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“Hi, I'm Shannon, during the summer of 2011 as a bursary student with Forestry Tasmania, I took the challenge to visit Forestry Tamania's 52 visitor sites.
Mt Puzzler Forest Reserve is located south east of Fingal. I thought you could get there in two ways, so while I was down in the Lake Leake area, I followed the ‘M’ road (aka McKay’s Track) and I am sure I was only a matter of kilometres away when I came to a road closed sign, and sure enough the road had been washed away from the crazy weather they had in this region.
Well this left me a bit grumpy as I had driven a fair distance on what came to be a fairly rocky, rough, gravel road, and no warning up until that point that I couldn’t get through! Anyway, I ended up just going back to Hardings Falls. Then, a few weeks later I was up in the north east and thought I would try it from a different route. So from Fingal you head east toward St Mary’s and then take the Valley Road turnoff. I think the sign said it was about 27km to Mt Puzzler, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually more like 20km.
The forest reserve is pretty basic, with only a bin, but this is all it really needs as the highlight to this area is the walk to Meadstone Falls. Now let me just say that I am not exactly the fittest person in the world, and I found this one a bit tougher than previous walks I have done, but if I can do it, anyone can! The walk is said to take between one and a half to two hours return. Of course, always getting caught up in a bit of drama it took me about two and a half (for reasons which I will explain to you in a moment).
The path starts off from the car park, and it is quite a narrow rocky path, which I guess is why it isn’t as well utilised as some of the other reserves. Wearing sturdy walking shoes it isn’t too bad, but I would also wear long sleeves and pants as the vegetation is quite overgrown on some areas of track and I ended up with a few scratches.
This walk really makes you feel like you are off the beaten track and back to nature at its best. Some parts of the track do get a bit hard to follow, but if you keep your eyes out you should be fine. There are also some wooden posts as markers so if you see one of those you know you are heading in the right direction. After a bit of walking, there is a fork in the path. Now this is where things started to get a bit tricky! I kept continuing along the main track, but if you take the other fork you can get to the falls via the river bed. After my experience, I would strongly recommend that if you want to go via the river bed I would go this way first and come back via the main track.
I kept going as I said, and the track gets pretty tight after this point, in a few spots you have to squeeze through rocks and narrow rock walls. There is a lookout at the end and the views are just amazing! In one direction you can see Meadstone Falls cascading down the rocks into St Pauls River, and the other direction you are looking down through the Meadstone Gorge. The photos really don’t capture how pretty it really is, so if you are up for a bit of a walk you should definitely come to Mt Puzzler.
On the way back, I thought I’d go back a different way, firstly because the track in was mostly downhill and I really didn’t want to walk uphill on the way back (lazy I know), and secondly, because then it would be more of a loop walk and I would see more of the area. So I set off back via the riverbed, rock hopping away. I got a good look down the waterfall from the top, and saw the crystal pools formed from the dolerite. After about half an hour of this, constantly looking for the track to get back up to the main track, and not finding one, I thought my best bet would be to backtrack to the waterfall and take the main track back out to the car park.
By this time I was pretty buggered because it was a hot day, and I ended up having to go back the uphill way anyway but I was just relieved to be heading back to the car. So this is why I said earlier, that it would probably be better to go via the river bed and come back on the main track.
All in all, it was an eventful but great day and it’s definitely a place worth visiting at least once. I will be sure to bring my friends back in the future. I reckon it would be a great spot for a swim on a really hot day. Oh and to top off all the drama, flat tyre on the way home....
GPS Coordinates :
LAT : 41°44'50.60"S
LON : 148° 4'53.74"E
Click here to view in Google Earth!
Check the condition of the roads with the Forestry Tasmania office in Fingal. Access to this reserve is from the MG28 Road.
52 Places to Visit