The Mount Anne Circuit is a 3 Day Scramble Through Tasmanian Wilderness

Mount Anne Circuit is regarded as one of the best multi-day hikes in Tasmania, and for good reason: three days of alpine walking, pack hauling, and a campsite in the clouds. Zofia shows us the ropes, literally.

 

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Palawa people who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Quick Overview

The Mount Anne Circuit is a 23km-long, Grade 5 hike in Tasmania’s Southwest National Park. It generally takes 3-4 days to complete, but can stretch longer if you’re waiting for a weather window to tackle exposed sections and side trips (including summiting Mount Anne).

The trailhead is a 2.5-3 hour drive from Hobart and only 12 walkers can depart per day. Be sure to book via the Parks Tasmania website.

Read more: Hiking Safety & Preparation Tips for Tasmania’s Lesser-Known Trails

The Mount Anne Circuit Facts

Distance: ~23km
Duration: 2 nights, 3 days
Elevation gain: ~2,000m
Nearest town: Maydena, Tasmania

About the Mount Anne Circuit

The Mount Anne Circuit is a much-loved multi-day walk through Tasmania’s Southwest National Park, with many locals considering it their favourite bushwalk in the state. The circuit sandwiches a section of technical, exposed scrambling between two well-graded stretches across a three-day alpine journey.

Many people walk it as part of an attempt to summit Mount Anne (the tallest peak in Southwest National Park). Personally, I’m more into bags of snacks than bagging summits, so consider this your guide to the circuit as a standalone journey. A word on safety – the weather can turn quickly in Southwest Tasmania, making rescue difficult on this remote and challenging walk. Keep an eye on the forecast, and be prepared to turn back or shelter in place if things turn nasty.

Please note: This adventure is dangerous if there’s been recent rain in the area or if rain is on the forecast. Best to save this one for a clear day.

Read more: A Hiker’s Guide To Lightning Safety

Morning preparations at Shelf Camp

History of the Mount Anne Circuit

The Palawa have been custodians of the land, sky, and waterways now known as Southwest National Park since time immemorial. Palawa managed and modified the landscape for generations, including through targeted burning of buttongrass moorlands to support hunting. Aboriginal people were forcibly removed from the area in the 1830s under British colonial policy.

The Southwest National Park is UNESCO World Heritage-listed, and the slow-growing alpine plants that line the trail are species that have been here since Gondwanan times. Be sure to tread carefully.

Read more: Remember to Leave No Trace

The first documented ascent of Mount Anne was on Christmas Day 1929, when two members of the Hobart Walking Club picked their way to the top. The circuit was first completed the following year in 1930. The trail shortened significantly when Scotts Peak Dam Road was built in 1970, cutting down what was once a very long walk starting from Maydena or Huonville.

How to Get to the Mount Anne Circuit

Despite the name, the Mount Anne Circuit isn’t quite a full round trip. There’s an 8km gap between the start at Condominium Creek and the finish at Red Tape Creek that needs sorting before you set off. You can walk in either direction, but this is the most popular route.

The most common solution is a car shuffle. You can also stash a bike at the finish and ride back to collect your car, or try your luck hitchhiking. Alternatively, you can organise a car shuffle, leave your keys in the wrong car and walk the 8km anyway (whoopsie).

If none of the above work for you, tack the 8km onto your total walking distance and pack some extra snacks.

There’s no public transport to the trailhead. Drive from Hobart, allow around three hours (including a stop in Westerway for a raspberry ice cream), or break up the journey by staying overnight in Maydena.

Where to Stay Along the Mount Anne Circuit

Once you leave the car park, you’ll be entirely self-sufficient, including your sleeping arrangements. To protect Tasmania’s sensitive alpine plants, there are designated campgrounds along the route that you’ll need to stick to. Depending on how long you plan to walk, and planned side trips, you won’t necessarily stay at every campground. But for one of the more spectacular sunrises in your life, Shelf Camp is an essential stop.

Read more: How To Poo in the Bush

View of Mount Anne from Shelf Camp

Skill Level

Advanced

While I’d consider myself an intermediate multi-day hiker, this one swings a little more advanced. I had a healthy amount of trepidation before we started. There are exposed, scrambly sections throughout which could end badly if you slipped, but I always felt like I had a solid handhold available (having some indoor bouldering experience helped me here). If heights make you nervous, I’d give this one a miss.

Read more: How To Hike Off-Track

The real exposure begins on day two | Photo by Katie Newfield

Essential Gear for the Mount Anne Circuit

• Tasmanian national parks pass
• Freestanding 3- or 4-season tent
• A cosy sleep system
• Warm, waterproof layers (including thermals)
• SPF50 sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses
• Sailing or gardening gloves (ideal for scrambling)
• Physical map and an offline map (I used Avenza Maps – 4424 Anne)
• Microfibre towel (swimmers optional, it should be quiet enough for a nudey dip)
• 15m of climbing rope for pack hauling
• Headtorch
• Water bottle/bladder (2-3L)
• Stove and fuel
• Trowel, toilet paper, and hand sanitiser
• Method for purifying water
• First aid kit
• PLB

Read more: Leeches: How To Remove, Avoid, and Appreciate Them

What It’s Like to Walk the Mount Anne Circuit

Day 1 – Condominium Creek to Shelf Camp

Distance: 7km
Duration: 6 hours

This walk gets straight to business, with 900m elevation gain from the car park to High Camp. Stop halfway up to soak in the views of Lake Pedder, then pull in at the High Camp Memorial Hut for lunch.

