Sherwood Hill Conservation Area

Thursday 27th June 2013

A couple of days ago I drove up to the end of Knights Road in Huonville to check out the access to Sherwood Hill Conservation Area. There was a forestry type gate with a "Private Property" sign on it so I checked with "Parks" and they reckoned that it was a gazetted road so walking access would be permitted as long as I stayed on the road until I reached the reserve. Having sorted that out I decided that today would be the day for an exploratory walk in the area.
I found a good spot for the car and commenced walking at 8.00 am. It was a very foggy morning but I was soon clear of the fog as the road climbed quite steeply through open forest. The road was an excellent gravel road (for access to the power lines) and I followed this for 1.5 kms. where a 4WD track went off to the left. This was taken and it soon leveled off and headed north east. The walking was easy and the track was not hard to follow. At 3 kms. from the start the track went back north west from one boundary of the reserve to the other. There were great views to the north west around to the south west from here. At 4.8 kms. from the start there was a small rock outcrop which proved to be a good spot for morning tea with some nice views as well.
After a break the track was once again followed until I noticed an old track off to the right which seemed to be heading in the right direction for a short cut. In hindsight I probably should have stayed on the main track, as once I crossed Skinners Creek the track became hard to discern so I scrub bashed uphill to meet the outgoing leg of the walk. From here it was a short hike back to a knoll of rocks I had noticed on the way out. Of course I had to climb to the top and check out the scenery, which was quite good. It was then downhill to meet the main power line track and then uphill as I wanted to check out access to the western part of the reserve. This proved to be far from ideal as it was mountain goat territory and a rather threatening sign on a gate and security camera deterred me from going any further to get to the ridge I was seeking. Another day.
From here it was back downhill to the car.
It was a very enjoyable walk with better scenery than I had anticipated.
Distance: 11.2 kms.
Time: 4'30"
Ascent: 750 metres
Click here to download GPX track.

Looking west

Looking south west

Rocky Knoll

Trestle Mountain and Collins Bonnet(Sleeping Beauty)

Looking south west

Looking south west

A welcoming sign

Huonville

Fungi

Mount Lloyd

Sunday 20th January 2013

I drove up Judds Creek Road from Judbury to White Timber Fire Trail and eventually found the start of the walk thanks to information supplied by Peter Franklin on Share My Routes.
The walk started out on an old track that was quite overgrown which made long sleeves and pants a necessity. The first 3 kms. were not too bad but after crossing Myrtle Falls Creek the scrub had more or less reclaimed the original track and progress was somewhat slowed by the need for scrub bashing. I eventually broke out of the scrub into a forestry plantation where there was the option to turn either left or right. I choose left and walked along a pleasant track through the plantation where there were copious ferns.
It was not too long before I found the old track that led up to Mount Lloyd and it was quite easy walking. Up towards the summit the road consisted of solid rock in places which was quite interesting. Well, it turned out that the scrub bashing had been worth it as the views from the top were great, especially from the small fire tower. The return journey was via a different route around the plantation, but I could not avoid the scrub bashing after that. I arrived back at the car at 2.20pm. It was probably not a favourite walk, due to the scrub bashing, but the views were worth the effort.
Distance: 16.9 kms
Time: 6'30"
Ascent: 650 metres
There is a map and down loadable gpx file at Everytrail.
Click here to download GPX track.

Myrtle Falls Creek

Forestry Track

Forestry Track

On the summit track

Looking east from summit track

Fire Tower on the summit

From fire tower

From fire tower

From fire tower

From fire tower

From fire tower

A road of solid rock

Tangara Trails

Sunday 26th May 2013

The drive down to South Arm was uneventful and I arrived at the parking area just before 8 o'clock. This is actually a lookout which gives a panoramic view of Calverts Beach and South Arm etc. The walk started out by returning to the main road and then back the way I had driven for a short distance to find the Tangara Trails sign. It was uphill from here via a couple of steepish hills before flattening out and then heading downhill. Along this section were houses on either side of the track at a distance. It was just a matter of following the trail which goes past an emu farm and then crossing over Gellibrand Drive to finally reach the coast. The track here was a little muddy as 4WDs had been here and churned it up. Once past this section the trail became a walking track once more and it was very pleasurable walking along the shoreline mostly above the cliffs. The track went down to a beach and I walked along this to a second beach and then to meet the B33 road once again. It was then a short walk back up the road to an old dirt road on the right and back to the car.
This was a good walk with nice views of South Arm and Mount Wellington across the water and the emus were interesting also.
There are many Tangara Trails and this is just an example of one loop walk.
Distance: 12.5 kms.
Time: 3'20"
Ascent: 250 metres
There is a map and down loadable gpx file at Everytrail.
Click here to download GPX track.

