Veronika Wild

At the weekend we and about ten thousand other people head to Kunyani -Mount Wellington for a bit of Mountain Worship on this fine Saturday Being so far South and prone to bad weather, almost all Tasmanians are sun - deprived and short on Vitamin D. The first days of Spring which we are having now, bring everyone out of their caves and winter hibernation to capture those first rays of sunshine. It is cause for celebration.  Here the Lads of the Blue Emporium celebrate the sun and the arrival of the weekend with a beer and some music on the street     Up on Kunyani  the walk to the trig Point looks like a Haj Great Views I was hoping the wildflowers might be out, but there's still a bit of snow around and not much to see Looking North East Looking South East We have ourselves a little picnic at the Old Springs Hotel Site which soon attracts some of Tasmania's endemic crows. The wild daffodils are out. The sun seems to have slipped behind the mounta...

The Tasman Bridge  as seen through a memorial at Montague Bay Thursday, September   24, 2015 Today I walked   about 7 kilometres from Montague Bay to Geilston Bay, and   then rock -hopped about another two along the shore beneath the Bedlam Walls, a cliff face which overlooks the Derwent. A lone canoeist breaks the mirrored surface After starting on the south side of the Bridge and going beneath its rumbling arches heavy with traffic, the track   meanders pleasantly to Lindisfarne  past   elegant houses jockeying   for water views and equally lovely gardens with beautiful flowering trees – even the street voted most attractive in 1985.   As with my beach walk a few days ago, this path was also popular with cyclists, joggers and dog walkers, though perhaps not as many as along the previous section. There were numerous seats and occasional sidetracks which gave onto little beaches. The latter must be fishing spots becau...

Which way would you go? The track is actually down hill, a little to the left and then runs off to the right - impossible to tell coming from the top Sunday, September 2015. I finally did it! Late in the day, I sneaked up on the Waverley Flora Reserve from the rear (south west)   - the way you were supposed to go and discovered all the places where I went wrong before. The track went through open woodland which appears to have suffered greatly due to fire and being too close to habitation. Nevertheless, at least three kinds of wattle were in bloom including one which I had never seen before and there were a few banksias as well as the ubiquitous sheoaks - some of which may well have been he -oaks . Curiously he -oaks are  the ones without little balls. They are a very ancient species which survive drought by having very tiny leaves enclosed by needles. One other curious discovery - a large pile of old scallop shells (see bottom pic). Could these have been part o...

Peaceful harbour at Bellerive I like a themed walk – it adds an extra dimension to just being out in the fresh air, so I was quite pleased to read about the Charles Darwin Walk on the Eastern Shore and the weather being co -operative, I hurried off to explore. What a true mission of discovery it turned out to be. The track commemorates Charles Darwin’s brief visit to Tasmania in 1836, where he noted the geology as well as the flora and fauna and had a lovely time   being entertained by the locals at “Secheron” in Battery Point. Charles must have been busy that year, because there is also a Charles Darwin Walk in NSW, which he also did in 1836. Since Darwin had crossed by ferry to Bellerive,   I knew he had started there, but none of the many walkers I spoke to on the jetty had any idea about the walk. The map I had seen showed it running along the beach, so I set off in that direction and hadn’t gone more than a few steps before coming   across this track...

Quiet Moment on the Jordan River Friday, September 4, 2015. I walked around 10 Km today and just had a look at the map. If I had travelled from Brighton to Pontville by car it would have been 3 Km and about 4 minutes drive. Still, it was a crisp early spring day and I discovered some territory that I would never have appreciated if I had done it that way. I suppose the moral of this tale is - don't think you have seen Tasmania if you have driven along our highways. The Jordan River starts at Lake Tiberius and runs south for 111 Kms before joining the Derwent at Bridgewater. It is said to have been named by one private Hugh Germain(e) who carried a Bible and a copy of the Arabian Nights in his pack and may also have named  Jericho, Bagdad and Lake Tiberius, although some say it was the surveyors, not Germaine(e).  A walkway starts near the highway bridge south east of  Brighton and follows the river back for about 4.9 Km. Along the way you pass a picnic spot or two...