Fluted Cape and Mavista Nature Walk, Bruny Island. 9 Nov 2021.

 Today we have  travelled to Bruny Island and will be undertaking two different walks, one coastal with views and the other through a rain forest. 

With the forecast for rain later in the day the group is looking forward to a reasonable days walking.

The start of the walk along the beach.

The leader of the walk didn't make any allowance for the fairly high tide that left a little creek that would normally be a step to quite a wide river with  some deep holes. Bob was one who approached the creek without his boots on.

 

Unfortunately he left one of his socks on the other side of the creek so as leader I decided I should recover it for him. Chris has provided the photo of my return trip trying to keep my boots dry.

Morning tea was only a short distance from the car park.

A spare sock found in the bush was presented to Bob as a spare.

Frivolities over we commenced the walk in earnest.

Looking back across the bay towards Mount Mangana.

Tourist boat heading out looking for whales and other sea life.

Looking towards Mt Wellington in the distance with clouds overhead.

This somewhat uninspiring pile of rocks is actually the remains of a 19th century whaling station.

Penguin Island.

Climbing up the hill through the Casuarina forest.

 Our first clear view of Fluted Cape.

Looking across Storm Bay towards Tasman Peninsula and Tasman Island.

The first of a number of dolerite columns that stand proud of the cliff face on the climb.

Having a close look over the edge to see if there was a way down.

Still checking for a way down.

Looking across the sand isthmus between North and South Bruny with Mt Wellington in the background.

Lunch at the highest point of the track.

Returning down through the open forest.

Bird Orchid.

Small orange fungi?

Giant Sun Orchid.

Down to sea level.

Back at morning tea site with Ron locating his foam mat and Mendelt checking out the track construction.

And then we moved on to Mavista Nature Walk.

The ferns on this walk were quite magical.

A small bracket fungi covered in ferns.

A peaceful seat by Waterfall Creek.

 We had 14 walkers who covered 6.5 kms and climbed 260m in 3 hour 15 minutes on the Fluted Cape track with 9 walkers who covered 1.4 km and climbed 55m in 40 minutes.

And it remained fine until we were disembarking from the ferry.

Cathedral Mountain 2 Nov 2021

Today we are walking up to Cathedral Mountain from Betts Road, Neika. It's a walk that we have done previously and some of today's walkers have not been before.

The weather forecast is for a fine day with little wind.

We park the cars by river and walk a little way up the road until we meet the formal track.

Walking up the road to the start of the track.

Entering the Park.

There are sections of today's walk that had suffered from the recent rains.

 Our first glimpse of North West Bay River.

Sunlight shining through a dew encrusted cobweb in the middle of the river.

The initial part of the track follows the river bank.

Starting the climb away from the river in the direction of Cathedral Mountain.

Our lunch stop.

.

Climbing towards the ZigZag portion of the climb.

The track levels out prior to the final climb.

Chris suggested that the "Three Sister Tree" were the entrance to the climb.

And there it was.

The climb was definitely worth the exercise with the views outstanding.

Looking south to The Huon Valley.

Looking northwest including Collins Cap and Mt Wellington.

A happy group of walkers to have reached the top although some were hungrier than others.

The South West mountain ranges including Federation Peak.

Lunch has been consumed and now for the descent of the mountain.

New fern fronds appearing alongside the track.

At last we are back on the relatively level track following the river.

The water in the North West Bay River is crystal clear.

A Bird Orchid peering out from the moss alongside the track.

The river at the end of the walk.

 

It was a challenging walk on and ideal walking day.

 

Eight walkers covered the 9kms return climbing 616 meters in just under 5 hours.