March 2015 - Mount Direction

Di, Robert, Kat, Philip, James, Austin, Wayne and George set out on this walk which is very close to Hobart (so why haven't we done it before?). We were planning to follow the directions in "100 Walks in Tasmania" by Tyrone Thomas and Andrew Close (but ended up with a few variations).

 
We met in the carpark for Risdon Dam at 9.45am - gee it was busy at the Dam, with walkers, runners and radio-controlled yachties galore.  We set off in a clockwise direction around the reservoir, over the dam wall and along the circuit loop, in pleasant (if overcast) weather.

Our first deviation from the plan was to head left at the first creek crossing, where a nice little track with a walker's gate beckoned to us.

The track was along a firetrail and fairly level at this stage.  It runs through pretty and fairly sparse eucalypt forest on dry slopes.  We surprised a group of Forester Kangaroos:

After this we got a bit confused, not quite sure where we were on the map.

We headed up the hill too early, and had to return to the firetrail, before eventually meeting up with the track which came up off the reservoir loop.   Back on track again, we found ourselves heading uphill, and when we turned left up to Mt Direction

  the trail got quite steep:

Thankfully the track levelled off a little just before the actual summit, and there were excellent views to the north:

The summit is a rocky knob with a large rock cairn and an emergency radio transmission station.  Here we stopped for refreshments (at around 11.45am).

There are some limited views to the south, down the river, from an outcrop just south of the summit,

 

but much better views are to be had from a spot from the west of the summit.  Robert had noticed a series of little cairns heading in that direction:

Looking south from Mt Direction

This lookout spot is actually as per the map above, we'll all have to check this spot out next time!

When we eventually headed back down, Wayne led some of us off to the right, leaving the track from roughly where the red arrow is on the map above.  This leads southwards along the ridgeline to near the 400m contour as marked on the map, which is another good spot for a lookout over Nyrstar and the river.  There is a small cairn there to mark the spot.

The group re-formed again down the track, and we made good time on the downhill stretch (with some trouble to older knees).  We soon reached the reservoir loop again.  With Kat and Philip taking the shorter route (1.9km) back to the carpark, the rest of us continued clockwise around the loop (2.1km).  It was a pleasant stroll, and we all got back to the carpark before 2pm.  

Then it was a short drive to our coffee stop at The Aproneers in Lindisfarne, where Lyn joined us to catch up before her big trip to Spain to do the Camino.

 

February 2015 - Marion Bay

This was to be a leisurely walk along the beach at Marion Bay, and it was a lovely day for Philip, Kat, James, Di, Robert, Sophie, Austin, Caroline, Julie, Bob and Lyn.

Here are Philip's instructions for getting to the Marion Bay carpark:
Drive from Hobart to Sorell.  From Sorell take the Arthur Highway (A9) to Copping.
Turn left at Copping on the Marion Bay/Bream Creek Rd (C337).
After a while this road turns rough, goes downhill, and comes to a Y junction.
Take left fork and proceed over wetlands - CAUTION - one way, narrow rough road.
Go through Marion Bay township - carpark is at the end of the road - toilets here.
Best walking access to beach (avoiding the impassable deep lagoon!) is next to Wetlands info sign.

It takes about 45min to one hour to get to Marion Bay from Hobart.  We collected in the carpark and headed off at about 10am.

We walked to the right (southwards) along the firm sand of this beautiful beach, doing more chatting than beachcombing as we strolled.

 

At the inlet to the lagoon we continued around the sand spit and perched on a small bank, out of the wind, for a snack on the edge of the lagoon.  A couple of brave ones went for a swim.

Then we wandered on around the Long Spit Nature Reserve, admiring the samphire (and not admiring the evidence of people driving illegally on the sand).

Although it was only a couple of hours, it felt like quite a distance, probably because of walking on the sand, which can be a bit tiring.

Back at the carpark, we set off again to our lunch destination!  We took the left fork on the way out (Bay Rd C337)) which is a short cut to Dunalley. At Dunalley, we turned left over the bridge, and turned left after about 1km, to the Bangor Wine and Oyster Shed.  This new winebar and restaurant is perfectly located and a great spot for post-walk wine and seafood.

January 2015 - Mt Gnomon

We had been thinking about climbing Mt Gnomon for a while, and decided to make it part of a weekend in the Northwest (see Wanda's blog).   Mark Hanna, in his blog, recommended opting for Mt Gnomon instead of Mt Dial.  Jan Hardy and Bert Elson's NW walks book was out of print, sadly.   I found a walk in John and Monica Chapman's "Day Walks Tasmania", which described a 5 hour walk from the northern side, including Mt Dial and Mt Gnomon in a loop.

