Tag Archives: Gretna

Natural bush remnants amidst agricultural lands –posting 1 of 5

The bush, whether or not it has been disturbed by farmers, hydro workers, road makers or forestry men, is always alluring and endlessly attractive. It may be open, tangled or dense. Agriculturalists may have cleared land leaving occasional remnants of bush and tufts of its natural grasses. It will contain natives and exotics. The bush may be dry or wet. The colour may be grey-green naturally or from a dusty overlay. Alternatively, myriads of other shades of green, grey, beige, and brown will fleck against rocky outcrops and the black or green glassiness of the Derwent River passing through.

The following photos and those in the subsequent postings in this series, were taken at various locations between Meadowbank Dam and its Power Station towards Gretna.

Recapping the walk along the Derwent River

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I lived the walk along the Derwent with a vital obsession but, after so many months intensely engaged on other projects, now some of the details are vague. To re-immerse myself into the experience, I am writing this post.

In addition, I suspect it will be a great help to people who have become followers of my blog during the past 6 months. Despite my inactivity, it surprises me how many visitors and views the blog gets daily, how many different posts are read, and how many different countries around the world are represented.

In August 2014, from an impulsive unplanned idea, I took a bus to a spot near the mouth of the Derwent River on the eastern shore, walked to the sea then retraced my steps and began the walk towards the source of this great river approximately 214kms inland. On day trips, and around other life commitments, I walked in stages along the eastern shore until I reached the Bridgewater Bridge which crosses the Derwent approximately 43 kms upstream.

Instead of continuing inland, I crossed the bridge and headed back on the western shore towards the southernmost mouth of the River. Most of the walks along the eastern and western shores between the sea and the Bridgewater Bridge were along designated pathways, although some informal track walking, road walking and beach walking was required during my trips.

Then I returned to the Bridgewater Bridge and began the journey inland expecting only to walk on the side of the river that made passage easiest. I had no intention to walk both sides from this point onwards in anticipation the landscape would be inaccessible for a number of reasons or particularly wild with dense and difficult forests. I walked to New Norfolk on the western/southern side of the Derwent but from then on, I switched from side to side. Using maps I determined where I must take up each new stage of a walk while switching from side to side, so that I could say I had traipsed the entire length of the Derwent River.

The farthest inland stages of my walk are easily defined. I walked from near the township of Tarraleah besides Canal 1 (along which is transported Derwent River water) above the actual River bed, past Clark Dam, and around majestic Lake King William to the township of Derwent Bridge. From there I followed the river to its source at St Clair Lagoon dam. In case some people believe the source of the Derwent is further inland, I walked onwards to the weir where the Derwent Basin empties into the St Clair Lagoon via passing the southern end of Lake St Clair.

Between New Norfolk and the area near Tarraleah, my walk beside the River was in country near townships (some of which were located at a great distance from the River) such as Bushy Park, Gretna, Hamilton, Ouse, and Wayatinah. This necessitated additional travel to or from the highway and roads, on which these towns exist, to reach the river or to return home from a walk along the river.

Inland, the water of the Derwent River is controlled by dams constructed to create hydro-electricity for Tasmania: I walked past them all. From the end of the river closest to the mouth, these are the Meadowbank, Cluny, Repulse, Catagunya, Wayatinah, Clark and St Clair Lagoon dams. Each of these has a bank of water behind them: Meadowbank Lake, Cluny Lagoon, Lake Repulse, Lake Catagunya, Wayatinah Lagoon, Lake King William and St Clair Lagoon. Most of these dams and bodies of water has a power station: Meadowbank Power Station, Cluny Power Station, Repulse Power Station, Catagunya Power Station, Wayatinah Power Station and Butlers Gorge Power Station. I was privileged to be shown around one of these power stations during one walk.

Water from the Derwent passes through two other power stations: Nieterana mini hydro and the Liapootah Power Station. I did not follow the trail of these Derwent River managed flows. The water from other locations inland passes through the Lake Echo Power station and Tungatinah Power Station then flows into the Derwent after power generation, thereby increasing the volume of water flowing downstream. I did not walk along these feeder rivers.

The few stages of the walks which have not been recorded in this blog, are in all the zone between Gretna and the area near Tarraleah – a stretch of perhaps 120 km. I have written up and posted most of the walks in this zone, and now it’s time to add the missing sections.

