Princess Bath extended

On leaving the campsite at the southern end of Lake Tennyson, cross the lake outlet (Clarence River); this is the only water crossing of the day, so if you're big on dry feet, save donning your shoes until you’re across.

Follow the lake edge for about 2km, firstly on an old 4WD track and then along shingle beach. Soon after reaching the southwest corner of the lake, peel off to your left and start climbing up the grassy lower flank of Mt McCabe. From here you are almost completely off-track until you reach Mailing Pass; there is the occasional though always short-lived ‘trail’ and some small pockets of scrub to negotiate, so its best to pick your own line.

Skirt along the northern edge of two small stands of trees, then cut between two larger stands further up the hill. (It also looks possible to take a line to the south of these trees and nip through a larger pocket of forest). Above the trees is a stretch of steep tussock-bashing before you gain the wide, rocky ridge and the view opens up ahead of you. Follow the ridge north to Mt McCabe, before a short, sharp descent to a small saddle.

From the saddle, follow the southeastern ridge of Mt Princess, which becomes increasingly rocky and a bit scrambly in places. Stay on the ridge to avoid some impressive bluffs, climbing above the eastern end of the Bath until a nice scree descent becomes obvious on your left at approx. the 1900m contour. Pick your way down to the mossy edge of the Bath - this is a wonderful spot for a bite to eat (and if your time management is better than mine, a swim).

Skirt the southern end of the lake, and resume climbing to gain the ridgeline at a low saddle north of pt 1906. Climbing done, follow the ridge south over pt 1906 and down to the tarn, then along to pt 1572 and down to the road at Mailing Pass. Now its time to switch gears, as there’s 10 km of 4WD road to close out the loop. Don’t despair though – the road surface is pretty good (aside from some rather large puddles following recent rain), allowing for some fast kms to counter all that off-track, and the views down the valley to the Paget Ridge aren’t so bad.

Follow the road out to Tophouse Road and hang a left, then left again when you reach the access road to the campsite.