Today Bob is taking us on a variety of tracks on Olinda Grove above Hobart. Weather at the start is a bit cloudy and cool but it's supposed to become warm and sunny before we finish.
We park outside the Olinda Grove Sports Fields, walking through the gate and down the fire trail.
We continue along this wide track before turning left onto a smaller track, leading down. This takes us along a fence that encloses the quarry beside Proctors Road.
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| Steep drop into the quarry on the other side of the fence |
I'm not sure what happens in the quarry now, it hasn't operated for years. After it shutdown it became a popular place for local rock climbers. Now, it's all enclosed and full of building and other rubbish. Perhaps Hobart City Council use it for storage.
At the other end of the fence, we turn up along a wallaby track which takes us back to the wide track from before. This is where we begin to get the views over Hobart.
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| Mt. Direction in the distance |
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| Another photographer caught in the act |
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| Hobart and the Tasman Bridge |
We head down, passing the rear of houses built over the steep gully of Proctors Creek.
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| Driving up the Southern Outlet, you may have noticed a house with a curved front. This is what it looks like from behind |
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| I wouldn't want to live on such a steep slope, but they do have good views (and traffic noise) |
We continue past the houses, bearing right, taking a small track up through the she-oaks.
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| Small rocky track leading up |
We reach another wide track, head left, passing some concrete pillars with survey markers on top. Sometime in the dim, dark past, I think someone told me these were for training surveyors from the University. I found several entries on the Internet saying this, unfortunately they are all mine!
Following the wide track up hill we come to some houses and follow the fence around to a rocky track that leads back in the direction we had just come from.
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| Short climb up |
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| Looking back |
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| Turning off onto a smaller track |
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| Yacht club below on the River Derwent |
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| Rocky track |
Part way along the track we came upon this memorial plaque shown below. This was not here the last time I walked this track.
Unfortunate victim of a boating tragedy off Sloping Main when four men drowned after their dinghy sank. One, a New Zealander, was never found. This was back in 2016.
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| Pondering the vagaries of life, we move on |
The track leads back to the uphill slope we climbed earlier, and where we take Morning Tea.
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| Morning Tea |
Tea finished, we restart, crossing Rifle Range Creek, following a track that leads distressingly down. We know the farther down we go, the farther we have to eventually climb.
Looking for photos, I'm behind as usual until I reach the stationary group. I see Bob and Peter heading uphill and ask what's happening? Told they are going to check out the "blue thing", I head up behind them and this is what we found.
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| No, not Bob, the blue building |
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| Seems to be constructed from materials obtained from an education institution |
Other external walls also have similar plastic laminated notices.
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| Looks like a school desk |
The floor needs some work, lots of bottles (surprise) around, but also an orange juicer under the table which indicates someone was a health addict. Or, as Bob suggested, wanted something to put in their vodka.
Interesting use of second hand materials. I can only hope these weren't engineering students.
Curiosity satisfied, we return to the group, continuing along the downhill track for a short distance before, you guessed it, heading up.
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| Waiting their chance to climb up |
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| Into the bush |
A fairly steep climb reaches a larger track where we turn left to follow a gentle climb.
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| About the only bit of colour in the bush |
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| We stopped here to let everyone catch up |
From here it's a short climb to the cars and the beginning of the second part of our journey.
We cross over Olinda Grove Rd., pass the Fire Station and head along a track. Some of the walking is on fire trails, some on animal trails as we start a large loop.
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| Tolmans Hill & Ridgeway with Mt. Wellington behind |
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| Typical off track ground view |
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| Pleasant open bush here |
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| Looking back |
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| Civilization doesn't intrude on this view of the Mountain |
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| Off the larger track. This area has been subject to a controlled burn fairly recently |
Controlled burns are used to reduce the amount of fuel so that bushfires are minimized, protecting property.
We stop for lunch beside an athletic field belonging to Hobart College at Olinda Grove. Enough large rocks to accommodate just about all of us. Lunch finished we go cross country before reaching a short stretch of fire trail. We meander around before finding our way back to the cars.
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| Spotted in the lunch spot |
We had 14 walkers and covered 9:12kms in 3:54hrs. The weather turned out well, it's an interesting area to walk and everyone enjoyed it thanks to Bob.
Tracks and trails everywhere, it's a good place if you don't want to travel too far for a walk.
Click here to download GPX file
Click here to view Animated Track
