The next day dawned a bit misty round the hills but the forecast was for clearing weather so we packed up lunch and took off to tramp in to Lake Marian near the top of the Hollyford Road. As it is a long drive in to this area, we wanted to make the most of our time there. The first few minutes of the track takes you past a very impressive series of waterfalls or cascades where Marian Creek swirls and thunders down the valley. The volume and speed of the water was amazing as it swept through and round fallen trees and huge boulders. It was a great sight. How they built the gantries for the walkway round the side of the rocky cliffs I can’t imagine.



For the next two hours the track climbed steeply over rocks, roots and the odd fallen tree, providing us with a very good workout. At one stage we passed a young man who had turned back as it was too steep. At times we had to pull ourselves up by holding on to tree roots. The bush was exceptionally beautiful with moss-hung beech trees and a profusion of lush ferns and mosses. The sphagnum moss was particularly brilliant in colour.

It was well worth the climb when we emerged into the valley at the top to see our first glimpse of lovely Lake Marian, an alpine lake surrounded completely by steep-sided mountains which, on this day, were reflected in its still waters. It is situated in a hanging valley created by glaciers and is absolutely spectacular.

We enjoyed our lunch sitting on a large flat rock then explored one side of the lake. We could see perfect examples of shingle slides across the lake, some of which ended in large shingle fans at the lake’s edge. It was obvious that avalanches would be a real threat in winter. Even at this time, there were large snow and ice fields high on the mountains. The water was very clear and greenish in colour and there were lots of interesting alpine plants, some with tiny flowers. This was a wonderful day walk to a very special place.