Water edges between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam

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Grasses, bull rushes, cliffs, rocks, thistles and thorny bushes, marsh plants and or trees edge Meadowbank Lake and the Derwent River up to Lake Repulse Dam and downstream to Gretna. Intermingled with any of these options can be weeds such as willow trees or blackberry brambles.

On the rarest of occasions, physical access to the river was possible.

Unfortunately in relation to the photo below, a herd of cattle were headed my way – this was their drinking spot. I did not have time to go to the edge; instead I walked furiously onwards under the hot sun.

While there was seldom a moment when I could not hear or see the Derwent River during my walks on farmland, usually a steep drop off or a thicket of trees prevented me feeling the breeze as the River flowed fast past me.

Seeking pastoral scenes walking along the Derwent River

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Strictly defined, the word ‘pastoral’ is associated with land used to graze sheep or cattle, and therefore any land used in this way will offer a pastoral scene. However, in my mind, the word ‘pastoral’ is overlaid with romantic images from artists during the 17^th to the 20th centuries that idealised farming land. Artists such as Claude Lorrain, Henry Milburne, and John McCartin are amongst thousands of artists who created and followed in this aesthetic tradition.

During my walk from the mouth to the source of the Derwent, occasionally I hoped to see pastoral scenes in which I could imagine an idealised lifestyle. However this wasn’t possible in the area of the land between Gretna and Cluny Dam – severe drought continues to keep much of the land that was cleared for animal grazing, with little or no grass. On some farming lands I walked across sandy paddocks where the ‘soil’ was barely held together by the occasional weed.

This is not the first time I have mentioned the dryness of the farming land up and down the area between Gretna and Cluny Dam during my blog. In the past I have included photographs of severe cracks in the ground.

Nevertheless every time I walked on a different property in that area and when I came across the vegetation-free ‘soils’, I was aghast at how bad things are for some farmers. There is no romance in these scenes.

Nevertheless, on most farming properties, some paddocks have been irrigated by drawing water from the Derwent River giving rise to lush grass for grazing, or for fodder and other crops.

Between these two extremes are paddocks with a moderate amount of grass cover, enabling stock to graze.

I admire our farmers who manage to survive despite the climatic ravages to their properties. We need them to survive. We need to eat.

I would have loved to show you photographs of the rolling hills in combination with the Derwent River and the adjacent landforms, whose shapes I simply adore. However, to do so would be to identify the location of where I had walked, and therefore on whose property I was permitted to cross. Blog followers who have discovered my site only recently can refer to Tackling the Derwent in the Meadowbank Lake region in order to understand that I promised not to tell which properties I had walked on – owners had various excellent reasons, and so I continue to honour my vow. It does mean, of course, that where the owners did not mind others knowing that I walked on their land, I cannot declare these either because by deduction, readers would be able to determine those owners who want their privacy maintained.

But I will give you snippets of images which I hope don’t help others make identifications. The images help me to see this part of our country has strong, albeit weathered, bones. Very beautiful in their starkness.

Walking across farmland – posting 1 of 2

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From past as yet undescribed walks, I have a large backlog of information and photographs to write into posts and publish. It is my priority to grab snatches of time to write.

Tasmania has been marked by many plus 30 degree days over the past couple of months, and it was on one of those days that I walked next to the flow of the Derwent River across a couple of private farms in the area between Cluny Dam and Gretna. In earlier posts I have declared that my ideal walking temperature is between 15 and 20 degrees and while I dreaded walking in the searing dry heat, I feel compelled to walk when drivers offer their services to get me to the starting point and collect me at the end. Thanks Alex for being available and helping me achieve my goal.

As usual I will not identify the location of my walks between Gretna and Cluny Dam, so that I meet the commitment I make to the landowners to maintain their privacy. As usual I have a couple of hundred glorious photos and unfortunately I cannot publish most because they will identify the properties on which I walked. Nevertheless there are some stories to tell and they are not without colour and texture. Despite the constraints, I will do my best.

On this particular day, the air was bright and clear and the forests beckoned. When I start a walk, I always wear a smile on my face.

The first gate was easily passable.

