Waterworks Around Chimney Pot Hill 2017

Today Bob is leading us from the lower dam at the Waterworks up and around various tracks to Fern Tree, then up Chimney Pot Hill and back to the Waterworks. I'm tired just from typing it.

We assemble just outside the gates, and get kitted up.

It's usually easy to tell who is the real power in a group

No rain as yet, but very low cloud

Chimney Pot Hill is up there somewhere

Crossing the lower dam

 A damp day, but no rain

I have just shouted out to Bob, querying if this is an authorized shortcut. We don't want to walk anywhere we shouldn't!

 
We head up the track on the other side and continue along to our left on a pleasant track until we reach a road leading up to join the Huon Road.
We only climb a short way before turning off to our right to continue on another track through the bush. A much better, if longer, walk.

As we near the road, we enter an area of beautiful trees. Quite different from what we've been walking through.

The humidity brings out the colours on the trunks

This track leads up and parallels the Huon Road for a while before taking us onto the shoulder of the road, which we cross.

Heading up the Huon Road

Mt. Wellington is up there somewhere

Now we walk for a short distance beside the road before crossing back to  take another track leading through the bush.

We continue until we reach a spot that's as good as we'll get for Morning Tea.

Tea finished. we come out to the Huon Road, crossing onto Strickland Avenue, joking with a lollipop man and finding where another track starts across the road.

This is a steep climb up through the bush to the Bracken Lane Fire Trail where we make our way along a branch to the Fingerpost Track.

Main Junction. We're heading along the Fingerpost Track

It's not too far until we get near Fern Tree and lunch. As we get closer we can hear many young voices. Turns out to be a school group on a bike tour who have also stopped here for a break.

There are enough tables/seating that we have room for most of our group. As we leave, one of the adults with the school group asks where we're going. Someone answers "The Waterworks",  which turns out to be where the kids are heading. I point out we're climbing up Chimney Pot first.

Lunch finished we cross the road to start down the Pipeline Track which carries some of Hobart's water supply.

Heading down the Pipeline Track

Convict built viaduct with added pipe. Built from local sandstone

I always admire the workmanship that is on view on the Victorian constructions.

It's a very pleasant walk down to Halls Saddle and the junction with Chimney Pot Hill Road. We turn off here to head up through the old quarry.

It's a steep climb with several choices of route. They join at the top where we take another track off to the side. This leads us towards Chimney Pot.

Up through old quarry

We turn off onto another, unnamed track

 We're climbing higher and the low lying cloud is becoming thicker. Reaching the access road to the top, we turn left and continue up on the paved road.

Chimney Pot Hill contains a communications tower and associated buildings.

Up the access road

Peter finds a disconnected cable lying on the side of the road, while Gail spots a Tassie Tiger or something in the bush

You can almost see the top

We head past the compound to a small hut that a much smaller tower had been mounted on in years past.

The last time we were here I had lunch on those rocks and enjoyed a view. Not today

Peter looks like he's going to enjoy the steep, slippery slope we're heading down.

It's grown up a lot since the first time I was here.

We reach another track at the bottom which has had a bulldozer driven along it. I suppose for new cables to the tower. According to the website shown on the gate sign, NBN Co, Optus, Telstra and Vodaphone all use the tower.

I'm sure you all feel better that we've been exposed to 0.69% of Electromagnetic energy public exposure limits. That will increase to 0.75% with upgrades being done.

This just means that you should stop glowing in the dark in a few days.

We continue losing height until we reach the track beside the old farm where we turn right for a while.

'A' group

'B' group - I was 'C' group - all by myself

Soon we turn off that track and head down towards the upper reservoir of the Waterworks. In the distance I can hear that the school party has also reached this spot.

We walk down the road towards the gate, but before we get there a bicycle whizzes past and a teacher shouts "There are 25 more behind me!". Grateful for the warning, we cower at the side of the road until most of the speeding children have passed.

We had 13 walkers and covered 12.7km in 4:40hrs

We only had a few drops of rain, not enough to get the wet weather gear out. It's a good walk even without being able to enjoy the views due to cloud.

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