bush bread.... much like a good red really! The initial sweetness from the honey could be enjoyed until it was engulfed by an everlasting after taste of cod liver oil.....The thought was there Sare's but we might give that one a miss next time!!!

Rested up we ventured back into the searing heat and within metres we were all again wet with perspiration! We slowly made our ways past several small tarns ensuring we stopped for plenty of breaks to ward off heat stroke! We eventually made it to the Wild Dog creek camp site where a decision was to be made on our destination, it was not getting any earlier and poor Jed was feeling the pinch but the temptation of Dixons Kingdom camp was too much and we unwisely pushed on! Jed was not feeling at all well so we stopped at Solomons Jewel!I stripped for a swim which helped drop my core temperature down but Jed was not functioning too well at all!

I would like to highlight a couple of things if anyone is ever in this situation! When the heat is as extreme as it was this day for us your are battling three issues!

Dehydration which can be overcome with water!Which adds weight and adds to issue 2!

Heatstroke which is the inability to regulate body heat hence overheating your motor the brain! This can be helped by taking frequent breaks,finding shade if able and wetting a piece of clothing and placing it on your head to aid in heat exchange!

The third problem occurs as a result of the first two issues as you hydrate with water the body uses this to sweat trying to regulate temperature,as you sweat you release essential bodily salts! You then rehydrate and eventually dilute your body's salt level! Cramping is a sure sign of this so there is a need to carry electrolytes to aid in maintaining salt levels!

It was only a few weeks earlier that a tourist had died from heat stroke in more favourable conditions so the threat is very real!

To give you a feel for how we dealt with this we all drank plenty of water prior to the walk,we all charged up on gatorade on the drive up! During this first day we drank 7 litres of water and did not urinate once!

As Jed wasn't feeling well and Jed is one tough cookie it was our responsibility to cut the day short and camp at the Pools of Besetha! Its not about being too proud and common sense would have seen us camp back at Wild Dog Creek! Jamie and I were too feeling the affects and left poor old Jed to set up his own tent! Jed was cramping and did not move for the night he also was verging on vomiting which would have further dehydrated him!Luckily Jamie carried some gastrolyte tablets to help Jed over this hurdle!

After i was over the harshness of the day i managed to absorb the amazing walls i was surrounded within, seperated only by natural gates! From my spot at the top of the hill i had 360 degrees of weathered dolorite cliff faces! From our camp nestled amongst 1000yo Pencil Pines we admired the mirrored image of Mt Jerulsalem on the Pool of Besetha! A truly magical place!

Note that the Pools of Besetha is not a camping ground as there is not sufficient flow or size to the pool!


Thankfully Jed recovered somewhat and we were able to continue on!!


Day 2 saw us climbing Solomon’s throne on a very clear day, the views were sensational .....Barns bluff, Ossa , lakes left and right my god we are blessed!!! From there to our day 1 target of Dixon’s kingdom where we sat and enjoyed the shade in Tasmania’s largest pencil pine forest! These trees are over a thousand years old and while descending through this magical place it further endorsed the respect these areas deserve!

After a well earned break we ventured to Lake Ball and being the sole fisherman in the group my legs picked up pace in anticipation of pristine waters full of wild brown trout! Arriving ahead of the group I crossed the inlet river and decided upon a campsite! I was itching to break in my new Howler Sage tcx 5wt (Thanks Damien for a superbly built rod) so it was assembled before the tent and let loose on some mini trout chasing dragonflies in a pool upstream fun but I was unable to hook up... the party had arrived and fishing was going to take a back seat until camp was set and afternoon tea was served!

We all went for a wander to a nearby rocky outcrop and noticed a few fish smashing some black spinners! Getting a cast was to be my next challenge, the only way was to wet wade so in I ventured! The trout were not interested in taking my spinner as they were being taken on the wing! So I wasted little time chasing these guys (calling on the last experience of endless hours spent at Bronte for nil!!) instead I changed to a small dun and prospected some likely log matrixes! I managing 3 trout in quick succession, the third had me in all sorts of strife amongst the wood work giving a great account for itself… stoked! Box ticked and wadable areas exhausted I made way back to camp for a night cap and a rest, I sure was feeling the pinch. I did manage another little trout before I drifted off into the world of monster trout in Lake Nugara my next box on the ticking list!

Destination Lake Nugara- navigating with our trusty map,GPS and a photo taken from the peak we made tracks, I literally mean we made tracks it was as if no one had ever been to this place! About an hour and half later after ignoring many tempting little waterholes we arrived .... look there’s a fish under that rock ...camera out but fish had moved on! I sat up on rock and watched the other guys retreive their hardbodies and SPs! Jamie yells out as a 6-7 pound brownie follows his SP in, I had to get a closer look so I joined Jamie and offered some advice on how to work lures! Then from the deep blue I sat and watched another large trout cruise by! It was time to take my rod and explore the lake surely I would find some more fish! Well the quick answer to that was no but I did learn to polaroid 90 degrees into the water whilst keeping the other 90 watching out for black wriggly reptiles..... I think we come across 7 all up! Anyway no fish and bloody hot(cloudy to so polaroiding was marginal) ,I now know the lake has a very small fringe and is very deep all the way around apart from a small shore at the western end and is definitely bigger than it appears on the map! There will be a next time! (Lesson learnt don't take the fish for granted instead take the opportunities when they present!!!)

Back to camp which was 2km longer for me as I had left my spotters on a rock near the snake pit!...doh … Another cook up and time to soak in the serenity!

Oh I forgot to mention march flies and mossies, I think we must have upset a nest at the car park and they decided to invade our personal space for the entirity!

We headed out the next day in the rain via Lake Adelaide, so little time so many great places to see! The only dampener being that criminals had broken into some cars thankfully mine was spared!

Next trip with the lads to Freycinet,Mt Graham and Cooks beach to find a hut built by Jamies forefathers back in the day!


Beachy loves gettingamonstit!!!Tassie Rocks!