Tag Archives: Blowhole

Bear Grylls guidance

2 Replies

Barely a newspaper or magazine doesn’t publish a story about Bear Grylls, so it seemed only reasonable that I find a way to incorporate him into this blog. His is a life of extreme adventures and fighting for survival in tough environments, so a peaceful walk along a placid river seems a long way from his favoured pursuits.  And none are documented.  However, it is Bear Grylls guidelines for daily life which are useful for me to recall even if the going is easy.  Some of these ideas are recorded below.

  • Make the first step – that should empower you to take more steps. ‘There’s great power in just beginning and committing to action, even when you don’t feel like it.’
  • Challenge yourself – ‘I believe we are like grapes and it is only when we are squeezed that we can see what we are really made of.’
  • Try something you’re afraid of – ‘My Dad inspired me not to be afraid to go for things and take a few risks.’ ‘Failure is never failure rather it is a stepping stone to success.’
  • Energise your day – ‘a little fresh air can do the world of good.’ ‘Almost all cities have some great iconic open spaces and parks. Use them.’

After reading this list, hopefully blog readers will be inspired to get out and about. I found another blogger at http://cdeanblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/derwent-river-flows-and-present-people.html referenced Bear Grylls when she faced her fears and descended the cliffs into the Blowhole at Blackmans Bay, located a few kilometres short of the mouth of the Derwent River near Hobart.  Good for her!

Nudging into Blackmans Bay on Stage 12 of my walk along the Derwent River

2 Replies

At 3pm I turned left onto Roslyn Ave having walked up from Boronia Beach. Within 10 minutes I could see Blackmans Bay Beach.

20150202_150926

Five minutes later I turned left at Blowhole Road in search of a Blowhole. The road was narrow with no pathway and limited edges on which to walk.  Wattle trees were blooming and I passed an apple orchard laden with red globes. Flowering gums are spectacular at the moment.

20150202_150406

I reached the Blowhole sign, which indicated the entrance to a small park on a hill at the northern end of Blackmans Bay Beach, at 3.22 pm.

20150202_152145 20150202_152210

The weather wasn’t gusty and so the water ebbed and flowed rhythmically but undramatically beneath a rock bridge. There was no blowing of water through the gap.

20150202_152241

I continued down hill.

20150202_152611 20150202_153012

I reached beach level at 3.34pm and proceeded to walk on the path beside Ocean Esplanade. Inset into the pavement were handmade tiles and mosaics presumably made by community effort.  These were similar to those impressed into the footpath in parts of Kingston.

20150202_153808 20150202_153822

A little way along the Esplanade public toilets and a kid’s playground provided useful amenities.

I decided to stop, look, listen and smell. Looking over the Derwent River to the South Arm peninsula and around about me watching people enjoying the beach and surrounds, listening to the seagulls calling, and smelling the salty air kept me seated for 10 minutes. I had walked two thirds of the way along Blackmans Bay Beach and it seemed a reasonable place to stop for Stage 12.  So I headed for  a bus stop.  I found one by turning into Hazell St and then into Wells Parade.  As I arrived at the stop, a Metro bus came over the hill in the distance.  Wonderful timing.  It was 4pm. The experiences of the day had been rich. I enjoyed the bus trip back into Hobart via the main Kingston shopping centre, and then the southern outlet highway. The view when we came to the top of the final hill is majestic (please ignore the dirty bus windows in the photos below).

20150202_161915 20150202_162002 20150202_162024

Some of Hobart and the eastern shore suburbs are laid out below with the blue Derwent River flowing between. Always stunning. After half an hour on the bus I arrived in Hobart city, then headed off for my Bellerive bus and was home before 5pm.  All together a brilliant day.  Stage 12 was complete!  Because of personal commitments and what I have seen in the weather forecast, I do not expect to walk Stage 13 until next week.

From Hinsby Beach to Blackmans Bay accomplished on Stage 12 yesterday

Leave a reply

The goal of my walk along the Derwent River for Stage 12 was to start at my last stopping point, Bus Stop 30 on the Channel Highway at Taroona on the western shore of the Derwent River, and continue to Blackmans Bay in the local government area of Kingborough.  I did not get as far as expected, but I was satisfied when I finished 2/3 of the way along the Blackman’s Bay Beach.

Over future posts, I will write up the stories of the walk, what I saw and what I experienced, but for now it’s enough to say that I am continuing with this massive project to walk both sides of the Derwent between the mouth and Bridgewater, and then onwards to Lake St Clair.

Yesterday I covered 5 ¾ kilometres of the length of the Derwent River on the western shore (making 35 3/4 kms in total on the western shore), and walked approximately 11 kilometres (making a total of 154 kms to date) to achieve that distance; there were a lot of steep ascents and descents.

20150202_085332

This distance also takes in the streets and paths on which I walked that led to dead ends so that I needed to retrace my footsteps.

The highlights of the walk include finding a way through some of the early part of the almost untracked Alum Cliffs, the delightful walk along the tracked part of the Alum Cliffs, meeting some friendly people along the way, the unusual snake sign at Tyndall Beach, stopping for a long cup of tea in Kingston with a friend, my discovery of another tucked away beach – Boronia Beach, and the Blackmans Bay Blowhole.

There are many memorable images but my favourite for today is one of my photos of mussels growing on the rocks at Boronia Beach.  I have already made it my desktop background image. When enlarged, the blues glow.

20150202_142540

Fundamentally the Stage 12 walk was about forest and water.

20150202_113014 20150202_104740  20150202_115156 20150202_152557

The day started with my being roughly opposite Gellibrand Point at the northern tip of South Arm and finishing opposite the long South Arm Beach.

I intend my next walk will start from where I left off at Blackmans Bay and then continue into the Tinderbox area to Fossil Cove.  But before then I need to record the details of yesterday’s walk.  So Stage 13 will be a while away.