After a large and enjoyable lunch at the new Mt Gnomon Farm Restaurant, we asked Eliza for her advice on the best route for climbing nearby Mt Gnomon.   She was unaware of the loop we had in mind, and advised a nearby route which sounded shorter and quicker than the one we had in mind.  So, a little bloated with good food and wine, we turned right as we exitted the farm and continued up Ironcliffe Rd.  We immediately entered the Mt Dial Nature Recreation Area.

Very soon we found the parking area for the start of the walk to Mt Gnomon.  There are several other walking options from here, including a Tall Trees walk.

The walk was dry and pretty, mostly fairly steep, and there is no water.

Here's where the walk from Mt Dial comes in:

Here's me at the top:

and some of the views from another little knoll near the top: 

more of the Dial Range to the south

east to Mt Roland

over the farmlands to the south

Having done this short walk, the maps of the Dial Range make a lot more sense!
Our walk took about an hour and 10 minutes.

November 2014 - Mt Wedge

Caroline, Warren, Wayne, Girwan, Bob, who else?  made this walk at the end of November.  Here are a few of the stunning photos to remind them of the walk and to inspire others of us to get there another time.

Wayne and Caroline

Telopea truncata

Federation Peak, the Arthurs, Lake Pedder

Lake Pedder and the Arthurs

Pedder and the Arthurs

Lake Gordon and a few strays

Mt Nelson, Bicentennial Walk - January 2015

Robert and I have commenced training for the Mt Amos walk at the end of March :).  Yep, this is up a mountain, and we're not ready!

Our training is starting out with (almost) daily walks of 1 hour, preferably with a climb involved.  I know, we're taking baby steps to start with! To assist with this, the walks in our Walk a Month collection are now being labelled by approximate duration.  Currently we can search for walks that are about 1 hour, and walks that are from 1.5 to 2 hours.

Today's after work walk was along the Bicentennial track on Mt Nelson, with an entrance point at the end of Acushla Court.  From here to the Signal Station and return is a nice little walk and takes just on an hour.

Bellerive Foreshore ride, November 2014

This was a first group ride with our Walk-a-Month buddies.  We gathered at Peter and Catherine's place at Bellerive, aiming for an 11am start,  and got our bikes ready.  Angie had her ebike (Ezee Street), while Di and Robert had their new non-e-bikes out for their first real ride in public.  Peter, Austin and Sophie were the other eager riders.

The weather was gorgeous as we headed off with Peter in the lead.  Here's our route:

We cut the ride shorter than originally planned, deciding to avoid the hill in Tranmere.  So the ride only took about an hour, but it was very pleasant.  And the barbecue lunch and wine at Catherine and Peter's was very tasty.

Wineglass Bay Lookout - September 2014

Robert and I enjoyed a great weekend with our friends Kerrie and Richard, at Swanwick. The weather was glorious, more like summer than spring.  On the Saturday Robert and I walked to the Cape Tourville lookout and discovered that the path had been very professionally upgraded since we were here last.  Top quality stainless steel railings and winding modern timber decking mean there are no irritants to detract from the fantastic views over the cliffs.

Richard and Kerrie told us that the Wineglass Bay Lookout walk has also been upgraded in the last few years, so we decided on the Sunday that we had to take a look.  Unfortunately Kerrie had to work in the morning, but Richard, Robert and I set off.  The newly extended carpark features strong use of the fabulous pink Hazards granite in the stone walls and steps.

The gathering area at the starting point of the walks to Mt Amos, Wineglass Bay and beyond has been enlarged to cater for the busloads of visitors who come to this famous National Park.  

The path up to the wide saddle between Mt Amos and Mt Mayson has been extensively re-routed and widened since we were last here.  There are many stone steps to provide a safer trek up the hill, and there are lots of well engineered granite retaining walls, benches and drains.  

The new balustrades here have a smooth treated steel railing and rusty-look iron uprights.  This look and feel complements the rugged granite outcrops and the muted greys and greens of the pristine East Coast woodland of the Hazards.

There are many artisan made wooden and granite benches for people to catch their breath on.

The viewing platform overlooking Wineglass Bay has been extended to accommodate the increased visitor numbers, but is still a very inviting spot to rest and enjoy the view.  

I was intrigued by this metalwork embedded in the path near the lookout:

Coming back down, we found that the new return loop to the carpark is actually the old track.  A new section towards the bottom veers to the right and features the same upgraded handrails and superb stonework as the new uphill track.

What a great place to sit and enjoy the view.  These rocks were massive.

The walk took us 1 hour 9 minutes.

To top it off, back at the carpark was a very tame wallaby with joey in the pouch.