Meander Falls is simply a great day out. Listed by Tasmanian National Parks as one of the state’s 60 Great Short Walks it certainly is great although at 5-6 hours return it isn’t strictly a “short” walk.

The hike follows the Meander River through beautiful mossy myrtle rainforest. The Meander River itself is cascades and waterfalls all the way, so there is a multitude of photo ops even before you reach your goal.

Tasmania’s World Heritage Area

This walk introduces you to some special residents of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. In particular, Tasmania’s endemic pines – the King Billy which you’ll find along the trail as you get higher, and the Pencil Pines which you will find at the base of the falls at the end of the trail.

Both of these trees are survivors from the ice age and are non-flowering trees holding on in Tasmania’s cold climate alpine areas. Both are found nowhere else in the world and both are extremely susceptible to fire and a warming climate. A fire through an ecosystem like this would be a real tragedy as most of the vegetation would not survive or regrow.

Hiking to Meander Falls

The hike to the base of the falls took us 2.5 hours. It is all uphill, and includes an elevation gain of 500 metres. Coming down was a bit quicker but the rocky and uneven nature of the track meant you still had to walk carefully. The track requires a fair degree of fitness but even just completing part of the trail to enjoy the forest environment and wonderful cascades would be a great experience too.

Thanks for reading. Here’s a little video of the falls and one of the compositions I lined up :