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...from Aussie Storm Chaser David Simpson ~ Australia

STORMPLANET - Tasmanian Wilderness Photography
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Mt Roland & Mt Van Dyke
February 13th 2006

Mt Roland, located near Sheffield, is a part of a large and isolated rocky outcrop north of the Great Western Tiers. A small range, it is composed of three distinct peaks and from below, looks very rugged, but above the rocky borders there is an amazing sloping alpine plateau. The views across northern Tasmania are to die for, as we found out, and on this day we were lucky to have relatively fine weather, although visibility was restricted a little due to the mist and occasional low cloud. We visited two of the highest peaks on this range, being Mt Roland and Mt Van Dyke.

We completed the walk in 8 hours and 24 minutes, covering 18.9km, climbing to 1238m ASL. I tracked and logged the entire trek on GPS.

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Mt Roland Ascent...


Above: Mt Roland, Mt Van Dyke and Mt Claude, taken near O'Neills Car Park.


Above: The track is quite steep in places but some flatter sections offer relief. The buttongrass plains on Mt Roland's plateau are terrific, and much of the boardwalk remains intact.
 



Above: We were treated to a sensational cirrus sky with some iridescence visible on the fringes.

 
The views really do open up to the north and east near the summit...

Mt Roland Summit...

Above and below: Sensational views in all directions, yours truly at the trip point on Mt Roland. We had views from the NW coast through to Andersons Bay on the NE coast, east to Ben Lomond and across to the Great Western Tiers, Pelion Range and Walls of Jerusalem. I measured the temperature at 5C but it was -.5C with wind chill. We sat on the summit and enjoyed lunch and views to die for.







Mt Roland to Mt Van Dyke






Above: Heading towards Mt Van Dyke summit.






Above: The climb to Mt Van Dyke's summit, an example of the conglomerate rock found everywhere on this range, and the views from the summit itself.




Above: looking to the SW from Mt Van Dyke, this shot is my favourite of the panoramas.




Above: The track between Mt Van Dyke and Mt Claude provided us with these amazing views.


Above: These heathlands were burnt out in 1998, but the regrowth is recovering the area well.