March 2022 - Organpipes and Lost World (kunanyi)
Wayne and Gerwyn came up with this idea for a couple of easy but scenic walks that we could combine to make a good day on the mountain.
Our schedule was: an amble from the Chalet along the Organpipes Track to the junction with the ZigZag track, and return. Snacks at the Chalet, then a short drive to the Big Bend carpark, then a short walk to The Lost World.
Our group was Wayne, Gerwyn, Bob, Kat, Philip, Di, Angie and Fin (welcome Fin!). We scored a fab Indian Summer of a Sunday, and the mountain was very busy with visitors. Parking was at a premium, so car-sharing was the go, and the kunanyi bus service would be worth trying next time. We met at The Chalet at 11am and set off.
Our first delight for the day was Kat showing us a tiny native freshwater shrimp in the pool just above the Chalet. She has identified it as Anaspides tasmaniae, a species of fresh water crustacean only found in Tasmania. It is also known by the common name "mountain shrimp".
The views over the city were great of course, and we could also look across and see The Lost World, our post-lunch destination.
A little further along we heard and saw some intrepid rock climbers taking on The Organpipes.
And the moon!
Some of us practised remembering the names of the mountain plants, here's a selection of what we identified:
Mountain currant (Coprosma nitida) (pictured); Mountain pepper; Fagus cunninghamii; Hakea lissosperma; Water fern (Blechnum wattsii); Richea dracophylla; Pineapple grass; Banksia marginata; Snowberry (pictured); Thymeleaved purpleberry (Trochocarpa thymifolia) (pictured, this was on the Lost World track, drier terrain than the Organpipes track).
Then there was the fungus that Bob has identifed as: Hypholoma fasciculare var armeniacum.
After a chatty lunch in the Chalet, we moved up the road to Big Bend, and ventured into the Lost World.
For most of us it was our first visit there, and we were entranced. The trail has not been groomed for mass visitation, so is rocky and has steep bits. Within minutes we felt like we could have been lost in rugged rocky East Coast terrain.
We didn't risk descending off the cliff face onto the Old Hobartian trail, but just enjoyed the spectacular views and the easily obtained sense of remoteness.
We parted ways and headed home at about 2pm, it had been a great day on the mountain.
February 2022 - East Cloudy Head
It was time to revisit this lovely walk, which we last did in 2014.
Di and Dorothy made a full Island Weekend of it, staying overnight in a nearby cabin and making the most of the trip to Bruny Island by squeezing in some additional short walks. Angie did the same, staying with her friend Anne and bringing her along on the walk (welcome, Anne!).
Kat, Philip, Wayne and Gerwyn came over in the morning. Fortunately the ferry sailings are more frequent these days (every 20 minutes) so there is usually less of a wait at the jetty.
We all met up at the carpark at Whalebone Point at about 10.30. After some catching up and organising we were setting off along the beach by 10.50am.
It was a warm sunny morning, just perfect for the stroll along picture perfect Cloudy Bay.
The long easy walk is made for talking.
Inevitably we got to the "up" bit. It was a fairly steady climb, through some coastal heathlands and some small patches of trees. The views got better and better. There was a little less breath for talking.
A sea mist started coming over from the East, a bit unusual for these parts. The scenery got moodier, but was still very beautiful.
The sea coast was stunning.
Celebrating reaching the top!
After a short stop for lunch at the top of East Cloudy Head, we headed back.
The walk was about 13km and took us just under 5 hours.
Those returning by ferry that day encountered a long queue and had to wait almost an hour and a half at Robertsons Point.
A great walk, and excellent company.
January 2022 - Devil's Throne, kunanyi/Mount Wellington
The hardiest of our bunch took on the walk to Devil's Throne. Angie, Gary, Kat and Bob were the brave ones.
This track has been badly signposted in the past but now is well marked. You take the trail to Thark Ridge from the Big Bend carpark, and turn right at the signpost for Devil's Throne.
Our walk started in the mist, but we had the promise of the clouds lifting by the middle of the day.
There were a number of patches of rocky and uneven ground which made progress slow.
Our very experienced Walk-a-Month walkers made it there and back relatively unscathed!
The walk is only 10 km but it takes about 6hrs, due to the rocky and uneven track.
