Lake Rhona is classified as a "hung lake" which is 900 meters above sea level and is the result of Ice Age Glaciers. This a hard 2 day 28km hike within the Wild Rivers National Park in the South West wilderness area of Tasmania. Situated in the midst of the Denison Ranges, the Lake’s beautiful pink/white quartzite sands surrounded by dominate ridges make it a truly unique Lake. The track follows flat button grass marshland for a majority of the way before a short hard climb of 400m to the final section below the Lake. This is your typical Tasmanian bush bashing walk. You will be muddy, scratched, bruised and weary at the end of each day. The track is exposed for most of the way.

Lookouts

Swimming

Bird Watching

Scrambling or Climbing

Navigation Required

Swamp or Wetland

Eucalypt Forest

920m

Maximum Elevation

550m

Total Climb

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Getting there

Allow two and a half hours from Hobart to get to the start of the walk. From Hobart travel via the Brooker Highway (A10) to New Norfolk. At New Norfolk, follow the B61/B62 road past Mt Field and Maydena. 2km west of Maydena turn right onto Florentine Road. This is a gravel road that goes for 27km before forking left on to Tiger Road. The road is a foresty road and is usually accessible by 2WD vehicles. After about 3.5km later turn left onto Range Road and follow it for another 3.5km before turning left onto Terry Walch Road. Follow Terry Walch Road for 3km before taking the G03 spur to the right. The car park for Lake Rhona is located 200m down this road at the end of the road.

Maps

Denison Range 1:50,000 Topographic Map

Route/Trail notes

The Richea Track leads from the southern end of the car park directly into the Gordon Range. About 40 minutes from the start you should reach the Gordon River. This part of the walk gently descends downhill through Myrtle forest. At the Gordon River a large fallen tree provides a bridge to cross the river, or alternatively the river can be waded slightly upstream of this fallen tree. Only attempt to wade across the river when the river is at it's normal flow. Rain can cause flash flooding. There is a campsite situated in the forest on the other side.

From this side of the river, the track goes straight on for a short distance (about 15 - 20 mins) and then comes to a T junction. Turn north here and you are now on the Rasselas Track. For the next 3km or so the track changes between muddy button grass swamp, dry sclerophyll forest and stands of Tea Trees before you arrive at Gordonvale. This is a lovely place to stop and have a break and/or explore the old area.

From Gordonvale the track gradually climbs for approximately 4km and returns to the marsh plains, crossing many small creeks with some sections of heavy mud. As you make your way along the track Reids Peak can be seen in the distance. Reids Peak is directly above and behind Lake Rhona, but Lake Rhona is not visible from here.

After 4kms or so, the final section of the hike is reached and this is the hardest part. The track climbs steeply 400m up and over glacial merrains. There are many false peaks in this part of the track and you honestly start to think you will never get there as you still cannot see the Lake and it is one false peak after another. The last ridge is the steepest of all and you will be puffing and sweating when you reach the top. At the top of this ridge you will see Lake Rhona in the distance. You forget your aches and pains as you are take in the beauty of the Lake and Reids Peak behind it. It’s a very special place and most people are awe struck. From the top of this ridge you go downhill a little and around the lake to the camp grounds on the northern side.

The total distance is approximately 14km and should take 6 to 7 hours each way.

Permits/Costs

A Parks Permit is required and is available from "Parks and Wildlife Services Tasmania"

Other References

John Chapman has a series of books covering walks in Tasmania.

GPS Tracks

No GPS available for this walk yet.

Comments

Did this walk over three days early October. This walk was TOUGH. Without a pack, this hike would be relatively easy going, but the sheer amount of wet, muddy buttongrass plains make the majority of the hike very demoralising if you're carrying anything above an ultralight pack.

Unsure if this mud would be more reduced/bearable in the summer, but the track is very exposed throughout so warmer temperatures would probably be just as rough going.

The tree crossings in the Gordon were just at the water level - important note that after rain the logs are quite slippery so would recommend crawling/shuffling across unless your boots have superior traction.

Compared to other hikes I've done in Tas, the scenery was very unchanging and the dry forests you weave in and out of not the most inspiring interludes to the k's and k's of buttongrass you spend the majority of the hike slogging across.

We were actually thrilled to reach the ascent at the end of the hike, as it’s the first time in ages you reach solid ground and by this point our shoulders were screaming from the constant slipping and re-righting from the mud. The ascent isn’t easy but in my opinion, it’s actually the best part of the hike.

Lake Rhona is stunning and it’s amazing that it’s been kept in such pristine condition. We were lucky with weather and didn’t get much rain at all, but the site can get very windy and cold so pack accordingly.

All up, while Lake Rhona is beautiful and I feel privileged to have seen it, the long and arduous trek to get there is one I won’t be repeating and honestly wouldn’t recommend unless Lake Rhona is high on your list and you are have access to lightweight gear.
Christa on 7 Oct, 2023

ATTEMPTED - GORDON RIVER LEVEL TOO HIGH
5.6km
1hr 48min
Planned on an overnight hike but the 2 trees used to cross the river were well under water
Joel on 17 May, 2023

Walked in on a heatwave and the next day temps of 4 degrees and severe winds kept us in our tent. It was 18km one way according to our gps and the climb at the end was very challenging after a long hot day but so worth it when you get to the lake.
Tessa Lou Staib on 27 Dec, 2022

A challenging walk, but well worth the effort. The track is very exposed to the weather and not well marked. We lost the track 3 times going in and this cost us an extra 2 hours. We decided to stay an extra day to relax and found that there is a 6km circuit walk that starts on the opposite side of the lake. This walk goes around the lake and then up over Reids Peak and then back to the camp. This required a lot of scrambling and climbing on exposed rock faces (not for the faint hearted), but it gives you a 360 panorama of Lake Rhona and the Denison Ranges. Do not attempt if it is raining or threatening to rain as the rocks are very slippery when wet.
Brian on 22 Apr, 2015