30 March 2013 - Shipstern Bluff

Easter Saturday was a beautiful late summer day this year.  Bob, Julie, Angie, Robert and I set off from our place at about 9.15am.  Robert and I took Wanda - this was our second overnight trip in our new freedom machine.

It was the first time we had visited the Tasman Peninsula since the disastrous January fires.  As we passed from Forcett through to Dunalley, the evidence of the losses was sobering.  We saw quite a few of the houses that had been burnt to the ground, some of them with tents where the owners were making plans to rebuild.

Of course all the residents had been affected by the scale and terror of the event.  The community is still focussing on rebounding, as evident in a number of chirpy chalkboard signs in Dunalley, and there was a community meeting being held that day at Eaglehawk Neck.

Thanks to Tasmap!

The locals must have been pleased to see the amount of traffic coming into the Tasman Peninsula.  When we got to the recently extended carpark for Cape Raoul and Shipstern Bluff at about 11.10am, we were amazed to find it full!

The new large carpark

Along with enlarging the carpark, the authorities have changed the start of the Cape Raoul and Shipstern Bluff tracks.  There is now an official entry point leading off from the carpark, with signs, wowsers!

There is a good description of the Shipstern Bluff walk in Peter and Shirley Storey's "Tasman Peninsula Tracks", although the recent works on the carpark and the start of the track have changed a few things.  They describe the walk:   "This walk gives participants a close-up of the effects of the action of the sea in forming huge rock platforms, sea caves and tunnels on the exposed southwest coast of the Peninsula.  Try to synchronise your walk with low tide if possible".  Huh!  Of course we had scheduled our walk before learning of the importance of the tide.

We set off at 11.45am.  About 15 minutes in we passed into the Tasman National Park. The Storeys describe this bushland as: "semi-open forest of Stringybark and Blue Gum with an understorey of Bedfordia, Silver and Prickly Wattle and with a ground cover dominated by thickets of Cutting Grass".  At 30 minutes in, we reached the T-junction where the track to Cape Raoul goes off to the left, and the track to Shipstern Bluff goes off to the right.   The track to Shipstern Bluff passed through light, open forest with low growing eucalypts, and the track was dry, sandy and fairly level.  In other words, it was a great track for walking.   There were masses of Banksia Marginata (Silver Banksia), now in flower, which was nice, and low growing heath-type plants.

In another 15 minutes (12.30pm) we were at a set of fantastic clifftop lookouts looking down towards Shipstern Bluff (no barriers, so watch out for any children on the walk).

And what a treat - the surf was up!  We were delighted to see a dozen intrepid surfers bobbing around waiting for the incoming swells to turn into the famous huge curls and pipelines which then crash onto the dangerous rocks at the base of the bluff.  There were several jet skis in attendance, towing the surfers out to find better waves.

This lookout was a halfway point on the track (so, at only 45 minutes from the carpark, this is a great short walk if you should hear that the surf is up - take your binoculars!).  After enjoying the view for a while, we continued along and down the hill towards the Bluff.  This part of the track was fairly steep but still easy walking (downhill).

on the Bluff, coastal heathland

At 1.15pm we reached the next T-junction on the firetrail on the Shipstern Bluff ridgeline.

 

Someone has souvenired the sign to Shipstern Bluff!

You would turn right here to go to Tunnel Bay.  We had been hopeful of fitting in this side excursion today, but we ran out of time.  Too bad, as the Tunnel rock formation looks magnificent (another trip!). We turned left and headed along the wide sandy trail, through masses of teatree, a lot of it was in flower (great for the bees, unfortunately we noticed a few wasps and bumblebees instead).

Most walkers like to rockhop around the base of the Bluff and admire the rock ledges and the power of the sea. But as Lyn had warned us, when the tide is high, it is dangerous to try to get around the Bluff at the waterline.  Of course, at the time we arrived, it was high tide, so we had decided to skip the steep scramble down to the beach on this occasion.

Cape Raoul from Shipstern Bluff track

We managed to get halfway down the last section to the beach before realising we had missed our turnoff on the firetrail, so we ambled back up again to find the smaller side track to the western side of the ridge. 

While we ate (and dodged wasps), Bob made the effort to wander further down the track to get this view to the west towards Tunnel Bay.

