“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.
You won’t believe this, but the road to Mersey White Water Forest Reserve (FR) is all sealed!
To get there you can turn off the Bass Highway at Deloraine and follow Mole Creek Main Road through Red Hills, Chudleigh, Mole Creek and Mayberry before it changes to Mersey Forest Road. Once on Mersey Forest Road, just follow the signs which point you down to Mersey White Water FR. Or if you want a more scenic drive and because I had been staying in Devonport I headed out through Don, Forth and from there headed south through Sprent and Upper Castra.
This was probably the long way about it, but when you are thrown in the deep end you just have to follow your instincts (and I got there eventually didn’t I?) Plus, the way I went was a really nice drive through the mountains. Mind you, the road between Upper Castra and Wilmot is quite windy, I could just imagine my Mum yelling “slow down!” (She doesn’t handle windy roads very well unless she is driving).
Anyway, you take the turnoff at Gowrie Park and follow it until you turn off on Olivers Road; eventually you wind your way past Huntsman Lake and are in Mersey State Forest.
Now to be perfectly honest, I must be blind because I didn’t see much while I was down here. The river is used often for white water rafting competitions (both at a state and national level). The water flow is generated by Hydro and the adrenaline rush must be great.
There are also a lot of facilities such as new toilets, a change shelter, BBQ’s and access ramps/stairs down to the river- but as I said I must be blind and am disappointed to tell you I didn’t find them.
If you are looking for something else to do in the area, the Arm River Education Reserve is literally just around the corner. The road in is also a popular access route to get to Walls of Jerusalem National Park and Lake Parangana and Rowallan.
GPS Coordinates :
LAT : 41°49'47.38"S
LON : 146°11'56.96"E
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52 Places to Visit
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