I try to always leave town on my birthday and do something ‘cool’. A couple of weeks ago, I did a fabulous 2½ day walk in the North of Tassie in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park. Having done the Three Capes Track and Overland Track in 2020 and Frenchman’s Cap in 2022, it had been a while since an overnighter in Tassie. The “Walls” was high on my priority list and I was determined to do it this year. A colleague of mine had been the weekend prior and did the hike in to the Wild Dog Campground and the next day to Dixon’s Kingdom and back out, which is fairly common to do, but we decided we would do the circuit going out to Lake Adelaide. They had clear skies and 19C sunshine.
We drove up from Hobart the day prior and stayed in Mole Creek in cabins which were very warm and comfortable.
Day 1 – Trailhead to Dixon’s Kingdom
The next day after a morning mocha, we drove to the Walls trailhead and started the hike. My colleague who had completed the hike the previous week had mentioned that there were a few mischievous hungry locals at the Wild Dog campsite, and so I had decided that the 3 of us would head straight to Dixon’s Kingdom. They say the toughest part of the Walls hike is getting up to the Trapper’s Hut. It is a steady incline and with about 16kgs on your back it is a decent walk going up a pretty good incline.
If my memory serves me right, it took a little over an hour to get to the Trappers’ Hut and so we were already relieved. Just above the hut, and to our surprise, the walk turned into a completely different world. Snow everywhere – on the ground, in the trees and we also got a few flurries. It was truly magical and something I was hoping we could experience based on what I had seen online.
We stopped just past the Wild Dog campground (where we saw a Tasmanian furry potato aka wombat) helipad for lunch which was a bit windy but worth the views.
We got up to a pass and noticed signs one leading to Solomon’s Throne and another going to The Temple. This reminded me of when we were on Day 2 of the Overland going up to Mt. Ossa which we didn’t do due to bad weather. Since we had absolutely clear skies, I told my traveling companions that we would leave our packs at the junction and we did both of these short summits. Solomon’s throne is essentially hiking up a gully which had a huge blanket of ice and snow but was pretty spectacular – it didn’t take more than 45 minutes including a stop for photo opportunities.
We came back to the junction and then went up to the Temple which took about 1½ hours but again had spectacular vistas and was a good break before our descent to Dixon’s Kingdom. En route, we came across a several wallabies and even an echidna. The Dixon’s Kingdom Campsite is pretty amazing with updated facilities and zero wind – in fact we had the most amazing starry skies I’d seen in a while. Dinner consisted of the local dehydrated food from Strive.
Day 2 – Dixon’s Kingdom to Lake Adelaide
So the previous evening after a lot of convincing by my better half, I gave in and decided to put in the hard yards to get to Lake Adelaide. However, we left our packs at camp in the morning and headed up Mt. Jerusalem which was another fantastic summit to get in. We then had a 3 hour hike ahead which was pretty challenging from the campsite to Lake Adelaide. It wasn’t so much about elevation gain or loss but the terrain itself. Yes, our packs were a wee bit lighter with some food consumed but they were still pretty heavy and with all the snow that had fallen in the previous days, that meant a lot of water and mud to navigate through. In hindsight, this made the hike more of an adventure and was fantastic but at the time it was like “why am I putting myself through this?!”.
Hiking up above Lake Ball was pretty awesome and there was some pretty decent drop offs when jumping from one rock to the next. Navigating the mud, pools and even river crossings was all part of the challenge. Getting to Lake Adelaide was a bittersweet feeling as I felt like this adventure was coming to an end but I was a bit relieved from the roots + sludge/mud mix + deep water crossings. Another day of stunning blue skies and sunshine was over.
Day 3 – Lake Adelaide to Trailhead
The Lake Adelaide campsite was not as developed as the others that have platforms but I will say I slept a lot better at Lake Adelaide. I had seen the forecast before we started the hike and we were expecting a bit of rain that hit us early in the morning but just as we slept in till 7am, it stopped, and as we got out of the tent, you got the quintessential Tasmanian morning mist and fog. After a brekkie bar, as we didn’t want to have a hot breakfast this day, we left for the 4 hour hike back to the trail head. It was a relatively easy and quick day but did involve more tree roots, mud and pool crossings.
When I look back at this hike, I’d say I would definitely do it again – next time I’d aim at getting to King Davids Peak. Perhaps the combination of snow and blue skies and mid 12-13C weather made it just perfect.
We drove back to Hobart that afternoon, stopping for a meal at Deloraine and a pit stop for some (novelty) truffle flavoured ice-cream at The Truffle Farm.
If you like multiday hiking in the wilderness, then I’d highly recommend a trip into the Walls of Jerusalem. For the above trip or other cool Tassie travel ideas, please email us at bookings@hobarttravelcentre.com.au or call us on 03 6238 4222.
Adi Munshi – Manager
Tasmanian Travel & Information Centre