Shipstern Cape?

The return walk back up to the lookout wasn't too hard, and we were able to notice more of the plants and animals than on the way down.

A tree that is also a seat (?!)

Even on a peak holiday, with the surf up, the track was uncrowded.  The people we met on the track, family groups, tourists and mad surfers, were all friendly and clearly enjoying their day. At the lookout we were rewarded with seeing surfers shooting the tube, fantastic!

Panorama, from Mt Wellington on the right, round to Bruny Island

Finally tearing ourselves away, we made it back to the carpark at 4.15pm, making our walk a total time of 4.5 hours.  Well done to Jules, who had thought she wouldn't be able to complete a walk that long!

Robert had prepared Wanda with chilled champagne and gourmet treats to celebrate the conclusion of our very enjoyable walk.  We toasted our good fortune at living here in Tassie, where such unspoilt beauty is still so accessible.

Getting to the start of the Shipstern Bluff and Cape Raoul tracks:  from Port Arthur, take the road toward Nubeena, travel 8.5km.  Just after a bridge, turn left in the direction of Highcroft and Stormlea. There is no sign for Cape Raoul here, surprisingly.  Stay on the long, winding, unsealed Stormlea Rd.  At 2km there is a right fork to Stormlea, then at another 5km there is another sign to the right to Stormlea and Cape Raoul.  If coming from Nubeena, come along the Port Arthur road for 2.8km, turn right onto the road to Highcroft/Stormlea.

Take:  water, binoculars, strong walking shoes or boots

24 Feb 2013 - Battery Point heritage stroll

Something a bit different for our end of February walk this time!  I was alerted to a likely gem of a concert on the Sunday afternoon, in St George's Church in Battery Point.  So it was eventually decided that we would take a leisurely walk around Battery Point, enjoying the history, and ending at the church before 3pm in time for the concert.  And the best part of the plan was to start with lunch at The Jam Jar Lounge on Hampden Rd.  

Eight of us met for lunch - Catherine, Peter (it was his birthday!), Austin, Sophie, Kat, Philip, Angie, and me.  Four of us had enjoyed making extra endorphins by riding our bikes to Battery Point.  The food at the Jam Jar was good, and the coffee.  The music was rather too loud, but upon enquiring, Sophie was advised that the music is either OFF or ON there (!?). 

We set off into the hot afternoon sun for our heritage tour.  I had an old Historic Village map, produced many years ago by the Battery Point community association.  Sophie had some notes, and both Angie and Philip had useful info in their memories.  With some pointing, questioning, checking the notes and debating, we made our way around.

We learnt new things about handmade bricks and early sash windows, and I think we all saw houses and  sights we had never noticed before.  Some notable stops were:  Kelly's Steps, Hillcrest, Arthur's Circus, Rosebank, Secheron House, industrial docks at A J White Park, Watson's Cottages, the old boatyard and dry dock.

By the time we got to the vicinity of Cromwell St, the heat was getting to us - it was over 30 degrees, over the maximum predicted temperature for the day, and none of us had thought to bring water. Catherine and Peter retreated to the Shipwrights Arms.

At the upper end of Cromwell St, we reached St George's Church.  Sophie and Austin headed off (to Jackman McRoss, for more refreshments!).  The rest of us entered the church to take a rest in the (relatively) cool and calming environment there.  

Robert and Summa joined us for the lovely little concert by Nuove Musiche Ensemble.  This is a Hobart-based trio including soprano, lute, baroque guitar and viola da gamba.  The musical combination was lovely and quite suited the performance space.  Over nine short pieces were performed in about 45 minutes, the music dating from the mid 16th century to the mid 17th century.

Sufficiently cooled, relaxed and educated, we left the church, picked up another friend Austra, and walked a couple of blocks to Kat and Philip's flat for a champers to complete the outing.  It was a lovely social and cultural walking afternoon.
 

December 2012 - Milles Track, Mt Wellington

Another belated report on a walk I did in December with some new friends - Joan, Denis, Sue, Pauline - and my dear friend Angie.  It was a warm day in town, but the cloud sitting on the mountain indicated it would be pleasantly mild on the track. 