Remember, these huts are heritage and should only be used for emergency accommodation. Make sure you still pack your tent!

This is your one opportunity to cook in a shelter. My steamy bowl of two-minute noodles for lunch was a godsend on a day of sideways rain and hail.

Read more: 7 Tips for Rainy Day Hiking

Leaving the hut, you’ll find an ominous sign telling you you might die. Always a good way to start the afternoon.

An ominous sign outside of Mt Eliza Hut

Scramble across large boulders for the next couple of hours, then follow a cushion plant-lined plateau to the Mount Anne summit turnoff (it’s the giant pile of rocks).

Traversing the plateau on day one | Photo by Katie Newfield

Descend through a forest of pandani towards Shelf Camp, a rocky outcrop surrounded by sheer cliff faces. If there’s rain forecast, avoid pitching in front of one of the tarns – the small alpine lakes – lest you want your tent to become a water feature.

Sunset at Shelf Camp looking over Mount Anne

Day 2 – Shelf Camp to Lonely Tarns

Distance: 4km
Duration: 7-8 hours

I started this day with the most spectacular poo of my life: sitting atop a bucket overlooking Mount Anne and the morning sun warming my back. Highly recommend it.

Poo with a view at Shelf Camp

From Shelf Camp, you can see much of the gnarly walk ahead of you for the day. If conditions deteriorate unexpectedly don’t attempt this section. Shelter at Shelf Camp or head back to Condominium Creek.

Assuming the weather gods are in your favour, weave through weathered alpine flora until reaching the ridgeline. At this point, it’s all hands on deck for the remainder of the day. I packed a pair of leather sailing gloves which were priceless as I clung onto rocks for dear life.

About halfway you’ll hit ‘The Notch’. This is where the 15m of rope you’ve been lugging with you comes into play.

How to Pack Haul the Notch

Send the first person up with the rope, get a second person up, then haul packs one at a time before the last walker climbs. If there are only two of you, it’s still manageable, you might just have a bit more huffing and grunting to get the packs over the edge. We only knew one knot between us (a bowline) and it did the job, but I’d recommend learning some knots before you go.

Once you clear The Notch, things immediately get sketchy and exposed. Take a deep breath and go slow and steady. At times the route looks impassable, but just keep moving from cairn to cairn and you’ll be fine.

Pull up for the night at Lonely Tarns Campground, looking out over a peaceful tarn and the ridgeline you spent the better part of a day clambering down. Snag the tent platform right at the end for direct access to the tarn. If you’re going to swim anywhere, this is it.

Read more: Staying Safe Around Swimming Holes and Waterfalls

Day 3 – Lonely Tarns to Red Tape Creek

Distance: 12km
Duration: 7 hours

What goes up must come down, right? Wrong. You’ll be heading up again before descending back to reality (and the car park).

After a sweaty climb out of Lonely Tarns, thread past Mount Sarah Jane (a short side trip for the summit-inclined) and then start a steep descent toward Lake Judd. To add an extra night to your journey, set up camp at Lake Judd.

If you’re pushing through, the bridge at the Lake Judd turn off is a great stopping point for lunch. The rest of the walk is exposed and sunny, so top up your sunscreen and dunk your shirt in the creek for some old-school air conditioning.

You’ve got cruisy boardwalk and well-graded trail the rest of the way. Sign out of the logbook at Red Tape Creek, jump in your pre-dropped car, or bike or walk back to Condominium Creek.

Tips for Hiking the Mount Anne Circuit

• Walk times in this guide are based on a cautious, hypermobile walker (yup, that’s me). You may walk faster than this
• On the topic of hypermobility, the upper body involvement needed for this walk meant that my usually painful knees were very happy to have the load redistributed. Take note bad-knee friends
• Only 12 walkers can depart per day. Be sure to book via the Parks Tasmania website
• Watch for wildlife on the drive to and from the trailhead. Avoid driving at dawn and dusk
• For an explosion of flowering Tasmanian waratahs on the trail, January is your best bet
• Don’t forget to fill out a Trip Intention Form before heading out!

Lonely Tarns Campground

Mount Anne Circuit FAQs

What is the best time to hike Mt Anne Circuit?

Summer is the best time to hike the Mt Anne Circuit, with January being the ideal as the Tasmanian waratahs are in bloom.

What is the hardest hike in Tasmania?

The hardest hike in Tassie is the Western Arthurs Traverse.

How long is the Mount Anne Circuit?

The Mount Anne Circuit is around 23km long.

Trek More Multi-Day Hikes Around Tassie

• 10 of the Best Multi-Day Hikes in Tasmania
• Three Capes Track Should be Your First Multi-Day Hike
• South Coast Track – 5 Days Hiking in Tassie’s Remote Southwest National Park
• The Overland Track: A Guide to Hiking Hut-to-Hut on Tasmania’s Most Famous Hike