Tasmania (Northern Region)
Western Tiers & Central Plateau
Deloraine, on the Meander River, is nestled in a valley of rich farmland dominated by Quamby Bluff (1256m) and the Western Tiers, where the Central Plateau drops abruptly to the surrounding plains. On the Bass Highway, it’s roughly equidistant from Devonport (51km) and Launceston (48km). 

From Deloraine the Lake Highway begins, rising up over the Western Tiers to the Central Plateau, with its thousands of lakes. To the west of Deloraine, as you go towards Cradle Mountain, are the extensive cave systems around Mole Creek, while Walls of Jerusalem National Park is accessed from Western Creek, 32km southwest of Deloraine.
Central Plateau
At its northern and eastern edges, the Central Plateau is rimmed by the long crest of the Great Western Tiers (1440m). At over a thousand metres above sea level, the plateau is often covered in frost and subject to sleet and snowstorms in winter. The Great Lake lies on the plateau about 8km from the escarpment, and only 40km from Deloraine, along the Lake Highway that continues to BOTHWELL, the plateau’s only town, ending at Melton Mowbray, where it joins the Midland Highway. On the unsealed C178, which runs west off the Lake Highway 15km north of Bothwell, you can visit a disused power station, Waddamana (daily 10am–4pm; free) and its museum. The major lakes can be reached from roads leading off the Lake Highway. To the west, between Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park and below the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, is the inaccessible “Land of Three Thousand Lakes”.

The Central Plateau has few inhabitants – the permanent population is only around eight hundred – but it’s full of fishing shacks, and on a fine weekend the population sometimes swells to 25,000. It’s also the base for the Hydro Electricity Commission (HEC): the countless high-altitude lakes are used as water storage for the generation of electricity. Temporary HEC villages are set up for hydroelectrical workers, and once abandoned they’re often transformed into lodge-style accommodation. 

One is the Bronte Park Highland Village (tel 03/6289 1126, fax 6289 1109; cabins $61–$124, lodge $61–74, hostel up to $18), which also has a campsite and a very basic hostel section, EFTPOS facilities, plus a dining room and bar, a store selling groceries and fuel, and is ideally situated for Lake St Clair (25km) and Lake Big Jim, popular trout-fishing spots. 

If you want to try your hand at fishing, Ausprey Tours (tel 03/6330 2612) offers fly-fishing tuition (1–5 days), trout fishing day-tours from Launceston or extended camping treks to fish in the Western Lakes. To reach the Bronte Park Highland Village, take the bone-shattering Marlborough Highway (B11), which runs southwest off the Lake Highway as it curves around the bottom of the lake to Miena. Tasmanian Wilderness Travel drops off at the Bronte Park turn-off on the Lyell Highway on their Hobart–Queenstown scheduled service (1 daily Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun); call in advance to be met.

For more information on the Western Tiers and Central Plateau, go to: