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[Mystic]

On the A10, between Tarraleah to the west and Wayatinah on the eastern side you will find the turnoff to Butlers Gorge (C603). A rugged, but great site to spend a few days.

The road in is dirt, as are most, but in good condition. Keep your eyes out for logging trucks though as they use this road a lot. Follow the road right to the end, where you will find Clarke's dam. There are a range of tracks and roads that you can explore from here, all close to this spot, and each leading to reasonable campsites.

We chose to follow the road up to the right, leading to the higher level observation carpark at the dam, through the gap in the fence, and around the corner to a top spot, right on the edge of Lake King William.

A couple of warnings about this location should be made. First, the area is rocky, and I mean you will be camped on a rock base. Tent pegs tend to be useless in this situation, though we found that by using jute, we could tie our tent down to a number of large rocks, and had no drama at all.The second problem also stems from the fact this is rocky. If you need to dig a hole to bury your waste, you will not be able to find anywhere to do so. For this you will need to be inventive, or simply hang on until you leave. I guess a third, potential, problem may exists on weekends. The location looks as though it is popular among the locals, who appear to come out here for drinking parties. We figure this is not a place to stay over weekends if you wish to avoid the yobbo factor.

Facilities here include a boat ramp... and nothing more. The water from the lake is very drinkable though, and there is an abundance of firewood to be found around the edge of the lake.

This is a very peaceful and relaxing location with an abundance of birdlife, some great walks, and spectacular views. It has a unique appeal, and we loved the place. Despite the fact that the ground is very rocky, both of us felt that throughout the entire journey, this place provided the most comfortable ground to sleep on.

Our location was surprisingly well sheltered, and even though we could hear the wind rushing through the tree tops at night, the tent barely moved at all. A fine place to spend a few days relaxing, exploring, and...if you are brave enough, swimming and enjoying the water. I would advise caution if entering the water near the boat ramp and beach nearby, there could be a lot of broken glass hiding under the sand.

Well worth the journey though, and highly enjoyable location. for sure.

Butlers Gorge Campsite

Location map

Map supplied by Tasmap, for more mapping information
please see www.tasmap.tas.gov.au

[Shane V]

This spot is out of the way, peaceful, scenic and relatively private. It is also very well protected, especially from the wind.The ground where we stayed was rock so trying to put the pegs in for the tent was a mammoth task. In the end we gave up on the idea. I suggested getting a jackhammer, but we didn't need holes that big. There were some big rocks around so we grabbed them and tied the tent to them with jute, never go anywhere without the jute.

Even though the ground was rocky it was still the most comfortable place to sleep. We actually didn't notice the hardness of the ground until we were packing up and kneeling while rolling up the bed rolls which were under the sleeping bags.

The area is well forested. We placed our tent so the door looked out over the lake. It was a magnificent view looking towards the northern end of the lake. On one of the days we were there the weather was so calm there was a glassed effect on the lake. (This is when the surface of the water is so still you can see everything mirrored in it.)

We didn't see a lot of animals, maybe they stay away because of the yobbos who obviously come to the area. They were around though, we saw droppings. There was lots of bird life and bugs,mainly ants, as well. I couldn't get over the size of the ants that were there. Most of the time they will leave you alone. Don't leave any food around if you want to keep it.

The water was clear and made soft lapping noises on the beach nearby. When the weather got a bit rough it sounded like we were at the beach, nice sounds to fall asleep to. The night sky was beautiful here to but not as nice as Finns Beach.

Butler's Gorge is a must see. I rate it