Tag Archives: sun

More natural beauties stages 11 -14

1 Reply

As some followers remarked on earlier postings, my selection of past photos on different walk stages has given me a chance to ‘relive’ the experiences. Here are some favourites from the last 4 stages of my walk along the Derwent River.

20150119_071956

I love the Hobart wharf area with its crab and other fishing vessels.

20150119_072334

I love the pretty 19th century buildings lining Hunter St, one of the first settled areas in Hobart.

20150119_071536

I love the drama of the Federation Concert Hall where the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra presents great performances.

20150119_073636

No water is spared. The Parliamentary gardens are always lush and green.

20150119_084657 20150119_101600

I love the juxtaposition of the old and new: at Wrest Point Casino; at Lower Sandy Bay’s Blinking Billy against new modern houses.

20150119_085149 20150119_100336

Fresh beaches. Serenity.

20150119_095728 20150119_130442

Public sculpture.

20150119_124053 20150202_142013

Coastal walking tracks.

20150224_075230

Great signage

20150202_095936

The heritage listed Shot Tower near Taroona

20150202_112545

A rough bark and branch ‘hut’ near a track. Shelter from any rain?

20150202_142352

Natural rock caves

20150224_081151

Dramatic viewpoints

20150413_125912

The sun. The reflections.

20150413_131826

Looking at, listening to, smelling the bush.

20150413_140030 2015-04-13 15.11.08

And I appreciate the glories of introduced trees and man-made vistas.

Collectively these images provide a reminder of what sits beside the Derwent River as it flows from New Norfolk to its mouth.

Between the bridges: Stage 14 of my walk along the Derwent River

8 Replies

The achievement yesterday was to walk from the Bridgewater Bridge to the New Norfolk bridge on the western shore of the Derwent River.

I set off from home before the sun was up and I found Hobart was quiet when I arrived at the city bus mall.

20150413_070843

Then I bussed to Granton and alighted from the bus at the intersection with the Bridgewater Bridge causeway.

20150413_074852

From Granton I walked north-west then west towards the inland town of New Norfolk walking mostly along the Lyell Highway and then on a walking track for the last 5 or so kilometres. The morning was freezing and the afternoon warm.  But the sun was out; its hard autumn light made the world seem alive and sparkling. The Derwent River was splendid, often still and reflecting the trees and hills on its surface, under a bright blue sky with the sun shining gloriously.

20150413_140121

I finished my walk at the bridge crossing the Derwent River in New Norfolk.

20150413_145514

During the walk, I covered about 15½km of the length of the Derwent River.  By my reckoning, the total distance of the Derwent River on the western shore from the mouth of the River to New Norfolk is 54¼ km.

My walking distance was approximately 20¼kms.  I have now walked approximately 191¼ kms not counting getting to and from buses, as part of this project to walk along the Derwent River.

The highlights of the walk to New Norfolk were finding the remnants of two clearly visible heritage lime kilns, seeing a family of 6 pelicans, finding the track along the river leading to New Norfolk, and being mesmerised by the spectacular autumn foliage along the walk and especially in New Norfolk.

20150413_140030

I started walking from Granton around 8am and, despite wearing a thick woollen beanie plus a thermal top under my windproof jacket, I was frozen for the first two and a half hours.  It was 8 degrees Celsius at Bellerive when I left home, 6 degrees at Glenorchy and I suspect much less with a wind chill factor along the first part of the walk.  On this basis, I will not be walking further inland until sometime in Spring, and the timing of starting again towards Lake St Clair will depend on the air temperature.

Over the coming week I plan to enjoy writing up the journey and the discoveries of Stage 14’s walk in a series of different postings.