We gathered at the upper carpark at The Springs, and made our way straight upwards on the wellmade track signposted for the OrganPipes etc.  At the top of the stone steps, where the track to the Organ Pipes led off to the right, we turned left onto the Milles Track.  The Ice House Track leads off to the right not far along, but we headed straight on.

The path was pleasant walking, fairly level, with lots of mountain flowers on show and a misty moisty feeling of being enveloped in our cloud.

 The waratah was out (yay!).

After 45 minutes of flower spotting and sharing of stories, we reached the turnoff to the left for Snake Plains.  This was a good spot for a short rest, a snack and a photo! 

Then we simply headed back the same way we had come. So the total walk time was a little over an hour and a half.

22 February 2013 - Gentle Annie Falls and Pipeline Track

Today Angie, Heather and I investigated the lower end of the Pipeline Track, starting from the upper carpark in the Waterworks Reserve. The full return walk, to Ferntree and back, would take about 2 hours, but we stopped a little early as Heather had to be back at a certain time.

From 'Hobart Walks' booklet

There is a noisy colony of dozens of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos roosting in the trees at the entrance to the Waterworks.  We met at the carpark above the upper reservoir, near the interpretation cabin and Site 9.  The track isn't exactly signposted, but you head straight up the hill on a dirt track towards Gentle Annie Falls.  Now Gentle Annie Falls does not actually contain any water, it is a historical manmade sluice cut by hand by convicts out of the sandstone to carry the water that came down the stone pipeline.  'Hobart Walks' states that it does in fact carry water after heavy rain, that would be worth seeing.

It is incredible to imagine the hard manual labour that would have been involved in cutting the channel and the chiselled ledges, and the site is definitely worth seeing.

It is a steep climb up the side of the Falls (there are carefully hewn stone steps alongside it), but the reward is a nice view back down over the reservoirs once at the top.

From here on the Pipeline Track is a comfortable walk through light bushland along the route of the pipeline towards the Mountain. The track rises to McDermotts Saddle, where you pass the site of McDermott's Farm.  From here to Halls Saddle at Chimney Pot Hill Rd the track is almost level and is very easy walking.   We passed an original stone house (for a Sluice gate operator),

and there are intermittent views of the flank of Mt Wellington along the way.  The track meets Chimney Pot Hill Rd at its junction with Huon Rd, and continues across on the other side.  After another 10 minutes we found the first of the old stone aqueducts.

This is where we turned back, and this return circuit took us 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Angie and I had ridden our bikes there, so we added the ride to our feel-good endorphins tally :)

December 2012 - Blackmans Bay toward Tinderbox -

This is a belated post about a walk that I did with Angie and Pauline in December (and I have forgotten some of the details now!).  It was a hot day and this turned out to be a very pleasant walk.

The walk was 2.4km to a quiet little beach with great views across the Derwent, a good stop for a snack. I think it was about an hour there and an hour back again.

We started from the carpark at the northern end of Blackmans Bay, and strolled down the beach on the clean sand.  At the end of the beach, we transferred to a paved footpath.  Here you have to stay fairly low on the cliff, there are several tracks to choose from, don't head upwards through the houses to the streets.  The track skirts the clifftop properties and seems to be being upgraded in patches, with a trackname something like Suncoast .

At a large grassy area (possibly Flowerpot Reserve?), take the path straight onwards in line with the clifftop.  This then veers to the right around some bushland and then passes alongside a sewerage treatment plant.  Cross the road above the treatment plant and continue onwards on the path.  The path meanders towards the riverside and down the bank to an isolated little rocky beach with a lovely view across the river.

You wouldn't want to swim here though!  We had a yummy snack and discovered lots of Warrigal Greens spreading over the sand.  After a short rest, we headed back the same way we had come.

On the way back, at Soldiers Rocks, we saw some game (or foolhardy) teenagers jumping from the vertical rocks into the water - it was hair raising just watching them.

Back at the beach, we relaxed and enjoyed well made coffee under the sun umbrellas at the Beach restaurant.

3 Feb 2013 - Shadow Lake Circuit

Our first Walk-A-Month for 2013!  This was a long day, travelling up and back from Hobart, with a walk that was longer than anticipated, but still well worth doing. We (Robert, Bob, Kat, Philip and I) left town at 8.15am and got to the Lake St Clair carpark by 10.30am.  