Emus

Emus

Emus

South Arm

Mount Wellington

South Arm

Pile of shells

Knights Creek Circuit

Sunday 19th May 2013

Today I drove up to Hobart and found Tolosa Park which is a very popular place for picnics and BBQs etc. I did not intend to park in the park grounds as the gates are closed at 4.30pm, but I couldn't anyway as the gates were still locked at 8.00 am. I end up parking down at the western end just before the road heads up to the mountain bike park.
It was 8.10am when I set off. The aim was to head up to the reservoir on Knights Creek and check that out, so I needed to enter the park through a gap in the fence and cross the park to pick up the Knights Creek Trail. I did this but when I was approaching the reservoir I came across a "No Public Access" sign which necessitated a change of plans. A quick scramble up a hill brought me to the Quarry Fire Trail which went around the reservoir. This track had just been worked on and was very slippery after the recent rain and my soles of my boots were clogged with mud. After this it was on to the Knights Creek Trail and a climb of about 700 metres to the Big Bend Trail. The track was easily followed and just before reaching the summit it crossed Knights Creek which was flowing quite well.
From here it was basically all downhill back to the car via Big Bend Trail, East West Trail, Montrose Trail, Goat Trail and Chapel Trail. I arrived at the car at 1.30pm
There were not very many views on this walk but never the less it was quite enjoyable. Then again I reckon any day in the bush is great.
Distance: 14.9 kms.
Time: 5'30"
Ascent: 900 metres
There is a map and down loadable gpx file at Everytrail
Click here to download GPX track.

Knights Creek

Knights Creek

Knights Creek

Pierce Reserve-Goat Hills

Thursday 20th June 2013

It was a cool morning but there was no rain forecast so it looked like a good day coming up. I parked on a sharp bend on Collinsvale road where there is limited parking(2cars at a pinch), although there is more parking about 250 metres back down Collinsvale Road.
I set off walking at 0730 up the Zig Zag Fire Trail. This was quite steep as it zigged and zagged up the hill to eventually meet Dooleys Fire Trail. There were good views of the Collinsvale area and Collins Cap, but Mount Wellington was shrouded in cloud. I took a side road up to a Telstra tower where there were nice views of Hobart and the Derwent and then off track back down hill to Dooleys Trail. This was followed for about 2 kms. to a foot track which led off to the right and up to the crest of a small hill with excellent views of Hobart. It was then back to Dooleys and along to a Telstra Mobile tower then back to Dooleys again. It was somewhere here that I strayed on to private property, but soon found the fence line running along the north west boundary of the reserve, and followed it until it ran out. I should have kept going in the same direction but could see a road below which looked inviting, so I decided to climb down to it and follow. This again proved to be on private property and when I came close to a house, I headed for the hills as I didn't wish to antagonise anyone. This soon led me to Pierces Fire Trail which led back into the reserve where I found a gate with the only private property sign that I encountered. This trail was followed down to intersect the outgoing route and the it was a climb back to the top of the hill and down to the car, which I reached about 1230.
This was an enjoyable walk with excellent views of the Collinsvale area, Collins Cap, Mount Wellington on a clear day, Hobart and the Derwent. There was quite a lot of ups and downs but overall not too bad.
Distance: 13 kms.
Time: 5'00"
Ascent: 1060 metres
There is a map and downloadable gpx file at Everytrail
Click here to download GPX track.

Collins Cap

Looking NW from Zig Zag Trail

Hobart 

Hobart

Hobart

Hobart

Relic of past civilisations

Southport Lagoon and Southport Bluff Beach

Sunday 9th June 2013

Note: Due to legal reasons it is now not permissible to walk down the railway line.
 It was an early start today and I arrived at Ida Bay just as the sun was rising. Having parked near The Ida Bay Railway Station I set off walking right on 7.30. This walk can be done two ways. Either commence your walk at the station as I did or catch the Ida Bay Train to Elliott Beach and start the walk from here. This would be the way to go if time was limited. The distance from Ida Bay to Elliott Beach is about 6.5 kms each way.
The first section of the walk was on a old road and after a short distance it met up with the railway line and this was followed all the way to Elliott Beach. At about 1.8 kms. from the start I came across three graves of the Tyler Family at a railway platform overlooking Ida Bay. The line was followed to Elliott Beach where there is a shelter for the rail passengers and turn around for the train. The walking track started from here and lead down to Southport Lagoon. There is a junction on the track to Southport Bluff Beach so note this for the return trip. The Lagoon beach is a still water beach and quite pleasant with good views of the mountains across the water.
I then walked the beach in a southerly direction to the rocks and began a quite long section of rock hopping around the point to eventually end up at Southport Bluff Beach. There were a few boats out fishing and three somewhat keen surfers catching a wave. The Bluff Beach is open to the weather so there were some reasonable waves. I walked along the beach to the Bluff hoping to check out the monument for a shipwreck up on the top, but unfortunately the area is quarantined due to the presence of a rare plant. Undeterred I backtracked down the beach trying to find the exit and eventually located it about halfway along and marked by a pole. This track was followed back to the previously mentioned junction and then back to Elliott Beach where I had lunch sitting on the rocks by the water at the end of the railway line.
Once I was refreshed it was back along the line where I happened to meet the train which was packed with passengers, most of whom gave me a wave. The rest of the walk was uneventful although I kept an ear open for the train coming up behind me and eventually reached the car about 2pm. The walk is about 24 kms. in total if doing the entire trip or about 11kms. if catching the train, and or course each beach could be done individually. Overall a pleasurable walk.
Distance: 23.6 kms.
Time: 6'30"
Ascent: 240 metres
There is a map and description at Everytrail
Click here to download GPX track.

Sunrise

Rail Line

Southport Narrows

Shelter at Elliott Beach

Rock Hopping around the Point

Evidence of someone's misfortune

Southport Bluff

Ida Bay Train