Later I found other gates less accommodating. One makes me smile as I remember, although the gate put me in a spot of difficulty at the time. I recall the surrounding fences were not climbable and the gate was padlocked. Unfortunately the gate was high (and I have comparatively short legs) and the wire mesh offered no easy toe-hold. Nevertheless I had no choice but to get over that gate. Somehow I managed to get astride the top, and with the gate moving on its hinges, I sat pressed on the upper iron bar in a most unstable and uncomfortable position. Because of the movement of the gate I couldn’t get my balance to swing my leg over easily. No-one around. No-one expected. Just me. On the top of the gate. Hot sun searing my brains. I think a cartoonist could have made an amusing image of this circumstance. Eventually I tried a sort of falling-off-the gate-manoeuvre, caught a strap of my gaiters in the wire mesh and nearly yanked a leg off, and then stepped onto the ground. Relieved. Glad to be on the other side. Obstacles can always be overcome! Of course, the best gates are those that I find open.

Once through the forest, I walked across low level dry vegetation which cracked and crackled as my boots crossed the ground.

Throughout this particular walk the Derwent River always flowed nearby. Once more I fell in love with its colours and movement. Yet again, I fell in love with the trees and grasses that grow beside the River.

Writing up the ‘gaps’ in my walk along the Derwent River

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The photo shows water entering the Derwent Basin from Lake St Clair.

Despite my excitement when I reached the source of the Derwent River, I recognised there were some kilometres not yet walked or which had not had their stories told in posts on this blog. Despite earlier misgivings and qualms about walking some edges of the Derwent River, I renewed my commitment to complete 100% of the length from the mouth to the source, and to create a blog which tells the complete story. My future posts detail those ‘gap’ walks to the extent that I can, considering the confidentiality requirements of some landowners.

For blog followers who recently linked to my site for the first time, you may not be aware that in the earlier stages of this ‘Walking the Derwent’ project, my walks were sequential. That is, where I finished a walk I started the next walk. However, once I reached the town of Gretna, from then on as I walked inland, my walks occurred out of sequence depending on the weather, access to the land, and a driver to take me to the start of a walk or collect me from the end of a walk. I imagine for most of my blog readers it has been difficult in the past months to understand to understand how far away from Hobart or from Lake St Clair each walk has been. Once I have finished writing all the walk posts, I propose to create one post which describes the River in terms of moving from one end to the other sequentially. Hopefully this will clear up any confusions or uncertainties.

Gretna to Lake Repulse Dam – an aerial perspective: 3 of 3

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The Cluny Dam holds back the water of Cluny Lagoon, and pumps it through the Cluny Power Station. At the western end of the Lagoon the wall of the Lake Repulse Dam rears high.

Between Cluny Dam and Power Station and Lake Repulse Dam, Michelle saw:

Between Cluny Dam and Power Station and Lake Repulse Dam, Chantale saw:

Between Cluny Dam and Power Station and Lake Repulse Dam, I saw:

When walking along the edge of the Derwent River, I am not so conscious of the constant winding of the river around the hilly landscape as when I look at the photos in this and the last two blog posts. The beauty of this snaking quality is that as I take each step, new vistas become visible.

Gretna to Lake Repulse Dam – an aerial perspective: 1of 3

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I have felt bereft at the constraint of not being able to provide details of where I have walked nor present photographs of grand scenery of the Derwent River and its surrounds. Then I remembered the flight I took from the mouth to the source and return. I realised I could use a selection of the photos that my two companions and I took during the flight. This series of postings will show you aerial shots covering the area between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam. I hope readers will be as thrilled as I am to see the rich expanses of our land by the River and then to be excited by that blue ribbon that winds through that landscape.

Sitting astride the Lyell Highway, Gretna is the tiny town at one end (the closest end to Hobart) of this Gretna to Lake Repulse Dam distance. Approximately 52 kms of Derwent River stretches between these two points and to walk it requires covering considerably more kms.

Between Gretna and Meadowbank Dam and Power Station, Michelle saw:

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Between Gretna and Meadowbank Dam and Power Station, Chantale saw:

Between Gretna and Meadowbank Dam and Power Station, I saw:

Walking between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam – 2 of 3

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Fences and gates

Avid readers of this blog know that locked and impassable gates, and barbed wire and electric fences have stymied my progress in recent walks. As I expected, these exist not only on the perimeters of properties but also throughout.

Therefore, my recent walks involved a great deal of walking away from the River in search of a way to continue; looking for a way to access the next paddock. I always hope for uninterrupted access to the river edge, but experience shows that hill climbing must be part of the process. This means a simple 5 km section of the River might take 8 km of walking. Being forever positive, I am glad for the expansive views of the River when I am up high. But I am not in love with clambering up hills. Despite the deviations, I negotiated dozens of fences/gates.

