Our walk today will be a bit unusual in that Marilyn is leading us on a history walk through Sandy Bay starting and finishing at Long Point.
The weather forecast is for a cloudy with strong westerly winds and it is delivered as we start the walk around the foreshore.
The group enthusiastically listening to our guide as she tells us about The Searchlight buiding and John Garrow Light.
We then cross Sandy Bay Road and head onto the Alexandra Battery which was built in the 1880's as part of a large military battery to defend Hobart from a possible Russian Invasion.
It is now a large park managed by the Hobart City Council.
Most of the group had been to the battery at sometime but not through the lower parts and the tunnelled area so it was quite interesting for the group.
There were comments about the acoustics in this particular building.
On exiting the battery this is the panorama view towards the City and up the River Derwent.
We then start our walk through the laneways and roadways of Sandy Bay with Marilyn providing an intriguing commentary about the first European landowners of this area.
They were free settlers and convicts removed from Norfolk Island in the early 1800's after the British Government decided to close the penal settlement on Norfolk Island. Most had finished their sentences and were provided with land grants to establish small farms as part of their transfer to Tasmania.
1n 1825 a second settlement was made on Norfolk Island purely for a penal colony which remained there until the mid 1850's.
These unusual plants created a bit of excitement within the group.
While Marilyn leads us to admire the Mount Saint Canice buildings Jenny provided her recollections of the tragic day when the boiler at the back of this building exploded.
She was living behind the church in the background and the explosion caused the rear wall of her home to be blown over.
The clouds had cleared and the mountain looks magnificent as usual.
Morning tea stop in green space just off Manning Avenue.
Ingrid is getting a reputation for finding the most comfortable seating.
Lorna just cannot resist either a good slide or swing.
The signage at the drop-off point outside Waimea Heights Primary School says it all.
Wandering through Lambert Park.
Lunch was on the waterfront neat the yacht clubs.
After learning the history of Wrest Point and the Casino because the tide was out it was proposed that we would wander along the small beach rather than Sandy Bay Road.
Some of us got passed the higher than expected tide while others returned to follow Sandy Bay Road.
Walking Long Point.
On today's walk 22 walkers covered 11.2 kms with a small climb of 70 meters over 5 hours.
Marilyn had obviously spent a lot of time finding the information about the area and all the group appreciated the walk.
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