December 2021 - Cape Raoul
It's the Sydney to Hobart season again (hurrah!). Lyn and I decided to revisit our "inaugural" walk-a-month in 2010 and our 2017 return visit to Cape Raoul. With luck we would see some S2H contenders passing by the Cape. On a perfect summer's day, warm and clear, and keen to make up for some serious Xmas indulgences, Lyn, Di, Kat and Philip left town at 8am.
The obligatory coffee stop in Sorell was this year marked with worrisome CheckInTas signins and mask wearing. We stayed as briefly as possible and took our coffees to the car. We kept going, arriving at the Stormlea carpark at 9.45am, where Gary was waiting for us, making a congenial group of five today.
The carpark has been extended yet again, this time for the Three Capes tourism promotions. The landscaping is very nicely done, they have even provided footpaths! The new composting toilets are also clean and modern.
We were on the trail by 10am.
The first stretch was lively with birds, it would be a good spot for a bit of quiet birdwatching. We reached the turnoff to Cape Raoul or Shipstern Bluff at 10.30am.
At the Cape Raoul lookout we were pleased to see one of the maxi's steaming south. Perhaps Whisper, which arrived at Constitution Dock at 3.51pm?? Kat's photo shows a helicopter taking a close look:
The trail down the hill and along the windswept headland has been sensitively upgraded - smoother, wider but not overly curated - to provide an easy walking surface and take the steepness out of the hillside path. You can now walk without having to watch your footing all the time, a great relief. A couple of duckboard stretches were well placed. The views were fabulous as always along the headland.
We noticed that the scrub had grown taller and now offered good protection from the winds over the largest part of the headland.
A totally unconcerned echidna was happily digging the side of the path.
The path around the Cape's little lake has been nicely improved with a snaking path along the clifftop and some duckboarding.
It was great to arrive at the tip of Cape Raoul and see four yachts in the water between us and Tasman Island. The S2H Yacht tracker was not quite up to date:
The maxi at the front, Stefan Racing, steamed right past us at 1pm.
It possibly overtook Whisper and arrived at Constitution Dock at 3.20pm, besting us by a long shot.
The big yacht not far behind it might have been Ichi Ban, which was followed by Celestial.
Down below us a Pennicott cruise boat came in to look at the seals. Then it was exciting to see Rob Pennicott himself arrive in this spot sheltered from the ocean swells in his big Freycinet Explorer. We saw them carefully load up a large camera onto the bow, and then set off towards the boats, no doubt to capture some great action shots.
As we headed off ourselves, we ran into an old friend from our Centrelink days, Tony Lawrie, another opportunity to catch up on some news. By 1.20pm we had seen the seals and were heading back along the headland.
As always, the conversation flowed as we walked, covering COVID at length (these are difficult and rapidly changing times), computer and phone problems, food adventures, news of old colleagues, Xmas events, and more. It was a comfort to share our concerns, knowledge and solutions as the kilometres slipped by. By 2.55pm we were back at the Cape Raoul lookout, taking a last breather.
Then it was back down the hill, and we got back to our starting point at 3.40pm. So the walk of about 17 km took us about 5 and three quarter hours, including a generous lunch stop and a couple of rests along the way. Due to the improvements to the track we escaped with very litte in the way of aches and strains. What a fabulous day.
Our walk:
November 2021 - Bicentennial Trail
Our earlier plans to tackle Mount Wedge floundered due to other commitments and a dawning realisation of the challenge involved in a one day outing to that distance and the climbing of that peak. Di suggested we climb Mt Nelson instead, a much more approachable ask.
It was a lovely walk up, and great to catch up on everybody's news.
We were interested (or something) to find that we took longer to walk up than on previous walks - it used to take us 60 minutes, today it took us 75 minutes. Can't think why.
Note to gardeners: if you're thinking of visiting the Cafe, they are offering meal credits in exchange for lemons and limes.
We probably got back to our starting point at about 2pm. A very pleasant outing.
On a beautiful Sunday morning, Di, Angie, Gerwyn and Wayne met at the top of Lambert Ave at 11am. Note: points to Angie and Di for riding there :)
Anyhow, we reached the Signal Station Cafe and were ushered to the best table in the house, right on the corner, with terrific views over the Derwent, Lauderdale and round to Oppossum Bay. The menu was good, with lots to decide from, the service was good, and the meals were generous and yummy.
We started off back down the hill at 1.35pm, and passed an echnidna trying to hide under a tree:
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