The land

Farmers tell me that normally the land dries out in around six weeks’ time. However this year, the non-irrigated paddocks are parched. The ‘soil’ of some land is sand and rock making me wonder whether it has been so for millennia or is only now tending towards a desert. In other places, large fissures have cracked open the ground.

Elsewhere, I saw evidence of large bushfires that probably rushed through the bush three or so years ago. New growth surrounded blackened trunks.

Negotiating paddocks with livestock

Sheep and cattle wander through large paddocks on either side of the River in much of this area.

I do my best not to enter a paddock with livestock and always try to find alternative routes. The result is grand deviations from the ‘straight line’ of walking the Derwent.

Cattle are curious or expect food and with their big bodies swaying they tend to walk towards you. Then at a point when I begin to feel most uncomfortable, skittishly they run off. On the other hand, sheep stand and stare until alarmed. Then they run off, bleating madly.

I don’t believe it is useful to raise either their or my stress levels. At this time of the year when lots of mothers and their calves or lambs abound, the last thing I want to do is stress these creatures.

Occasionally, I have shared a paddock with either cattle or sheep. When in a paddock with the animals, I have done my best to walk in such a way that they move slowly away rather than charging off manically. However, when I saw rams staring at me from under their sharp curly horns, I saw no point in confrontation, and took an alternative route – which in this particular circumstance required me to descend a very very steep hill, knowing I would have to climb back up further along. And I don’t like hills.

Crops

Commercial and feed crops cover some of the land. I am not a farmer but I think the following photo shows wheat. Can anyone advise me?

I feel sure this is barley below but am I correct?

And I know the photo below shows oats. I once had bales of oat straw brought to mulch my garden. Ever since, wild oats have sprouted and I have come to love their lacy heads.

I have no idea what I was looking at when I came across this irrigated crop – can anyone identify the vegetation below?

Walking between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam – 1 of 3

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I no longer believe that walking the Derwent River from the mouth to the source is possible as a normal public option. The reasons why others should not follow in my footsteps and expect to walk the length of the River include:

Private landowners will not grant access permission to cross their land for a range of very sound reasons.
There are no public pathways, roads or tracks near most of the River.
Fences and gates make forward progress difficult or impossible.

Let me explain by focusing on the situation in one inland section.

The Derwent River winds around mostly cleared hills between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam, and on two occasions its travel is impeded: by the Meadowbank and Cluny Dams. The Derwent between these two locations measures approximately 52 kms.

As a result of privileged access and after a series of recent walks, I have covered the majority of these kilometres, sometimes walking on one side of the River and sometimes on the other. I expect to finish this section by filling in the few small ‘gaps’ in the near future. Once the 52 kms are completed then I will add the details into my blog under USEFUL ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. Weather (not snowing, raining, excessively windy or hot – I’m not fussy!) and the availability of chauffeurs will influence when and where I walk in the future.

Some of the many landowners along the way have granted me permission to walk on their land with the proviso that specific details which allow identification of them and their properties will not be provided. I understand the reasons for their positions and will not share the information. Unfortunately, so many of my glorious panoramic photos of the Derwent River feature rapids or other indicators such as hills, dramatic cliffs and distant properties which show the side of the River on which I walked. As such, these would help locate the properties on which I walked. Therefore, for the first time, I am disappointed to include only a couple of River shots in my blog posts.

Many blog followers have enjoyed the details of what I see and experience in each walk. Without providing identifying information, I will do my best to present some of the ‘flavour’ of the River between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam in the next couple of blog posts.

Thanks to blog follower Jeanette, I was chauffeured to some starting points and collected from destinations in the section between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam. In addition, she walked with me on one occasion. At the time we tried out hand-me-down walking poles (my doctor says they will support my knees) but since they were no longer collapsible, we soon discarded them. For blog followers wondering how my knees are holding up – very well, thank you. Now that I wrap and support them, walking has become so much easier.

Tackling the Derwent in the Meadowbank Lake region

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Meadowbank Lake, which backs up behind Meadowbank Dam and its Power Station, is approximately 15 kms long. Downstream, the Derwent River snakes its way through the landscape for about 23 kms until it passes Gretna and heads on towards the sea. Upstream, after approximately 9 to 10 kms, the Derwent River finishes at Cluny Dam. The Cluny Lagoon which extends to Lake Repulse Dam extends a further 4 kms.

