Surveyors Pool, Mitchell Plateau

Hi Phil
Bit surprised by your note. Went there last year and found that the 'new' vehicle track (ie been there some time but very different route from the original) takes you to a desolate carpark with pointers for 4km walk. Can't remember whether this was 4km round trip or one way. It was so stinken hot and so different from the mapped version that we gave it a miss. There is supposed to be good water there - we could glimpse the cascades from one very distant vantage point along the vehicle track.

Seemed to us that the vehicle track had been realligned a few years ago - possibly to keep the tourists at bay as local people do not want people swimming there. Tried to find the original road but its long gone. I could be entirely wrong on this though.

Cheers

Chris

There were some problems last year with the new road which takes you to about 1km of the pools, getting washed away severely and with the walking track being severely overgrown...

As I recall it was closed when I was there in March and in October you still had to walk the 4km and there the pools were pretty much dried up. The temp was 40+ so we decided to skip it.

I would say if you are early in the season not only will the road be one of the later ones to be graded, but the rangers - of which there are insufficient - will not have had a chance to get to opening up the walking trail in there, which is only minimally marked at all.

Speak with John Hayward (or is it Haywood?) the Park Ranger up there - a great, passionate, knowledgeable, helpful and supportive DEC employee who works his butt off in almost total isolation and remoteness for a pittance - even had to build his own living quarters. I suspect he will be arriving up there soon but by helicopter or plane.

Cheers
Andrew who thinks you need to get to the Mitchell Plateau quickly before it is blown to smithereens by bauxite miners.

Thanks docz and everyone else that replied, but docz, how far was the walk? and can ii ride a push bike along it?
Cheers

1 km if the road is open and no, it is rocky, clambering much of the way - walking would be easiest. Much like Mitchell Falls unless you helicopter in...

the walk was about 4km return i think, and was not difficult. i wouldnt think your bike be neccesary and i wouldnt suggest you take it. we were there just after some recent rains and i thought it a nice place to see. we were also lucky to see big mertons flowing well. a beutiful area indeed. make sure you purchase a good guide book for the area to, as you may miss some other points of interest that arn't sighn posted.

Hi docz,
Ive been to Mitchell Falls the last 3 years running. 2005 very dry just a trickle going over the falls and the last 2 years had good flows. But ive never been to Surveyors Pool or Port Warender. The reason i want to take the push bike is ive got Arthritus in my ankle and knee and its getting hard to walk long distance. Even the walk from the camp ground to the falls is getiing very hard now.
But thanks to all for there input.
Cheers