The walk to Lake Rhona is one of Tasmania’s iconic hikes. Long a trail known only by word-of-mouth, this eight-hour one-way walk to a glorious alpine lake reminiscent of Pedder has recently become more prominent thanks to social media. But while more hikers are setting out to see Rhona’s quartzite shores, not many of them know their track passes through a privately owned nature reserve. Even fewer know that the reserve exists, thanks to the Russian Revolution, fountain pens, and a community fundraising effort.
On the Parks and Wildlife Service map of the hike to Lake Rhona, a small green rectangle marks Gordonvale Reserve, now owned and managed by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC). This rectangle was once the home
