Part II of my Western Arthurs trip report begins in the mist between Mt Hayes and Lake Cygnus on my return to camp.

Mountains are not a great place to be in a hurry. I had been aiming for Lake Oberon but a complaining knee thwarted that plan. My first thoughts were of disappointment but in the end I really cherished taking it easy and really witnessing mountain light and mountain drama.

The rock formations up there are stunning to begin with but seeing and photographing them through a hazy mist was very special. The walk back to Lake Cygnus was slow – not just because of my knee but because I wanted to see as much as possible.

The closed in atmosphere also lent itself to some shots of the vegetation – including this weather beaten old shrub and some pandanis close to the lake.

Once I arrived back at camp the sky miraculously cleared and the mountains surrounding Lake Cygnus became visible. It was great to get some views of the area as we were clouded out the previous evening so I spent some quality time shooting the lake.

As afternoon turned to evening I wandered back down to the lake to get some shots of the evening light and the stars. The Milky Way was stunning, rising right over the lake and reflecting in the still waters.

The previous couple of days had been quite exhausting and getting out of my cold wet boots and into my tent and sleeping bag was extremely tempting but I felt I couldn’t let a starry night like this go by…

The next day dawned clear and calm and we set off fairly early. The descent was bound to be a long one and we had the mud bogs to look forward to too 🙁

In the end it took just as long to get down as it took to get up. We spent a full 10 hours on the track getting up and getting out and it was exhausting – but truly amazing. Tasmania is a very special place 🙂