After hiking into Blakes Opening on the Huon Track in April to packraft that upper section of the Huon River, I was interested in finding an easier route to access that section of the river in the future. Looking at maps, Riveaux Road appeared to offer a possible alternative, running parallel with that section of the river and the Huon Track a little further south.
I’d found some old references to a connecting track between Riveaux Road and the Huon Track near Hustling Creek, although there was little recent information about its condition. There were also reports of locked gates on Riveaux Road, so I wasn’t sure how far I’d be able to drive.
On Sunday 8 November 2026, I headed down to Tahune to see whether I could find a way through. Unfortunately, despite getting quite close to the Huon Track, I didn’t manage to reach the Huon River. However, the walk was an interesting exploration of an old forestry road that has been reclaimed by the wilderness, and some particularly difficult bush near Hustling Creek!
Getting to Riveaux Road
From Geeveston, I headed towards the Tahune Airwalk on Arve Road. Just before reaching the Airwalk, I turned left onto East Picton Road, which becomes Riveaux Road on the righthand fork of a y-junction about 900m in. Another 2.5km further on, after crossing the Picton River, another y-junction is reached, with the righthand fork again being the continuation of Riveaux Road (the left being West Picton Road). From this junction, it is only possible to drive about another 1.5km before a gate is reached blocking further access along the road.
It was drizzling when I arrived at the gate, so I put on my raincoat before setting off.
Beyond the gate, Riveaux Road initially looked reasonably promising. It was clearly an old forestry road, with a gravel surface and relatively little vegetation obstructing the way. I set off west towards Hustling Creek, hoping that I’d be able to follow the road most of the way before finding a route through to the Huon Track.
Walking Riveaux Road
The first section of the road was relatively straightforward, but soon sections became almost completely overgrown, with thick vegetation covering what had once been the roadway. However, I was able to continue on the narrow pad along one or the other of the former wheel tracks, with open and overgrown road alternating as I continued.
About 3km from where I parked the car there was a fallen tree, followed shortly after by another old gate, but the road remained easy enough to follow.
After crossing a creek, which I could hear but not see from the road, I came to a mossy section where the road opened up again.
It is only just past here where you would turn off to climb Mt Riveaux. I looked out for a marker indicating the turnoff, but did not see anything, although a route on GaiaGPS told me I was in the right location.
Beyond this point, the condition of Riveaux Road deteriorated considerably. The road became almost completely overgrown, with thick vegetation covering what had once been the roadway. I almost considered turning around at this point, as it was becoming apparent that the walk was going to be considerably more difficult than I’d anticipated. However, I decided to push on.
After approximately 700 metres of particularly difficult going, the road opened up again. By the time I’d walked about 3.7 kilometres from the car, it was once again reasonably distinct and easy to navigate. It was quite a contrast to the preceding section, where the vegetation had almost completely swallowed the road. I suspect it won’t be too many more years before parts of that section disappear altogether.
As I continued towards Hustling Creek, the road again became badly overgrown. In the last several hundred metres before the creek, there were sections where it was easier to walk through the bush beside the road than to follow the road itself. At one point, I found myself walking along the left-hand side of the old roadway to avoid the worst of the vegetation.
One useful feature of the road was the bluestone gravel that had been used in its construction. Even where the road was completely hidden by vegetation, there were often scattered bluestone rocks visible beneath the undergrowth. These provided some reassurance that I was still following the old road.
Hustling Creek and the Search for the Huon Track
My plan was to leave Riveaux Road near Hustling Creek and find a way through the forest to the Huon Track. I’d read an old account suggesting that there was a connecting track on the far side of Hustling Creek. However, when I arrived, I couldn’t see any markers or an obvious track.
I continued past the creek to where Riveaux Road turned to the left. At the corner, I found what appeared to be a pad through the cutting grass beside the road. This looked promising, so I followed it into the forest, hoping that it might be the start of the old connecting route. Unfortunately, any suggestion of a track soon disappeared.
The forest was extremely difficult to get through. The area had been affected by bushfires in 2019, leaving large numbers of fallen trees criss-crossing one another across the forest floor - it was like trying to walk through a giant game of pick-up sticks! The ground was also very uneven, making it difficult to find secure footing, particularly where fallen branches and vegetation obscured the surface.