Here we mixed with runners who had completed the 80km Cradle Mountain Run through the park the day before - all mad.   We set off from the Lake St Clair Visitors Centre around 10.45am, and soon noticed some disturbing information in the walks hut: the Shadow Lake Circuit, described on the NP website as 4 hours, was here described as 4 to 5 hours!  Uh oh.  But it was a lovely day, so we kept going.

From the Visitors Centre, you simply follow the Overland Track. The first section, up until Watersmeet, is level, broad and well graded, you could ride a bike or a wheelchair along here.  We passed the fork to the left which heads to Mt Rufus, as we had decided to take the loop in an anti-clockwise direction.  At Watersmeet (1.5 km from the start), which is the junction of the Hugel and Cuvier Rivers, we found a smart new bridge, and the joining of the rivers was beautiful.  

We took the signposted left hand track on the (near) south side of the bridge. All the signposts looked recently updated and were very clear on directions and times required.  

The track up to Shadow Lake has been recently maintained and was fairly easy walking.  It heads up the Hugel River and soon crosses over another smart new bridge to the northern bank. 

Cyttaria gunnii (Beech Orange)

 

 The track climbs gently through rainforest, rising approximately 270m over a distance of 6.6km from the Overland Track to Shadow Lake.  There is a small tarn on the left shortly before Shadow Lake.   Near the lake the rainforest vegetation changes to sub-alpine forest, with snow gums, buttongrass and sedges flourishing, and pencil pines fringing the lake edge.  Apparently the lake contains the introduced brown and rainbow trout, which can be fished if you have a licence.

It took 2 hours to get to Shadow Lake, where we stopped for lunch.  Unfortunately it was a very short stop, as the clouds covering Mt Hugel decided to drop down and over us, and we got cold and damp quite quickly.  It turned out we would be in and out of heavy clouds /light showers /sun all the while we were up on the ridge.

There is a short walk along the eastern side of the lake and northwards to Forgotten Lake, and a further short walk (steep) to Little Hugel (2 h return).  We didn't do this today!  Instead we got going again on the track toward Mt Hugel.  The turnoff back southwards to join the Mt Rufus track appears some 15 mins from Shadow Lake.  Here the signposts confirmed our earlier fears.  The remainder of the circuit would take 2h 45min, making the whole Shadow Lake Circuit a total of 5 hours.                      

The first half of the new track is fairly level, and runs through delightful sub-alpine moorland, with long stretches of new duckboard snaking across a beautiful broad plain.   It looked as if the ferns had been hit hard by the recent heatwave.  If you wanted to avoid the Mt Rufus track, you could turn around after enjoying the moor and head back the way you came.

The track then rises toward the next ridge, through highland eucalypt forest.

Trigger plant

At the Mt Rufus track, we turned left and descended for what seemed like forever.  This track has not been upgraded, and is quite hard on the old knees.  By the time we reached a new Indigenous exploration path near the bottom, we had no energy to investigate.  Finally we rejoined the Overland Track, and on reaching the Visitors Centre, feeling somewhat rickety, we headed home.

Another sight to see just south of the turnoff to the park is The Wall ($10 adult, $5 child).  We'll check it out next time.  Robert and I decided to visit the Teez Cafe at Tarraleah on the way home.  It was well advertised from the highway, but we were dismayed to find that it was not in fact open and the whole place looked very quiet.  The highland cattle were cute though!

We had to wait until reaching Hamilton to enjoy a good cup of tea, with lamingtons as consolation.  Hamilton seems to be doing good things in working to preserve its heritage and to attract visitors.

The show might be good!

Another bonus from this trip was that I discovered a new anti-blister product which may supersede our old favourite Dr Scholls Moleskin  i.e.  Bandaid's Blister Block.   Must pack some on future walks, to apply at first hint of a blister!
  
In summary:

Getting there:  It is a 2.5 hours drive west of Hobart via the Lyell Highway (A10).  At Derwent Bridge, turn right onto the 5.5 km long access road to the Visitors Centre at Cynthis Bay.

Walk time:   5 hours

National Park entry fees apply

NP grade this as Level 3, and Group C items should be taken (gaiters and wet weather gear always advisable).  

