South Sister Lookout, St Marys

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On my recent annual visit to Tasmania to visit family, my niece Becca and I drove up from Scamander to St Marys to walk up South Sister. We had heard there are great views from the top of the mountain, which is situated at the eastern end of the Nicholas Range above St Marys.






From St Marys, we took Franks Street, which ran into German Town Road. The road then becomes dirt and there is a sign to the South Sister turnoff. People with a four-wheel drive can drive up the road to the start of the track. We only had a two-wheel drive car so we drove as far as we could, then parked the car and walked up the rest of the way.




The mountain rises 831m above sea level. It was first named in 1773 by English Explorer Tobias Furneaux and later painted by the French Navigator Nicolas Baudin in 1802.



After we arrived on foot at the car park, we started up the track to the mountaintop. The track was fairly steep but short and there were handrails on the steep bits. It was a beautiful track through ferns, and lots of rock steps. We also saw some pepper bushes. The walk from the car park only takes about ten minutes. We took longer because we walked up the road for a couple of kilometres.





There are transmission masts and a fire tower on top of the mountain and other buildings. There are spectacular dolerite crags which I’m sure would interest climbers. We only met one other person up there, a man who was working on the buildings. We felt sorry for him because it was a hot day and he had to make numerous trips to the top from the car park. I hope they paid him well.



We had fantastic 360-degree views from the summit of the surrounding farmland and beaches of the East Coast. It could get cold and windy on winter days.



I enjoyed the walk up and back on the dirt road, and on the way down to the car we stopped to look at some footprints in the mud. We took some photos and I posted one on the Australian Mammal Identification site and was very happy to hear it belonged to a Tasmanian Devil. If we had driven all the way we would have missed that, so there are some advantages in not having a four-wheel drive car.




On our way back to Scamander we did the short walk into Grey Mare’s Tail on the St Marys Pass. I loved my visit to South Sister. It took me many years to get there. If you live in Tasmania, or just visiting, it is well worth a visit. There are lots of other interesting things to do in St Marys on the way to the East Coast. There is a wonderful coffee shop, the Purple Possum which sells lots of lovely food. We always stop and buy a Hunza Pie. I also love visiting the local St Marys Op shop and have bought some great bargains there over the years.



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