From Rifle Range Road 2015

Today is a wet, cold possibly drizzly day and we're walking from Rifle Range Rd. on a walk led by Bob.

With minor variations, this is a similar walk to last year. So, if you want to see more photos have a look at Rifle Range Road 2014. 

Rifle Range Road indeed leads to a rifle range. Sandford Rifle Club has been in existence for nearly 100 years. 

We parked in our usual spot and started down the dirt road towards the beach. As you can see, there had been some rain.

On reaching Mortimer Bay, we turned south on Gorringes Beach. This is a good walking beach. Firm with a covering of sand and small shells. Today you can see it was low tide.

Setting off. Is it going to rain?

Down the wet Rifle Range Road...

...turning off to the beach

Low tide

Heading south

It's just over 2km up the beach before we have to turn off by the fence protecting nesting birds.

Really low tide

At least it wasn't windy

Turning off onto the inland track

Now we head for what is our usual spot for Morning Tea. It's at an entry to the track and has a number of large, comfortable rocks to sit on.

I have no idea who Priscilla was. Nothing to do with the desert, I bet

Choose your rock

Morning Tea

This is the track we're on

The track is shared by walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders. This sign says to give 'voice alerts' to others especially horse riders. Yeah. Start shouting at incoming horses and if you jump about and wave your arms too, the riders will be ever so pleased.

Just before we started off again, it began to drizzle so most of the party changed into wet weather gear. I looked at the sky, calculated it wouldn't last and decided the weather god would be happy if most of the party changed but I didn't. It worked and the shower only lasted for a few minutes.

We walked  for a short distance along the dirt track until we turned off on a foot path. This leads along the top of the foreshore, between it and properties.

Looking back over the beach

We've turned off the vehicle track now

It's an easy, pleasant track and we can see some blue sky as the sun comes out

Looking towards Opossum Bay

The track continues on, sometimes turning up hill for short sections and back again. Finally we reach the spot where we leave it and walk uphill to O'May Court. Here we enter Gellibrand Drive for a little road walking until we pick up the Tangara Trail again.

Looking back

This is horse country

We're nearly ready to turn up hill

Regrouping before our short road walk

On the way up to here, we pass a property with a large shed on it. Ron hadn't see it before, but due to previous walks, I knew what was kept there. The photo below is for Ron and anyone else who hasn't been here in the past. I took it a couple of years ago.

Taken before the shed was built. Beats a ride-on mower!

Turning off Gellibrand Drive we start down on another section of the track. Fewer houses this time.

Going down the next section

There are a few wet spots, but not many

We pass a large emu enclosure and can see some of the birds way back. These 2 appear to be young ones and I can only assume they are fed as there is nothing left on the ground they can eat.

Back at our Morning Tea spot for lunch. Sitting on another set of rocks to catch the sun

Lunch finished, we walk on another track and get back to Gellibrand Drive. We cross over to walk a narrow track along side of the road. This takes us to a place where we pick up Tangara Trail again and head up a nice hill.

There's work being done on the track as it's very washed out in sections requiring short detours.

At the top we continue over a road for a short walk to Paroa Court which we take back down to Gellibrand, walking beside it back to the cars.

It is a good walk and the sun was out for most of it. The tracks were not too muddy and generally good to walk on.

I think the weather put some people off as our numbers were down.

We had 9 walkers and covered 13.75km in 3:55hours.

 Click here to download GPX file

Before I finish, I must say goodbye to a fellow walker and a good bloke.

As transplanted Yanks you might think David and I had much in common. However, he was from Illinois, I'm from Maryland. He spent 30 years in the Coastguard. I spent just over 3 years in the Army. David liked George Bush while I thought Bush and his 2 brain cells should be in prison. Despite all that, we enjoyed good walks together and shared some laughs. One thing we both agreed on was the beauty of Tasmania. I remember David had just remarked on that fact when I took this photo on the Organ Pipes Track on Mt. Wellington. Keep walking.