Tag Archives: Waterfront Hotel

The pleasures of people along the Derwent River

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The people that I see and meet during my walks along the Derwent River always give me unexpected value.  My experience last Friday walking from Rosny Point to Geilston Bay was no exception.  People of all ages, sizes and racial backgrounds enjoyed being out and about.

There were joggers, runners, walkers, dogs leading their owners, a mother and father wrestling their son on the grass all laughing loudly and not a mobile phone or other communication device in sight, a man with a hand reel trying to catch fish from the rocks, cyclists who surprised me when they came up behind me and passed speedily and silently, the excited father and son who had seen a wallaby in the trees, a line of twelve senior men cycling without wearing lycra, five young mums in lycra with five new-baby laden prams in a row, kids skateboarding along the Trail, and families meandering to fill in the end of the school holidays. There was a man rowing a dinghy somewhere, a paddler in his kayak, and a boat motoring with trailing fish lines held by a family of three all wearing their life jackets.  Some I chatted with, for some it was a nod of ‘hello’, and for others we exchanged a wave and a friendly smile. I find that until around midday most people expect to and enjoy acknowledging others, then in the afternoon for some unexplained reason the experience changes and people are more reserved; perhaps the weight of the day has started to drag on them.

Two specialities of my walk last Friday were:

  • Along our public reserves and walkways, dog walkers can collect a black plastic bag so that when their Big Dog or Little Missie does a poop, the owner can collect the droppings from the path into the bag and add it to the garbage bins further along. The common sight is to see owners swinging a bag of excrement as they continue their walk. But on Friday I watched an innovative practice – and not one that is likely to catch on (hopefully not).  A man was walking along and he was emptying his plastic bag. Inside his bag was a mix of dirt and straw.  After the dog had pooped on the path, he poured a little of this mix over the droppings to cover.
  • A woman doing interval training by walking and running along the path stopped to talk to me about the dolphins she had seen. Her eyes sparkled. Apparently 6 dolphins were playing around the boats in Kangaroo Bay (located between Bellerive Bluff and Rosny Point). Where I had left the bus to start the walk, trees obliterated my view of the Bay at the point where the dolphins would have been. I was pleased the dolphins felt safe to be there and sorry to have missed seeing them.  This event reminded me that years ago, after I met an internet dating partner for the first time at Bellerive’s Waterfront Hotel, we walked along the edge of Kangaroo Bay and watched a small pod of dolphins swimming and enjoying themselves. It says something about me that I enjoyed that experience more than the date.

The photo below shows one of the many dogs that enjoyed their morning walk last Friday.

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Kangaroo and Bellerive Bluffs on Stage 4 of my walk along the Derwent River

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After lunch, I walked up to the road (Victoria Esplanade), turned left and proceeded to walk around a new headland, Kangaroo Bluff. The photo below looks south along Bellerive Beach to Second Bluff.

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Continuing the walk and a little way ahead at Gunning St, on the right hand side of the road, a sign indicated the Kangaroo Bluff Historic Site could be reached uphill in a couple of hundred metres. I didn’t take this route rather I continued on the Trail around the Bluff until I reached Bellerive Bluff, the official finishing point for my walk on Stage 4 along the Derwent River. Before reaching Bellerive Bluff, I watched the tomato red coloured Aurora Australis, the Australian Antarctic Division’s research and resupply flagship, manoeuvring around the Derwent Harbour.

Once I arrived at Bellerive Bluff, an information sign reminded me that Charles Darwin, the eminent English naturalist, visited when the Beagle sailed into Hobart in 1836. The sign is particularly informative because it includes a map showing exactly the path Darwin walked on the eastern shore, some of which I have walked during Stage 4. Apparently some of the geological research and findings he made here on the eastern shore of the Derwent River, laid the grounds for the development of the significant theory of continental drifts. This information reminded me that it does not matter in which little pocket of the world you live, some important global story will come from it.

The next, 5th leg of the walk will start opposite Bellerive Bluff at Rosny Point, on a day yet to be determined.  The dark treed headland in the photo below is Rosny Point at the foot of the low Rosny Hill (the ever present Mount Wellington is visible in the distance).

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From Bellerive Bluff further walking is required to access bus routes and return to the Hobart city centre (although I walked home nearby). The Clarence Foreshore Trail continues along the edge of Kangaroo Bay from Bellerive Bluff. This pleasant walk leads to the Bellerive Ferry dock, a Fish and Chip Bar, and the Waterfront Hotel all overlooking the calm Kangaroo Bay with its marina full of yachts.

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Continuing past the Hotel onto the Boardwalk (which stages wonderful open-air festivals throughout the year such as the Seafarers Festival, the Jazz Festival, and the Fruit Wine Festival) there are two choices: to continue along the edge of Kangaroo Bay and past the Bellerive Yacht Club, or to walk up to the street and access the shops and restaurants of Bellerive Village. On the road (Cambridge Road) after the Yacht Club, after the shops finish and not far from the intersection lights, the sign for bus stop number 8 is planted on the edge. From here a bus can be hailed (please do not expect a bus to stop if you do not hold out your arm and indicate, even though you may be standing at the bus stop).  A timetable of bus services is posted on the bus stand.

Once on the bus, you should feel satisfied (and so lucky) that you exercised your body, cleansed your mind, and experienced the beauty of a portion of the Derwent River and its immediate environment. At the end of every walk I treasure where I have been during the day, and I am always excited thinking about the unknowns of the next stage, and looking forward to it.