Where there weren’t fallen trees, there was often thick regrowth.
Progress was painfully slow. I was constantly climbing over fallen timber, ducking beneath branches or pushing through dense vegetation. Sometimes it was necessary to divert quite a distance to get around a particularly tangled collection of fallen trees.
There was no sign of a track, and I couldn’t find any markers indicating where the old connecting route might have gone.
By this stage, the drizzle had cleared, which was fortunate given how difficult the walking had become.
I continued towards the Huon River, hoping that the forest might eventually open up or that I’d stumble across the Huon Track. According to my GPS, I think I got within approximately 100–200 metres of the river. Unfortunately, the vegetation showed no signs of improving. It was frustrating to be so close, but the going was horrendous, and I eventually decided that it wasn’t worth continuing.
Trying a Different Route Along Hustling Creek
Rather than simply retracing my route through the forest, I decided to investigate whether Hustling Creek might provide an easier way back to Riveaux Road. I thought that the creek might have a more open corridor through the vegetation, making it easier to follow than the higher ground. In places, this was indeed the case.
There were short sections along the creek where the vegetation was less dense and progress was somewhat easier. However, the creek itself contained numerous fallen trees, making it impractical to walk directly along the creek bed for any significant distance.
For a while, I followed the edge of the creek rather than the higher ground above it. This was reasonably successful initially, but eventually the vegetation and fallen timber became just as difficult to negotiate.
I ended up making my way back towards Riveaux Road on the opposite side of Hustling Creek from the route I’d taken towards the Huon River. The ground on this side didn’t seem quite as uneven, but there were still fallen trees and thick regrowth everywhere.
On several occasions, I found that walking along the trunks of fallen trees was actually easier than trying to get through the vegetation on the ground. The trunks sometimes provided a relatively clear route through the scrub, although balancing along them was a little precarious.
Unfortunately, these opportunities were generally short-lived, and I soon found myself battling through the undergrowth again.
Eventually, I managed to make my way back out onto Riveaux Road. It was quite a relief to be back on something resembling a track, even if it was badly overgrown. I stopped for lunch before beginning the walk back to the car.
Is Riveaux Road a Practical Alternative to the Huon Track?
Although I didn’t achieve what I’d set out to do, the walk answered a few questions about access to the Huon River from Riveaux Road.
Firstly, there is a gate across Riveaux Road, preventing vehicles from continuing further west. From the gate, the old road can still be followed on foot towards Hustling Creek.
The road is quite variable in condition. Some sections are relatively open and easy to walk, while others are almost completely overgrown. The section immediately beyond the access to Mount Riveaux was particularly bad, although the road opened up again after approximately 700 metres. The last several hundred metres approaching Hustling Creek were also significantly overgrown.
Despite this, the road was generally possible to follow, and the bluestone gravel provided a useful indication of its alignment where the vegetation obscured the roadway. From the gate it only took me just over an hour to reach Hustling Creek.
The real difficulty was finding a way from Riveaux Road to the Huon Track. I couldn’t locate the old connecting track described in earlier walking reports, and the forest between the road and the Huon River was extremely difficult to negotiate.
The combination of fallen trees, uneven ground, and thick regrowth made progress slow, even though the distance involved was relatively short. However, it only took me a bit over half an hour to navigate this approx 1km section.
In all, I’d estimate 2 hours of walking from the gate to get to the river via this route. While this is much quicker than the 4.5 hours it took me to get to Blakes Opening on the Huon Track, the last section along Hustling Creek is so unpleasant, I wouldn’t suggest subjecting anyone to it. This route also emerges at Hustling Creek on the Huon River, meaning there is about another 3km of walking along the Huon Track from there to get to Blakes Opening (around another hour of walking).
For anyone considering using Riveaux Road to access Blakes Opening, I’d suggest that the road itself is manageable, provided you’re prepared for some very overgrown sections. However, I wouldn’t recommend relying on it as a straightforward alternative to the conventional Huon Track unless you have better information about the location and condition of the connecting track near Hustling Creek – which I suspect is no longer there, having fallen victim to the 2019 fires.
At least I now know what Riveaux Road is like, and I’ve satisfied some of my curiosity about whether it might provide a shorter way to the Huon River. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the shortcut I’d hoped for!