Thursday 22 November 2012

Cathedral Rock - 22nd November 2012

Cathedral Rock sits behind Neika in the south-western foothills of Mount Wellington. It has great views south of Kingston, the Channel, Snug Tiers and the Huon Valley. Close by it has spectacular and precipitous views of the deep valley of the North West Bay River, overlooked by the steep slopes of Mount Wellington and Mount Montagu. Straight up the valley is a striking view of Collins Bonnet.

From the Kingston area, Cathedral Rock is itself an arresting view, thrusting skywards from the ridge and inviting a visit. The walk is a solid climb, gaining 630m of altitude in around 4.5km of track, including a series of switchbacks out of the river valley. Closer to the summit, the track is very steep and rocky, requiring the use of all four limbs to make progress.

There is gentle and pleasant walking though along the river, and in fact for those not wanting the climb, a walk to the river can be rewarding. the river bed can actually be traversed from the bridge to beyond the section where this walk uses the river bed. It is bouldery and slow, but nice on a warm day. I don't recommend it when it is wet, as the rocks are slippery.

The walk description is available on Walk the Huon, and is being updated based on this visit.

The weather today was a little drizzly at times, but overall not too bad. on top, there was a cool and occasionally gusty breeze, but views were quite good. Signs have been updated, marking the private roads clearly, as well as indicating where you should park. I managed to completely miss this and parked where I always had before. Fortunately none of the residents decided I was being evil enough to warrant any action. It is important to understand that this walk traverses private property, and appropriate respect should be paid to the owners, their land and improvements like fencing.

There are plenty of plants making the most of spring, and I may post a selection of flowering flora when time permits.

The North West Bay River. The track passes alongside it for around 900m - 22nd November 2012

Collins Bonnet seen up the valley from Cathedral Rock - 22nd November 2012

Fern uncurling, Cathedral Rock Track - 22nd November 2012

1 comment:

Jeselle Arce said...

Hi, nice view! Great post. I like it.

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