Thark Ridge Panorama

The view from where the track passes through the saddle on Thark Ridge. Collins Bonnet most prominent. Myriad peaks were visible in the background.

Bruny Island Panoramas

This stitched panorama is the rocky bay near Hen and Chicken Rocks on Bruny Island's Labillardiere Peninsula.

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This is the view eastwards from Cape Bruny across Lighthouse Bay. West Cloudy Head is the main headland, and behind it is East Cloudy Head and Tasman Head.

Thark Ridge - 25 October 2007

Had a walk on Thark Ridge today. The walk starts at the carpark a few hundred metres above Big Bend on Mt Wellington. Walking uphill a little you can head off to the right where the going becomes open. There are tracks here and there just off the road, which soon become a single track, basically the deepest water denotes the track. Actually it's not too bad, just a bit soggy underfoot.

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The track leads along the bottom of the range, and then climbs into a saddle over boulders. From there you can walk either way along the range - marked to the south, not to the north, or drop to the far side of the range towards Collins Bonnet. The track to the south from the saddle is marked on the Wellington park map, but the way from the road to the saddle is not. I'm unclear why they have omitted well-known and marked tracks from the map. Someone is even marking the track from the saddle southwards with grey plastic stakes, so why would you leave the northerly continuation off the map?

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Anyway, the views are pretty good, and there were plenty of snow-streaked southern and western peaks in view today. Ben Lomond was clearly visible a little east of north. A wedge-tailed eagle was soaring around the ridge today, pursued by three ravens or currawongs - I wasn't sure which. I'm not sure whether currawongs actally chase eagles, but I know ravens do.

Cape Bruny

If visiting South Bruny to walk, it's also worth going right to the end and visiting the Cape Bruny lighthouse. The scenery here is spectacular, if dangerous in places. Views are great in all directions from the lighhouse and nearby areas. The cliffs are definitely dangerous, heed the warning signs. Here are some photos taken nearby. This map shows the pictures in terms of the direction of view.

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Labillardiere Peninsula - 20th October 2007

The walk around the Labillardiere Peninsula (Map here) on Bruny Island looked like a good walk for a cool winter or spring day. We decided on the 20th, and the forecast was for fine and 20 degrees C. Actually it would have been better on a day when it was going to be 11 degrees. The sun was pretty hot, and although the wind brought cool air in places, it was warm for a walk. The air temperature probably fit the forecast, but the radiant heat in the sun warmed us quite a lot.

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Nevertheless, this is an interesting walk, with lots to see. The walk starts at the Lighthouse Jetty Beach Campground. This is equipped with water tanks and toilets, and plenty of space for camping or picnics. Don't drive right down to the end of the road on the beach, but turn into the camping area at the main turnoff. You can drive in and park right next to the walk start, which is on the left as you drive down to the main parking area.

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The walk is a circuit, and clockwise is recommended to make looking at the scenery easier, and to use the shade in the afternoon inside the forest. The track heads uphill moderately at first and joins an old firetrail. This meanders up and down along the western side of the peninsula and is easy to follow. It comes down to the coast at a rough, steep, boulder beach looking out at Hen and Chicken Rocks. This place is quite spectacular, and would be an "interesting" place to be in a storm.

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The track then climbs quite steeply up Mount Bleak (143m) and passes close to the highest point, before descending more gently to Hopwood and Butlers Beaches at the end of the peninsula. The first part of Butlers Beach looks out at Partridge Island, named apparently because d'Entrecasteaux's explorers saw brown quail (Coturnix ypsilophora) there and thought they resembled partridges.

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At the far end of Butlers Beach, the track enters the scrub, and gently rises and falls along the eastern side of the peninsula. The vegetation quickly becomes good tall forest, which does provide useful shade for warm days. This track returns to Lighthouse Jetty Beach, where the scrappy remains of the old Jetty can be seen. The total circuit is around 17km, and is, as the Walking Club would say, a "good leg stretch". There was plenty of birdlife on the way too, wedge-tailed and sea eagles, swamp harriers, martins, black cockatoos, gulls, bronze-cuckoos and others.

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Some Historical notes: Many of the placenames in this part of the world derive from the visits of d'Entrecasteaux in 1792-1793. Huon, Recherche, Esperance, Bruny, Labillardiere, and others were given to features noted by this expedition, which was actually in search of the lost expedition of La Perouse (another local name). There's an interesting book put out by ANU which looks at d'Entrecasteaux's expedition in terms of their interaction with the aboriginal population.

Mt Wellington Fungus

Mt Wellington lower slopes - 13 October 2007

Had a short walk on Mt Wellington today. The weather was a little threatening, but the rain held off mainly.

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Rocky Whelan's cave is a popular destination for families, and lies just a few minutes from the Radford monument, above Ferntree.This sandstone overhang and "cave" is reputed to be wehere Rocky Whelan, a bushranger, hid out in between forays. More careful investigation suggests that he probably hid elsewhere. However it's interesting to see this rather paltry shelter, and imagine a group of criminals huddling here to avoid the rain. Unfortunately the rock has been quite extensively defaced by grafitti over a long period of time.

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O'Gradys Falls are worth a look when there's any decent flow of water. From Rocky Whelan's cave the track heads down steeply to the Pinnacle Road. Woods Track continues downwards directly across the road, and after a few minutes reaches an intersection. A few minutes along the left turn O'Gradys Falls are found. They were attractive today with a moderate flow.