Mt Anne

Mt Anne as seen from the plateau. Some of the rocks in the distance are actually the size of small houses
Eve Peak. Mt Anne is behind me.
Lake Judd. Mt Sarah is the peak on the left and Schnells Ridge in the distance.
Lake Pedder from the summit of Mt Anne. Pedder, as most people know, is an artificial lake and was the scene of the very first real confrontation between conservationists and the Tasmanian government. There are some people that think the lake should be drained. But personally, I don't believe that will see a return of the old lake and it would mean destroying the new ecological balance that has established itself over the decades since the dam was built.
The Lonely Tarns seen from on the way up to the top of Mt Lot.
Mt Anne at dawn. Taken from Eve Peak.
Mt Lot from the top of Mt Anne.
The cliffs of Mt Anne and Mt Lot with Lots Wife (the rock spire on the ridge). To get to the plateau behind Mt Lot you have to traverse that ridge which can be hard work.
Mt Lot from Mt Anne.
A breathtakingly beautiful campsite on the plateau just west of Eve Peak. I set up my tent in the full knowledge that setting up in such an incredibly exposed position was guaranteed to invite the revenge of the weather gods for my hubris. But for once - I was wrong!
Foot track up to Mt Anne. You could do it as day trip but it's more fun to spend a few days or even do the round trip. The Mt Anne circuit usally takes three or four days.
Sunset over Lake Pedder as seen from High Camp.
A tarn on Eve Peak at dawn.
Looking south east as I climbed up to the final summit of Mt Anne. There is an initial cliff that some might find a bit hairy but after that the climb up is easy. So long, of course, that the weather is good.

My favourite trip in Tasmania is the Easter and Western Arthurs, which is right next door to Mt Anne. I usually do both Arthurs in the same trip and then rest for a day or two at Mt Field National Park. Which has mankind's two greatest inventions. Hot running water and a toilet you can sit on. And if I have a bit of spare time I sometimes squeeze in Mt Anne. I have done the round trip - Mt Anne, Lightening ridge, Lake Judd and then back to the road. But I usually just do Mt Anne.

It is a pretty easy hike and if you started early you could do it in a day. But most people spend at least a night. Usually camping on the plateau or sleeping in the High Camp Hut. Looking at most of these photos might make you think that southern Tasmania is all blue skies and sunshine. On the particular hike that most of these photos were taken on, that was indeed the case for the four days I was there. But that is so unusual that this hike is very vivid in my memory to this day. It is the only hike I've done in the area where I had dry boots EVERY SINGLE DAY! Every night I was there I marvelled at the sensation of dry socks.

But the next time I was there I did the full Mt Anne circuit. Starting along the south side of Anne River, up to Mt Sarah and then spent two nights on a ridge above The Lonely Tarns. It bucketed. Every low point was full of water and the rough track up to Mt Sarah was (perfectly literally) a stream. I couldn't camp next to Judds Charm or Lake Piccone (the usual campsites) because they were both under water. So I was up on the ridge taking the full brunt of the weather for two nights because the terrain between Mt Lot and Shelf Camp is not something you want to do in howling wind and rain. I never saw Mt Anne that trip. Just clouds. But you take the good with the bad and it was a challenge - which is a good thing!