Thursday 23 October 2008

Hartz Peak - 23 October 2008


Hartz Lake and Mt Picton from the slopes of Hartz Peak, 'Hartz Knob' to right - 23rd October 2008What better activity for Hobart Show Day than a bushwalk somewhere quite a long way from Elwick! The weather forecast was good, and with a dusting of snow on many peaks during the week, Hartz looked like a good idea for a half-day trip. When I started from the car park just before 8am, the sun was out in a blue sky with almost no cloud. However there was a chilly breeze which continued blowing throughout. The views were pretty good today, all the main peaks with snow on them. The walking was great today. Sunny and clear, the light snowfall had transformed the landscape without putting more than a dusting underfoot in most places, and generally the track was dry and clear.


Pandanni with snow plug (Richea pandanifolia), Hartz Mountains - 23rd October 2008Many of the pandanni (Richea pandanifolia) had a plug of snow sitting in the crown of the leaves. Interesting sight. The leaves of these pandanni are very purple. At other times or in other places they range through various pink and red shades, in addition to the green.


Emily Tarn and Mt Snowy from Hartz Peak summit - 23rd October 2008Mt Snowy makes a good alternative walk at the Hartz Mountains National Park. With this much snow around however, it would probably be a quite wet trip around the base of Hartz Peak. The best way to do Mt Snowy is as a circuit which includes a traverse up the long curving southern ridge of Hartz Peak. This provides good walking and extensive views. I will have to plan a Mt Snowy trip soon. Camping is quite possible at Emily Tarn. There is space for a few tents (not many), however the surrounding area does require care as it is quite fragile.

2 comments:

frog ponds rock... said...

Great photos. I particularly like the pandanni..It is also nice to find another Tasmanian blogger..cheers Kim

Mark said...

Hi Kim, thanks. The pandanni are great subjects from a geometrical point of view.