Packrafting the Huon River – Blakes Opening to Tahune
On Saturday the 4th of April 2026 (Easter weekend), Jane and I had our first experience packrafting the Huon River from Blakes Opening to Tahune.
The Stats
Water Level: 0.4m at Tahune
Grade: 2
Distance: 10.5km
Time: 2hrs 20mins paddling (plus the significant walk in)
Location
Blakes Opening is about 8km along the Huon Track from Quartz Quarry Road near Tahune in southwest Tasmania. The track provides an access route from Tahune to the Arthur Plains at the meeting point of the Western Arthur and Eastern Arthur Ranges. This junction point is known as Cracroft Crossing, as this is where the track crosses the Cracroft River and provides access to either McKays Track to the west or the Eastern Arthur Range Traverse to the south.
Being located on flat land about a third of the distance in from Tahune, Blakes Opening makes a natural rest or camping spot for travellers. However, beyond flat ground, it doesn't have much to offer. ListMap shows a hut at the location, but this is no longer there, and the area is quite high above the river with steeps banks that make access difficult.
The track is also very overgrown. A bushfire in January 2019 burnt significantly through the area. This resulted in the closure of the track for several years (until about 2022?). During this time thick regrowth has sprung up, closing in tightly on the track, with several sections featuring an abundance of cutting grass. The Hobart Walking Club made efforts to clear the track in 2023 from Tahune to Blakes Opening, but since then further trees have fallen across the track and need to be navigated through, around, over, and under. Beyond Blakes Opening the track is reportedly in even poorer condition.
Setting off just before 10am, it took Jane and I 4.5 hours to hike the 8km to Blakes Opening (including breaks / lunch).
Entry Point
With the high and steep banks at the point where the hut was marked on the map, we weren't able to safely gain access to the river. As a result, we ended up retracing our steps back about 400 metres until we found a small beach that was more easily accessible.
The River
WikiRiver advises the Huon between Scotts Peak and Tahune is a grade 2-3 river, but with Blakes Opening being well downstream of the Huon Gorge, we were expecting an easy grade 2, with another paddler telling me there were only shingle rapids from this point.
However, we noted a number of shoots and drops:
For the most part these were all pretty straightforward, but there was one rapid near the start that I's say is at the plus end of grade 2 (at approx -43.09397 146.6285):
Overall, it was an easy and enjoyable paddle, and at 0.4m at Tahune Bridge, there was ample water to paddle a packraft (noting that the WikiRiver guide says 1m is the recommended minimum for the longer segment from Scotts Peak.
Exit Point
We ended up exiting the river at Tahune Bridge. I'd left my mountain bike here and used it to ride back to the start of the Huon Track to retrieve the car.