Pine Lake - Central Plateau Conservation Area, Tasmania
Pine Lake is easily accessible via a 400m boardwalk, located on the Highland Lakes Road (A5) about 33km south of Deloraine.
The Pine Lake walk offers a rare opportunity to get close to one of Tasmania’s rarest trees without having to go on an extended bushwalk. The pencil pine is an ancient species that evolved before flowering plants and only found in the Tasmanian highlands.
Many of the Tasmanian conifers are unique to Tasmania. The pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides), is generally restricted to sub-alpine areas above 800m. Like its relative, the King Billy pine, it can reach ages greater than 1200 years. Pencil pines are often seen around the shores of highland lakes and tarns, creating the unique ambience of these beautiful areas of Tasmania.
The Central Plateau of Tasmania is the largest area of high ground in Tasmania. It is bound to the north east by the Great Western Tiers, a large number of hydro electric schemes emanating from rivers that flow to the south - and to the west by Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.