Rovers that attended and prospective boat crews were:

Arunta:	Brett, Kerry Muir, Julian Direen and Christian.
Wirana:	Philip, Brad, Cameron and Nathan.
Namajira:	James, Helen, Anita and Paul M.
Elliston:	Paul W., Edward and Kate.

Sunday the 11^th: Boat crews were to meet at the Kingston Scout Boat Shed at 5pm to rig the Patrol boats and check gear for defects and that every thing was there. After that the boats were packed on their boat trailers ready to be picked up on the Thursday night, the boat crews had a meeting to finalise the their gear and food provisions.

Thursday 15^th: Some crewmembers stayed over at Edward’s place for the night, as we needed to get an early start in the morning, time mooted was 5:30am.

Friday 16^th: After getting up and packing the rest of our gear we sat down to a hearty breakfast of eggs, baked beans, and toast. After leaving Edward’s Place we proceeded to our rendezvous point at Granton outside of Hobart. After arriving we left and headed out to Lake Pedder on the Gordon River Road where we had an unexpected stop just the other side of the Mt Field National Park. Wirana’s trailer coupling became loose. The other thing that held up proceeding was Christian’s car’s boot latch that wouldn’t latch, this meant that we were late getting to the park tollbooth where every one else had been waiting. The boot latch episode was due to a few rovers, who I will not mention that stole Christian’s soft toys out of the back window of his car and placed two of them in the boot. The convoy proceeded to the first of the proposed launching points on Lake Pedder at a place called McPartlan Pass. After some consultation and leaving a message for the Wellington Rovers we headed to the next point, Teds Beach. This place had Toilet facilities and shelter and well suited to launching the patrol boats. At this stage we decided to check out another place just past Strathgordon to launch before we made our final decision. We decided Teds Beach was the place to launch. The gear was unloaded from the boats and cars and the boats were rigged ready for sailing. By this stage it was early afternoon and the weather was great with light winds. With gear loaded in the bow hidden under tarps to at least keep the water off; the four boats headed out towards Bells Basin. Due to the light winds sailing was easy going so all we did was sit back and relax, admiring the wonderful scenery surrounding Lake Pedder. We headed down Serpentine Reach towards Serpentine Island to look for a suitable camping spot, the winds were northerly so we set the Spinnaker to try and increase boat speed. A suitable camping site was found in a little bay just the other side of Serpentine Island. After arriving we decided to leave tent pitching to later deciding to take to the water for a well-earned swim, as the day had been hot. The ground was uneven due to the heath cover that littered the surrounding area ensuring that those that liked flat areas to camp on a little apprehensive. We all sat around for tea and Brett, Edward and Christian walked up Mt. Cowthorn which over looked our campsite. This is seen in the photos.

Map courtesy of the Hydro Electric Commission.

Saturday 17^th: We awoke to heavy dew and another tremendous day steeped in sunshine. After having breakfast tents were disassembled and the gear once more packed into the boats. Our plans were to find a camping site further down the lake and hopefully climb Mt. Solitary later in the afternoon. The winds were lighter than yesterday the boats being becalmed. This gave us the opportunity to catch up on some swimming once again jumping off the back of the boats. Off in the distance we could see the Wellington Rovers who joined us later that afternoon. They had spent the night at a bay just the other side of Serpentine Island closer to Hermit Basin. Around lunchtime Wirana, Namajira and Elliston rafted together allowing us to enjoy lunch near to Bonnet Bay. Edward and Brett’s parents who were in Bluey visited informing us that the weather was to hit the high 30s and that it would be advisable to postpone our walk up Mt. Solitary, perhaps possibly tomorrow. Brett and his crew found a suitable campsite at Cripps Point over looked by the Franklin Ranges. Once again we went swimming but the water was cooler leaving some to lounge over the warm quartz beach. By this stage the wind had picked up as a forecasted front moved through. Two patrol boats Wirana and Arunta went for a few hours of challenging sailing especially considering the light winds we experienced earlier in the day.

Sunday 18^th: During the morning the weather had changed to drizzle and strong winds. Tent bound for a few hours we pondered what the rest of the day had in store for us as during yesterday we decided that we would be preferable to climb Mt. Solitary today. The Mt Solitary’s peak was surrounded by a thick fog, which looked as though it had settled in for sometime. With wet tents and gear for some of us a decision was made to where we were going to camp for the night. Some were determined that teds Beach was the best spot for the night. Not convinced of that suggestion we packed the boats ready to head in to the atrocious weather. As the day preceded the fog and drizzle lifted and the winds became lighter but during the morning the winds were fluky and required, well at least members of our crew had to concentrate as we needed to ride the gunwale when a strong gust was upon us. The boats headed towards Hermit Narrows for a stop in a small gravely beach, this was where the Wellington Rovers had spent their Friday night. We convinced the others that we should explore Hermit Basin for a possible camping spot and that if this were unsuccessful then we would sail to Teds Beach. Some great sailing was to be had as we headed down through Stillwater Passage out into Helder Inlet where we encountered submerged trees, which became an interesting sailing obstacle. After a fruitless attempt to find a suitable spot to camp the decision was made to sail to Teds Beach hoping to make it before dark. Wellington Rover bought an outboard motor and towed Arunta and its Crew back, as the rest settled in for a long sail home. Arriving at Teds beach we found the shelter taken over by the others who had arrived earlier that evening. Our crew tried an alternative route out of Hermit Basin but encountered trees in the widest part of the bay leaving us no choice but to head back up Stillwater Passage. With the winds baring down the passage we had to tack our way out which was a slow process and tedious process. Some made the shelter home for the night, others deciding the best was to pitch their tents.

Monday 19^th: We awoke to an overcast day coupled with light to moderate winds. We talked over amongst ourselves about what possible activities we would like to do. Some people mentioned about climbing Mt Wedge or a trip to the Gordon Dam and perhaps a tour of one of Tasmania’s biggest power stations. Cars packed with people we headed to the Gordon Dam. The Gordon scheme is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and represents 35% of Tasmania’s total energy storage capacity. The 10 power stations in the Derwent Valley Schemes produces only 27% or about 515 MW of Tasmania’s power generation capacity where as the Gordon scheme produces about 13.4% or about 432.0 MW of electricity considering that it is the only one in the area. After a guided tour of the power station; well after looking through a window, we left for Teds Beach to pack the boats up for the trip home. The plan was for us to meet at Maydena before heading to the boat shed to drop off the boats. With a few misshapes on the way home especially Brad’s car having an over heating problem the last boat was wheeled in the boat shed around 6.30pm which capped off a great four days of exhilarating sailing and scenery.

I would like to extend a special acknowledgment for the effort of both Edward and Brett whom for not their skills the trip wouldn’t have come to fruition. Special thanks to Edward and Brett’s parents for their presents during the duration of the trip in case of unexpected incidents and not to mention all those that attended to make it a great success including the Wellington Rovers.

For those that weren’t their, it was one of the most exhilarating rover trips that I had been on and will always be a great memory to all.

Yours in Scouting

Nathan Smith