Split Rock can be found in in the Meander Forest Reserve, which forms a small section of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area. Around seven years after the World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion of the proposed area of Tasmania to be included in the World Heritage list, additional land was added. The total area now covers around 20 percent of the entire island of Tasmania, much of this is difficult to access for amateur walkers.
The Meander Forrest Reserve differs in that it is easily accessible and there are numerous walks that can be done from the one starting point. A common walk, and one that is listed in the 60 Great Short Walks is the Meander Falls track. Starting to the right of the Meander Falls car park, is the Split Rock and Split Rock Falls walk.
The Split Rock track is listed as a 2 hour return walk, with an additional half and hour if you want to take in the beauty of the falls. I would recommend the additional half an hour walk to the falls. As it is not as popular as the Meander Falls walk, it is quite peaceful and there is time for some meditation.
The start of the walk it quite exciting for the kids and a little nerve racking for some adults. The bridge spans the beautiful Meander River. So long as there are not too many people waiting to cross, it is well worth stopping in the middle to admire the beauty.
In the days leading up to our planned walk it had been quite cold. So cold that Tasmania had experienced a few days of snow. We were excited at the prospect of seeing some snow. This was going to be our first hike in the snow. We were not disappointed.
To help the kids with the feeling of cold feet, we threw a few snow balls to try and take their mind off being cold.
The walk was somewhat steep, nothing our children were not used to. The snow certainly added a new challenge, but also allowed us to experience the forest as we had never before.
We knew that we were not too far from Split Rock. The final challenge was a steep, snow covered, slippery hill. We accepted the challenge and each of us thought we had the best method and path to make it to the top. I felt sorry for anyone that was following our tracks as they would have been bamboozled at this point.
Split Rock, was just as it sounded, a GIANT rock that appeared as though it had been split right down the middle. In between the rocks, the roots of trees had formed a staircase, to the top of the rocks. Although the snow highlighted the path that we were expected to take, we decided that it may have been too slippery on the tree roots and took and alternative route. We do plan to go back and complete the walk through the rock.
We followed a path to the left of split rocks that took us past some small cascades. The bight green moss covered rocks that made up these waterfalls were some of the best I have seen and made for some great photos. I am not sure that they would have been as spectacular had it not been for the melting snow.
The walk from Split Rock to Split Rock Falls was only an additional thirty minuets and worth it. The kids were keen to walk to the bottom of the falls and see the falls in all their beauty.
I am not sure what the falls are like at different times of the year, but I suspect that the falls were slightly restricted because of the freezing conditions. I heard from those that completed the Meander Falls walk, that the falls were completely frozen. This may have impacted the flow of water over these falls. Nevertheless it was worth the effort.
We are looking forward to tackeling this walk during a different time of the year in the hope that we will be more comfortable, and to be able to complete more of the walk.