To walk the Derwent between Lake Repulse Dam and Gretna is not straightforward because some private property owners cannot afford to let strangers on their property for insurance reasons, or their granted permission is a one off special case for me. As a result, I have walked and will walk sometimes on the western and sometimes on the eastern side of the River and Lake, but I will not be providing a map and location details in my blog. In this way I will protect the privacy of landowners, and respect the privilege their permission to access their property has given me.

I expect to tackle parts of the area on a total of 6 or 7 separate days. On each of these walks there will be a considerable amount of retracing of steps and walking away from the river/lake in order to reach roads where friends can collect me. For most of this area, public transport will either be absent or a great distance away. Only the walk between Cluny and Lake Repulse Dams offers a reasonable amount of public access.

To date, I have walked a few sections, but I am not sure how to write up this Meadowbank area considering the confidentiality and privacy agreements I have made. Once I have started moving west of Lake Repulse Dam and all the walks in the Meadowbank area are complete, then I will create one or more blogs that introduce at least some of the wonders of that environment.

A change in plan due to the expected large volume of future information

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In a blog post written a few weeks ago, I said I would not post a record for any walk on a section of the Derwent River unless it fell into the continuous sequence; that is the next post describing the walk should be from Gretna (the location of the end of the last stage of my walk- Stage 15) westwards.

From now on I will walk sections (yes blow the knee problem, I will continue) that fit with friends dropping me off at starting points or collecting me from destinations, or that fit with the Tassie Link bus timetable. In any given week I could be located at any point between Gretna and the source of the river as it leaves St Clair Lagoon. Therefore, in any week, my blog posts will be about where I have been walking and the experiences gained along the route.

The reason for my change of heart is that from the reconnaissance and short walking trips that I have taken in the past few weeks, I can see that there will be simply too much information to dump into the blog once I finish the walk. Therefore, despite the chance of confusing blog followers, I will write up and post as I complete sections regardless of whether they fit into a seamless sequence.

Another advantage of this approach is that there will be less Derwent River related posts, and more actual walk related posts.

The euphoria continues

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Yesterday a friend An drove me up along the Derwent River where we stopped off at a few dams, power stations and lakes. I was studying the terrain at ground level (our most recent Service Tasmania maps are aged and Google Earth photos are not current either), seeing where forestry and hydro tracks existed and determining where I will need to make my way through bush ‘with walls’. I can see a line of fiction here – turning an almost impassable density of bush into a character (an evil character – even though the bush is sublimely beautiful and bountiful) that has to be overcome. My strategy will be as always, one slow step at a time and then the bush won’t even know I have come and gone (although my muscles will).

I walked some small sections yesterday, but I won’t write them up until I have walked in the areas westwards from Gretna to those sections. I know now that it is difficult for some local readers to understand where I have been and therefore, if I change the blog posts from being a chronological record, it may be even more unclear. Besides, by writing the stories in order and finishing with the last walk to the source it will be clear I have walked the Derwent.

Yesterday explorations and walks were as uplifting as the previous day’s flight; it was as equally wonderful, just different. I feel gushy with delight when I am in the bush on a blue sky day, with no wind, and with a temp that rises sufficiently but not so that I boil. Once I am sitting on rocks in the river bed with my lunch, listening to the birds, and sensing the spirit of the place, my life feels so right. This is the place for me.

Then, despite the day’s experiences already being a treat, life added a new wonderful surprise. Recently one of my blog followers, Justy, alerted me to the fact she and her partner were engaged in creating a new work of art for GASP beside the Derwent River at Glenorchy, a city in the Greater Hobart Area. As part of their project, they had already walked along the Derwent River in Cumbria, England and now were planning to walk from the sea to the source of the Derwent early next year. I hadn’t met them and only communicated a few times by email. But yesterday, as An drove me towards Cluny Dam, I saw two women step from their car. I waved and smiled as you do on a country road. As we drove on, I said to An “I bet they’re the two women who are engaged in the GASP project, out conducting a reconnaissance trip”. There was no reason to believe this except I felt I knew it to be the truth (the bush works its miracles). Nevertheless we continued on and had parked near the northern end of Cluny Lagoon when the two women drove past us. Again we waved. On a later road we found ourselves coming towards each other from opposite directions, so An waved them to a stop. The women looked at us queryingly. “Are either of you Justy or Margaret? we asked.” “Yes”, they responded. Instantly I called out, “I’m Helen”. Their nod of acknowledgement followed. And then we all poured out of our cars, and hugged and had a lively chat standing on a dusty road in strong Spring sunlight. It was a brilliant unexpected meeting and capped off what had been a day of immense discovery and pleasure.

