Tolosa Park 2020

 I missed out on today's walk and the information below is supplied by Peter and Ron. -Jack

Tolosa Park Walk

11 Aug 2020

The walk today was advertised as Tolosa Park and most of us supposed

 that we would be meandering the on some of the many tracks that

 commence from Tolosa Park or connect directly to other tracks in the

 area including many of the Mountain Bike tracks.

However, just as we were to leave the car park Bob (our illustrious

 leader) advised the gathered walkers that today our goal would be

 Victor’s Garden which we have visited on a couple of previous

 occasions.

 

 

Shortly after starting our walk Bob diverted off into the bush seeking a shortcut

to another track.

 

 Whoops, as a result of resent wet weather the access across the creek was a bit 

deep so we were back on the firetrail.

 

After quite a bit of crossing new tracks both walking and biking, we were slowly 

climbing the low hills of Mount Wellington towards our goal.

 

 A great view of snow on Mount Wellington.

 

 

Local wildlife making sure we did not hang around in their private paddock.

 

 

Lunch on a well selected log for the troops.

 

 

Then up we go towards our goal with a very well built stone bridge for the bikers 

to race across. It is part of the North-South Track the joins Glenorchy with the 

main entrance to Mt Wellington near Fern Tree. My guess is that the riders would 

not be in a position to appreciate the construction.

 

I thought it might be interesting for some of our photos to be taken from the front 

of the group instead the rear as usual.

 

 

As a result we ended up with some posing for the camera.

 

 

We then left the fire trails for a bush scramble for the last few hundred metres.

 

Then Victor’s Garden walls appeared out of the forest.

 

On the return trip to the cars our leader slipped in a couple of authorized short-

cuts.

 

It was a cold start but the weather was just right for our walk and we had 15 

walkers and covered approx12.5 kms in 5 hours and 10 minutes. 

Wayne supplied some old photos from the time Victor lived up here.

We've been up here a couple of times before and I've copied what I know about Victor from the earlier blogs and put it here. -Jack

 

The Temple had 4-5 terraces and a hut. It's thought the main two story hut was built by Victor shortly after the 1967 bushfires. There was a main hut as mentioned, at the end of the terrace was a lean-to workshop. A bunkhouse on stilts, painted to blend into the bush, was also on the same level. There was a cultivated terrace with  a row of small pines (bigger now), two bee hives, a gate, a benched track and a man made water hole. Strawberries were reported as growing there by another visitor. Victor evidently kept an open house and there was a visitors book.

There are several ideas about the site pre Victor. 1. It was an old logging site. 2. That either during or immediately after WWII a sect established its self there, but abandoned it well before the arrival of Victor. This would fit with the name of "Theosophical Temple" given by the WPMT. That's the Wellington Park Management Trust. The Temple burned down c. 1985 and Victor moved to another hut he built.

Victor built Victor's Hut No. 2 after the fire and it's said he became a priest and returned to the Ukraine around 1988. There is an opinion that Hut No. 2 was the Temple. 

I found the following on www.bushwalk.com, by Swifty.

My goodness that goes back many years. I used to attend a high school at the top of Tolosa Street, from where we could see the roof of Victors Hut reflecting the sunlight from the lower slopes of Mt Arthur. We are talking 1977! Needless to say, we wagged school one afternoon and followed the fire trails in the general direction and found the place. It was decorated out with religious themes which changed every few months - Buddhist, Muslim, Christian at different stages, and yes there was a garden below, all fenced in. It was a double story hut, quite comfortable really. Heard a rumour that council eventually got the structure pulled down. I think we even met Victor there once, a special sort of guy.
 

Click here to download GPX file

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Mile Beach towards Lauderdale 2019

Today we're walking down at Seven Mile Beach on a walk we last did in 2017. Weather is overcast and a bit cool at the beginning but gets better later.

We park at the end of Seven Mile Beach Road, get geared up and set off down the street towards the beach.

Crossing onto the sand we head for the steps that will take us up to the track.

I had briefly toyed with the idea of climbing Single Hill, but was put off by some murmers behind me. We'll save that for another time. I had only noticed the night before that there is now a reserve that takes in the top of the hill with access from both sides. See the map at the end.

The path follows the coastline and offers great views along the way.

Looking back at Seven Mile Beach

The track serves both walkers and cyclists

Part of Single Hill

It's very dry country around here

Looking across Frederick Henry Bay

 A group of walkers appears in the distance heading our way. It gets closer to reveal a group of sulky looking teenagers with a couple of adults, obviously happy to be walking. At least the adults were.
We meet them again later in the day and if anything they were even more sulky, if that's possible.

We're not sulky as we look for a place for Morning Tea. There's a bit of a cool breeze, but Bob finds a sheltered spot for our break.

Couple of locals admiring the view

    There's a house behind the fence and fancy rope work.

Morning Tea

During the break, Peter and I wander up the hill to have a look at several unusual looking gum trees. We've not see flowers and pods like the ones below.

Unusual and very large seed pod

Flower stems look like fingers

Pods on the branch. They really are quite large

Flowers

This is more like I've been used to

Tea finished we move on.

Nice little white sand beach below us

It's not long before we reach a junction, turn right and start the climb up.

Another junction appears after a while and Bob offers us a choice and I choose a track I haven't been on before.

We walk along a fence line admiring the views before starting downhill through an open field.

Still climbing

The view

Starting down

They're getting away

I keep taking photographs and notice something.

Hills across the valley

This is what I noticed

That looks like a track and if you look carefully you can make out red lines defining it just ahead.

Swinging to the right I spot the group down there

If I didn't know better, it would appear that Bob has taken them on a shortcut!

I'd better hurry to catch up.

I've caught up here

We follow a sandy track now which takes us through trees and open paddocks.

A bit of colour

In one of the paddocks we come upon this sign.

We always have a couple of bandicoots living in our garden. You can tell by the snoot holes in the ground left by their hunting for worms and insects for dinner.

On we go, passing other locals and now walking down a street and heading for lunch.

Nearing Roches Beach, we find the perfect lunch spot.

Lunch finished, we make our way down onto Roches Beach, heading north along almost deserted sands.

Roches Beach

Looking back towards Lauderdale

A WWII bunker that protected against a Japanese invasion

I think the camouflage paint is a bit unusual, but it seemed to have worked as no invasion took place.

Near the end of the beach we reach a set of steps leading backup to the coastal track.

There's a bit of a disturbance just ahead and I hurry to check it out

What is this man photographing?

Another local.

Ah, a Blotched Blue-tongue lizard, or as we all know it a Tiliqua nigrolutea

Tired of posing, it takes its leave

We move on, reaching the end of Seven Mile Beach and the cars.

We had 14 walkers and covered 10.01 kms in 4:41 hrs. As you can see, the sun came out and turned it into a really beautiful day.

Notice green reserve over Single Hill

Click here to download GPX file