The upgrade of the K Col Track was completed in March 2020. A report on the project is on this page.

Below on the page is the background to the project

Upgrade of K Col Track

It is very pleasing to report that the Friends of Mount Field has been successful in gaining almost $50,000 from the Tasmanian Community Fund to upgrade the walking track between The Watcher and K Col in the alpine region of Mount Field National Park, by hardening with timber. Once the deed of agreement has been signed and finalised FOMF and PWS will commence arranging for timber, track contractor and helicopter so that the work of installing the planking can begin in the summer of 2019-20.

Photos of the damage are on this page

The Project

Approximately 196,000 people visit Mount Field National Park each year, which is Tasmania's 3rd most visited National Park. Many of these visitors are attracted to Mount Field due to its diversity, physical attractions and the varying natural environments found within the national park. The K Col Track is a segment of a very popular alpine walk that leaves from Lake Dobson.. This walking track allows visitors to appreciate varying landscapes of glacial lakes, high peaks, extensive views, snow gum woodland, alpine moorlands and herbfields, and deciduous beech (Fagus), Australia's only naturally occurring deciduous tree which attracts many visitors during Autumn.

The walking track passes the extremely attractive Tarn Shelf and includes the highly sensitive cushion plant area of Newdegate Pass and the K Col Track on the western side of the Rodway Range. This latter track forms part of a circuit walk and crosses an alpine herbfield, and is badly eroded, boggy and considerably braided. The condition of the track is a deterrent to Tasmanian and other visitors who wish to visit this area.

Quite a few endemic plants grow where the track passes and they are being damaged by the high levels of traffic. The delightful cushion plants are particularly impacted and are being broken down until only bare earth remains; recovery of these plants is slow in such an exposed environment. In total the section of track extends for over 1.8 kilometre but only a total of 700 metres is being damaged. The plan is to upgrade the walking track to an all-weather boardwalk track raised above the current natural surface. All of the damaged area is vulnerable to further degradation and this project will protect all of this area.

For this current project a helicopter is vital as it is physically impossible to carry the timber and some equipment the 4.5 kilometres to the site.

Timber has been used to harden other tracks, both at Mount Field and in other parks and reserves for many years and has proven to be very effective in allowing vegetation to recover. On this track and on Tarn Shelf previously boardwalked sections now have plants growing up to the edge of the timber and even spreading onto it. It is also known to greatly improve the experience for walkers as one of the consistent complaints coming from them is the difficulty of negotiating deep mud and the wet bogs that result.

Need for project

There is a twofold purpose behind the project.

1. To provide a vastly enhanced and less risky experience for people walking in the area. Currently visitors are forced to locate suitable spots to step during the whole crossing, in order to avoid the mud and water, which minimises time to appreciate the surroundings. With this need removed visitors will be in a far better position to view the scenery, which after all is one of the reasons people visit.

2. To better protect the fragile natural flora on this alpine environment and to enable rehabilitation of the damaged land. Currently walkers damage new areas as they attempt to avoid the mud and water on the track. With the damage halted and gradual rehabilitation that will take place, walkers will have both a vastly more attractive environment and hopefully better able to appreciate the flora.

The repair will offer a unique walk in a threatened alpine landscape permitting visitors, including educational groups, to enjoy rare and threatened species including cushion plants, unique alpine herbs and flora, rare grasses and extensive views across to the high mountains of Mount Field. The scenic value of the area is outstanding.

Benefits

The K Col Track is part of a circuit of the Rodway Range within Mount Field National Park and attracts approximately 1000 walkers annually, many from southern Tasmania, especially Hobart and the Derwent Valley. The walk usually takes 6-7 hours to complete and approximately 9000 people pass the counter on the track near the Tarn Shelf, but most do not walk the full circuit via Newdegate Pass and the Rodway Range.

The walk profile attracts many walkers looking for the spectacular mountain scenery and the delightful flowers the area is noted for. It is one of the very few places in Tasmania that people gain relatively easy access to the swathes of cushion plant communities. The walk is regularly on the calendar of Tasmanian walking clubs. Quite significant numbers of walkers from the mainland and international visitors also walk this circuit.

The construction of the boardwalk across the most degraded section of this track will permit more comfort for day walkers to this special area. It will also greatly reduce environmental damage currently occurring at this site. Track work undertaken by the Friends of Mount Field has attracted considerable commendation and appreciation from walkers and rectifying what is the single most negative experience for visitors can only enhance their appreciation.

This proposed track upgrade will support enhance visitation and encourage the development of tourism activities and strengthen business for local operators, including cafes and tourism ventures.

An article posted on a web site is indicative of the feeling of walkers in the area and demonstrates the benefits that will flow from the track upgrade.

“The muddy track sidled through cushion plant, pineapple grass and low alpine shrub - a lovely setting, but one which made us feel a little guilty as cushion plants squelched underfoot. “

Location of K Col Track

Blue line is the K Col Track as shown on Placenames Tasmania

Nomenclature Number: 39034A

Place Name: K Col Track

Stage: Confirmed

Feature Type: Track

Assigned at Meeting Number 441: 20091112. Extent/Location Note:

Submitted Note: Source is Parks and Wildlife Service

Map of the K Col Track , with the red parts not needing any or just minor action. The colours indicate sections needing timber boards and rock

A revised assessment is for 700 metres of boardwalk including some on the southern track between K Col and the Rodway Range

Map and details will be updated