Best wishes for your project Justy and Margaret!

Brilliant bird’s eye view

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Thankyou blog follower Ju. Recently Ju connected me with a woman with a husband who has a Private Pilot’s Licence. Once I made contact, Michelle and Dave were delighted to fly me in their four seater plane, a Cirrus SR20 which Michelle referred to as the BMW of the skies.

Today we flew. Not a cloud in the sky. Clean blue sky. Hardly a breeze. The landscape rich and varied. The Derwent River sparkled from start to finish.

The experience was stunningly magnificent. I love words but I find it difficult to express my excitement, my pleasure, and the sheer joy of the flight in the depth which I felt. There below me was the river I have come to love and know a little more. There below me were the tracks, paths, roads and landscape over which I have walked – and I laughed occasionally remembering certain experiences during my walks. There below me were logging tracks, dam roads, and fading vehicular pathways. And then we were flying over impenetrable sections which may not be walkable.

We left Hobart airport and flew to Storm Bay by rounding the Iron Pot, then we followed the river upstream to the source. Dave flew on until we reached the northern most point of Lake St Clair. The return journey was equally as beautiful and engaging. The light had changed presenting us with a ‘new’ landscape.

Of the hundreds of photos taken by Michelle, friend Chantale and myself, I include a tiny selection here.

The photo above taken by Michelle caught me totally preoccupied by the view.

MIchelle’s photo above shows the Derwent River snaking around the Claremont Golf course with Cadbury’s Chocolate Manufacturing buildings in white to the left.

The photo above shows a straight section of the Derwent River before the township of New Norfolk on the upper left.

The photo above shows the Derwent River circling part of Reid’s cherry orchards.

Chantale’s photo of the Pumphouse Point accommodation projecting into Lake St Clair, also shows the dam across the Derwent Basin where the water enters St Clair Lagoon. The source of the Derwent River starts to the right of the photo.

Michelle’s photo above shows part of sprawling Hobart set against the Derwent Harbour.

Those photos taken while flying over the river westwards of Gretna will be incorporated into the stories of my walks from Gretna onwards, in future posts. From now on, you can expect both ground-based and aerial photos to enrich the stories.
I feel like the luckiest person in the world for the opportunity to travel in a smooth flying small plane, to see the Derwent River winding through the landscape in glorious blueness, and to be reminded Tasmania is a superb place. A truly wonderful and memorable day. Thankyou to all concerned.

Derwent River Wildlife Guide

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This booklet titled Derwent River Wildlife Guide, by Veronica Thorp and published in 2000, is a 73 page listing with colour photographs and basic information about all the environments, the flora and the fauna which can be seen at some point along the Derwent River. The booklet is available for loan through the Tasmanian State Library system.

I am sorry that my discovery of this information has come after I have walked so far – it would have been most useful for me to walk with this booklet from day 1 of the entire project. Having said this, there is only one photograph per item and a tiny paragraph of information so that identifying plants and fungi correctly would have been a challenge. While some entries indicate a location where a plant could be expected, most do not have this information. I have a sneaking suspicion that the listings in the booklet may only cover the areas that I have walked which are easiest to access. I suspect that intensive investigation of the Derwent River shoreline and general vicinity between Gretna and Lake St Clair might not have been studied so rigorously.

A Visitor Guide (http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=16546) to Tasmania offers a limited selection of animals and environments compared to the comprehensive catalogue available in the Derwent River Wildlife Guide. The Visitor Guide covers all Tasmania which is much broader.

Walking the Derwent River

The ribbon that separates the eastern and western shores of Hobart, Tasmania's capital city

Tag Archives: Gretna

Natural bush remnants amidst agricultural lands –posting 1 of 5

Recapping the walk along the Derwent River

Water edges between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam

Seeking pastoral scenes walking along the Derwent River

Walking across farmland – posting 1 of 2

Writing up the ‘gaps’ in my walk along the Derwent River

Gretna to Lake Repulse Dam – an aerial perspective: 3 of 3

Gretna to Lake Repulse Dam – an aerial perspective: 1of 3

Walking between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam – 2 of 3

Walking between Gretna and Lake Repulse Dam – 1 of 3

Tackling the Derwent in the Meadowbank Lake region

A change in plan due to the expected large volume of future information

The euphoria continues

Brilliant bird’s eye view

Derwent River Wildlife Guide

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