We were back in Queenstown, doing
laundry and drying gear after our three day trip into Frenchmans Cap,
but, all the time I was fussing with gear, I was aware of the barren
slopes of Mount Owen hulking 1000 metres above the township. In the
afternoon, with darkening clouds over most of the sky, we drove the
windy Lyell Hwy east from Queenstown to Karlsons Gap just before the
tiny hamlet of Gormanston. Here, a steep 4 WD road climbs up Owens
Spur to some towers at 1000 metres about one kilometre and 200 metres
below the boulder strewn alpine plateau of Mount Owen.
Doug almost at the trig station on Mount Owen
It's a quick walk to roads end and a
poled route that rambles up blocks and boulders to a sub-summit of
Mount Owen. A tiny alpine tarn is perched in a cirque to the south,
and, a quick descent down boulders (some scrambling), a scamper
across the plateau, and one last scramble up some massive
conglomerate boulders and you are on top of Mount Owen.
Doug scrambling up to the trig point
On a clearer day, the view would be
fantastic as you can see the ocean to the west, Macquarie Harbour to
the southwest, and across to the high peaks of the inland plateau to
the east. For us, the weather was a little hazy and cloudy and we
could not even see Frenchmans Cap.
Lake Burbury and small tarn
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