2 December 2012 - Bishop and Clerk, Maria Island

Three of us, Robert, me and my old school friend Penny, set off from Hobart at 8am to catch the 9.30am ferry from Triabunna.  We were aiming to go up Bishop and Clerk, have a good look around Darlington and, with luck, fit in a quick walk towards the Painted Cliffs before catching the last ferry of the day back, at 4.30pm. It was a lovely early summer day, hot but not blistering, breezy but not too blustery, just right!

Trip planning:  The drive up is about 75 minutes for locals, but would be 90 minutes for visitors not familiar with the roads.  The summer timetable started on 1 December, it allows more trips per day, and more hours on the island for daytrippers.  The fare is $35 per adult, plus GST.  Book tickets by phone, using credit card for payment.

John and Anne, the ferry operators, were very friendly and chatty, quite willing to answer piles of questions from visitors.  An ark population of Tassie devils has recently been deposited on Maria, and one of our fellow passengers was a tracker, going over to locate where they have dispersed to, courtesy of their radio collars.  Filmmakers were making a documentary of scientific work on Maria while we were there, and captured us getting on and off the ferry, so we might be stars soon!

We registered at the Commissariat and ambled around Cape Boullanger, checking out the cemetery and the Miller's cottage, past the old limestone quarry, then the Fossil Cliffs.  En route we saw Cape Barren Geese, Welcome Swallows and Tree Martins. After the Fossil Cliffs you can turn off to the right to return to Darlington, we headed on up Skipping Ridge, above the high and rugged sandstone cliffs.  You would want to hold on to children here, and not do this walk on a very windy day!

The walk along Skipping Ridge, through the sheoaks, stringybarks and viminalis forest, is lovely, a long  steady gentle climb. Bikes can be ridden along this wide, even track.  You can hire them from the ferry operators or take your own over. We saw more birds, including Green Rosella, Swift Parrot, New Holland Honeyeater, Australian Magpie, Forest Raven, and heard Yellow Wattlebird and Kookaburra.

We were peeling our eyes and ears for the Forty Spotted Pardalote, but couldn't identify it amongst the many birdsongs, despite Robert's Birds of Tasmania app.  It would be great to settle down in a clearing here and just focus on the birds for a while.  A sign appeared, indicating that bikes should go no further, and here a steeper section began, going alternately upwards and level again.

Then we reached the scree slope - this is an extensive and quite steep moraine, fortunately with a well made zig zag track of smaller stones and solid steps at the corners to make the going a bit easier.  Note - a very sensible idea would be to leave your pack at the bottom of the scree and just take water with you from here. This scree section was hard work - I was stopping at each zig to catch my breath, and so made very slow going.  We didn't realise till later that this section is actually right up amongst the dolerite columns, within the Bishop's hat.  The views were already amazing. 

The track notes talk about a small sheltered area near the top to take a break - we had trouble finding this spot.  But at 2pm we collapsed just under the very top on some very large rocks, and had our lunch.  

The view was awe-inspiring, and it was hard to believe how far we had come.  We were 620m high and had walked up from sea level in 3.5 hours.

Robert and I were too buggered, and Penny was too short, to scramble up the final huge dolerite boulders to the ultimate top for the 360 degree view that the walkers we had met on the track had raved about.  And we were now a bit worried about making it back for the 4.30pm ferry. So we walked as fast as we safely could back down the rocks.  Penny caught a lump in the track with her foot and wrenched her knee, but fortunately could keep going.  It was a fast march down the long slope and by the time we reached Darlington there was no time even to have a quick look around.  Still less to fill our water bottles from the tank behind the Penitentiary (the only safe source of water in the vicinity apparently).  We did see some Native Hens and Forester Kangaroo.

We screeched to a halt at the Commissariat at 4.15pm, on time for the ferry (phew!).  Then we were frustrated to find that the ferry was late to arrive, and even later leaving, due to more filming of scientists and having to load up the many bags of the weekenders going home!!!!

Our urgent first stop back in Triabunna was at the supermarket to buy some much needed water, which we drank as fast as we could.  Note - take at least 2 bottles each next time!  But it was a fantastic achievement and we were so pleased to have seen the incredible views from the top of Bishop and Clerk.