Cathedral Rock
Pictures | Rating | Access | Description | Safety | Google Map | Maps | Facilities | Nearby | History
Cathedral Rock |
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A solid climb to a spectacular cliff with interesting views. |
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Features |
Views, cliffs, attractive bouldered riverbed. |
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Difficulty |
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Moderate |
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Distance |
Altitude |
Climb/Fall |
Time |
Gear Code |
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8 + km |
250m - 880 m |
630/630m |
3-4 hrs |
B>C |
Access from |
Neika |
Distance from
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1.5/16/21 km |
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Road Directions |
See the Google Map also. Betts Rd leaves the Huon Road approximately 2 km East of the Longley Hotel. (7km west of Ferntree if coming from that direction). Drive approximately 1 km down Betts Rd, until finding a parking area just across the North West Bay River. Leave the cars here. |
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Road Types |
Sealed. Last 1 km unsealed but good quality. |
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Description |
See the Google Map also. The walk commences by continuing along the road onto private property. The gate and nearby trees make it quite clear that you are about to enter private property, however the owner has approved the use of part of the private road for responsible foot traffic, as long as walkers use the correct route. Please follow all walk directions. The road climbs gently for about 450 metres before a marked walking track descends to the right. The track approaches the river, and follows it for about 900 metres. A couple of short sections run along the river bed. The river bed in itself is attractive, and may divert walkers for a time. The normal exit from the river bed to the left needs to be found - it is normally marked with tape. If this is missed, it is not too difficult to follow the river bed for some distance if desired. (The other route to Cathedral Rock from Neika crosses the NW Bay River and finds the track again about 0.5-0.7 km further upstream, and this exit is more obvious up a steep track to the left.) The track from the normal exit climbs away from the river, onto a fire trail. The fire trail is followed around the hill before climbing some distance in a steep zigzag up Betts Hill, and then flattening out as the saddle between Cathedral Rock and Betts Hill is reached. The track to Cathedral Rock goes right near some boulders at approximately the highest point. The track then climbs gradually at first before becoming quite steep, up the rear of Cathedral Rock. Where the track emerges onto rock slabs, the top is near. The top is reached quite suddenly, leading to terrific views of the valley below, North West bay, the Huon Valley and, most spectacularly, Collins Bonnet directly up the valley. |
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Safety |
Apart from the pinnacle, this walk is more sheltered than many in the vicinity. Warm and waterproof clothing should be carried. More hazardous are the high cliff, and the potential for injury on the boulders in the river bed. With care, this walk is quite safe. |
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Maps |
Google Map. Longley (5024), 1:25,000; Derwent (8312), 1:100,000 |
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Facilities |
Nil. |
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Nearby items of interest |
Longley Hotel nearby, Ferntree Hotel and shop at Ferntree, shop and fuel at Sandfly 2km south of Longley Hotel. |
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History |
None available. |
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