Waverely Flora Park to Knopwood Hill 2015

Today we're walking in the Waverley Flora Park then over to Knopwood Hill. Lena is our leader.

We assembled in Waverley Street, but before we started Lena had a newspaper article to read to us. It concerned a 10 year study in the U.K. about the relationship between leg strength and brain health.

Lena told us it basically says strong legs mean a fit brain.

 At this point I became a little worried as my dodgy hearing led me to believe that Lena had said strong legs mean a THICK brain. I soon realized my error, though. The study was on female twins so I don't know if it applies to us males. Lets hope so.

Lecture over, we were off - up hill of course to give us strong legs and hopefully not a thick brain.

After climbing for a short distance we set off on another track (one of many) passing behind some houses.

Looking towards South Arm

There was a cruise ship in, dwarfing beautiful downtown Hobart

We continued along various tracks before heading downhill.

You can see a  bit of the South Arm Highway in the distance

Some take the high road...

...some the low road. I followed Tas

Heading down, there's a house just to our right which is defended by alert guard dogs

One dog did the barking, but his mate just sat in the shadows waiting for any mistake on our part.

Actually, I think he was just bemused

We continue down and walk along the bottom of the highway, entering suburbia to find ourselves on the Charles Darwin Trail, supposedly where the young Darwin walked in 1836 when he visited Hobart in H.M.S. Beagle. 

Darwin appeared to have a strange shuffling gait, judging from his footprints

We walked along Tilanbi Street until we reached a pedestrian bridge over the highway and onto Knopwood Hill.

They have good views of Mt. Wellington here

Looking back at Mornington Hill and where we had come from

We walk up past the houses until we find an entry to the Knopwood Hill Nature Reserve. If you want to know a bit about the Rev. Knopwood, Click Here.

Entry to the reserve

There are always signs around to make you feel welcome

It was through here that, having avoided one wild rose, I was attacked by its cousin warranting a visit to the first aid kit at Morning Tea

It's getting close to Morning Tea and we soon find a spot.

How many walkers can you fit on a rock?

Break finished, we continue on and climb towards the top

The bush is very dry and some of it has been burnt, probably in the burnoff mentioned at the beginning of the reserve.

As we go, Tas mentions he and Lena did the track a few days ago and they found a rare Eucalyptus risdonii which Tas found again today. He also said we would come across another in flower later in the walk.

Also known as the Risdon Peppermint, it only grows on dry, north-east to westerly facing slopes on the eastern shore of the Derwent near Hobart.

Eucalyptus risdonii (Risdon Peppermint)

We continue climbing towards the top of Knopwood Hill.

Very, very dry bush

Another track coming out of the gully on our right

Soon we come to an old fence which we cross.

We laugh at such fences, although we do cross it very carefully avoiding the barbed wire

We're nearly as high as we will go

Interesting construction, probably not to code

This is as far up Knopwood Hill as we go, as it's private property now and Mornington quarry is just over the top. So we start down and soon come to the other Eucalyptus risdonii.

Eucalyptus risdonii

  This isn't the only rare plant we've come across lately. We also have the Black Hooded Sun Orchid we found on Bruny Island (The Gluepot Bruny Island 2015) the other week which has been identified as a Thelymitra atronitida which hasn't been recorded in that area before. (Thanks to Kate & Tas).

So, we're not just pretty faces stumbling around in the bush.

We continue down to retrace out steps over the South Arm Hwy and back to the area around Mornington Hill, looking for lunch.

We're back on Morning Hill tracks now

We soon find a log for lunch, although as it's getting warm, some of us settle down under a shade tree.

I sit on the log to have lunch and soon spot another group in the distance also having a meal.....

The final results

After lunch we continue on some tracks I've been on before. Much of the other side of Mornington Hill has been quarried in the past. This was known as the Pitfield Quarry which was most productive between 1850 and 1890. The quality sandstone produced was used in building Hobart, Melbourne and some of the country estates. That information was gleaned from David Leaman's book
Walk Into History in Southern Tasmania.

Nice recycled seat overlooking a view.

We're heading to the top where there are water reservoirs, then around to head down a sandy track.

Heading down

Some evidence of past quarrying

Track work has been done and a fence erected at the top of old workings

Difficult to vandalize

As we continue down, some of us get ahead of the main group before being called back to take a surprise track off to the side.

This leads to a large rock overlooking the Derwent.

Surprise side track

It arrives at this large rock

That's Clarence High School in the distance behind the dead gum

Bob had been encourageing me to use my selfie stick since I wrote about the dangers last week. But I refused.

Bob didn't give up, though. Here he's hiding behind Jenny and telling me to back up towards the drop while I line up the photo

There is a good drop at this end

Back to the main track and a steep track down to the cars.

This was a good walk on a good day with the water an incredible blue in all the views. I've not been on Knopwood Hill before so that was interesting.

We had 12 walkers and covered 9.48km in 3:59 hrs.


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Click here for animated track