The Gluepot Bruny Island 2015

This week we're travelling to Bruny Island and Murrayfield Station to walk from St. Peters church to the Gluepot and the pilot station ruins on Variety Point.

Sally is our leader and has made all the arrangements for access to the walk.

We pick up the gate key then find the entry track which takes us about 3km to the area just below the old church, where we leave the cars.

The forecast is not bad, 17C, but there is a cool breeze in the open areas. The first thing we do is have a look around the ruins of St. Peter's Church. It's been partially reconstructed by the local historical society and looks far more like a church than when I first saw it years ago.

Gearing up. The old church is visible on the hill

This is a working station and large areas are cleared for stock

Looking carefully, the name W. Lawrence and the date 1846 can be made out

The church was founded by Captain William Lawrence who established the Pilot station in 1831, one of the earliest in Australia.

We now set off for our next destination which is the Gluepot.

Possible clay pit near the church

All the bricks were made on site by convicts.

Looking out over Storm Bay

Very easy walking with long views

I noticed a group stopped ahead, gathered around and looking at something on the ground.

It was a VERY well fed echidna, quite big

I think we were disturbing its breakfast. Otherwise I don't think it was too worried about us. The echidna is an egg laying mammal and you can find a description here:

Click here for information on the echidna.

It finally got tired of me standing there and let me take its portrait.

Excitement over, we move on. We turn off the vehicle track and head south to encounter our first obstacle.

View to south Bruny and Fluted Cape

Heading south

Nothing can stop us!

We follow a nice sandy track, looking for Morning Tea. This is actually the Rookery Track

Now we're on the reserve

Catching up, I found I was walking with Bob. I only mention this since it's unusual as he's mainly found at the front. Seems Bob's carrying a calf injury and this slowed him down. The benefit is Bob had time to spot both flowers below and point them out to me. There were quite a few flowers in the bush on this walk.

All the above were spotted by Bob

It was pointed out to me by persons who shall remain nameless, how late it was and how if Lena had been with us instead of being in W.A. this wouldn't have been allowed!

Yes, Morning Tea is late

We did find a comfortable spot to take our break.

Morning Tea (At last!)

Break finished we started out only to stop again when Tas spotted this orchid. It was quite tall with several flowers on the spike. Because of the black on it, Tas thinks it was a Black orchid.

Black Orchid

We continued on until we reached a turn off marked by orange tape which will take us to the Gluepot.

Short Purple Iris

Looking back

Gluepot turn off

If you miss this...

...there's always this

It's a faint pad, but well marked at intervals with tape.

Bottlebrush abounds

Soon we walk downhill which brings us to the edge of the Gluepot. I've looked everywhere for a description and explanation of what the Gluepot actually is. The only one I can find says it's a collapsed sea cave.

It's hard to see because of all the growth in and around it, but it's a fair sized hole in the ground and you wouldn't want to step off the edge.

Difficult to see, but you can make out the far edge. The tops of trees make up the vegetation in front of us

Moving around, I can get a better look at the northern end, which is a rock cliff

We walk around the south end and it is a slope here, although steep. Photos don't do it justice. At this point, Peter asked if I wanted to go down. So we did. After warning the others first.

It's a pretty steep slope made up of dry, loose soil and litter which doesn't help you at all. I found my stick made a good brake when I could find something to prop it against and there were some young trees you could sometimes use.

Luckily, I had one hand on one when both feet went out from under me and I started to slide down. If anyone follows in our footsteps and spots the trunk of a young tree that appears to have several finger sized grooves in it, as if someone had it in a death grip...I did.

We made it down to the bottom with out further incident and it was all very Jurassic Park. I'm guessing because I never saw the film. Lots of fern and moss and a large jumble of boulders.

Pile of moss covered boulders

Peter at the bottom. Lots of trees growing here

Looking up at the rim

Now we have to go up

I shouted up to the others and told them "We may be some time" to paraphrase Captain Oates, but they seemed little concerned about Peter and myself.

Now for something new. I took a short video at the top then again at the bottom. I've never taken many videos before, so it's a pretty poor effort, but you can look at it here.

 Click here for Gluepot video

Moving on, we retrace our tracks back to the Rookery Track and return to our favourite climbing gate. We're heading for the old Pilot Station ruins and lunch.

So glad to be back on stable ground, I took a flower photo

We're over the gate and back on our original road from the church, but heading east

If you look carefully at the hillside, you can see there has been a lot of planting going on

Some of the replanting is visible here

Variety Bay

We sight the bay and I can see some brick foundations among the trees on our right. We soon arrive at the ruins.

Evidently this used to be a watch tower for spotting ships coming up to Hobart

Lots of brick on site. Again, these were convict made and are larger then modern bricks

To quote the Australian Heritage website:

"A pilot station was established at Variety Bay on North Bruny Island from 1831. This was set up with the extensive aid of convict labour. Remains can still be seen at the site today and include the foundations of three recognizable buildings, bakers oven, rock and brick lined cellar and a rock walled watch tower."

View from the station of Variety Bay

Looking over Storm Bay

Lots of comfortable bricks for lunch seats

I want what Adie's having for lunch!

Lunch finished and foundations explored, we walk back a short distance and turn off towards Variety Bay.

Heading down

Entry to the rocky beach

Lots of fossils can be found here. In the rocks, I mean

Looking up the beach you can spot something in the distance at the top of the cliff that appears to be a shelf supported by some sort of pillar. You can just see it in the distance.

A telephoto shows more detail, but I think it should have closer inspection on foot.

Closer, it looks like a window and the pillar is stone.

Adie, Ron and Peter exploring the boulders below the 'window'

The others exploring the beach for shells and fossils

Peter spotted this cave in the cliff on the way back. It's larger than it looks

It also has its own pillar

On return to the beach, I find my own fossil, a shell impression in this small rock.

We climb up from the beach and pick up a track that takes us back to the cars. While walking along I thought that at least I wouldn't have to shout "CAR" out here. It wasn't two minutes later when I looked up and saw the top of a 4WD moving along just over the crest of the hill. So I did get to shout "CAR!" which surprised everyone.

A local was taking some visitors out to see the Pilot Station and we were able to confirm she could drive them there.

When we arrived back to the cars and started travelling back to the ferry terminal, everyone was looking forward to a little wait in the sun while enjoying an ice cream from the shop.

This was not to be, as we spotted the ferry loading as we came down the hill and Sally was second last car on having had to park with her bonnet under the rear of a very large truck. Better luck next time.

We had 12 walkers and covered 7.21km in 3:15hrs. I walked from Woodbridge and reached home about an hour later.

It was a very interesting walk and thanks to Sally and the people of Murrayfield for making it possible.

Click here to download GPX file

Click here to view animated track