Walking Wellers: Fern Tree to The Chalet

It didn't look like a great idea as I drove through Huonville towards kunanyi / Mount Wellington - or Wellers as we often call it at home. There was a large grey cloud sitting on the mountain and the windscreen wipers has been going since I left home. But I was determined to use Sunday morning for a training walk from Fern Tree (400m) up the mountain, feeling hopeful that I'll be fit enough to take on the Point to Pinnacle (walk, not run for me) in November. In typical Tassie weather, the sun came out not long after I parked the car. I reached The Springs (720m) much quicker than expected, so I stopped for a coffee at Lost Freight before continuing up Pinnacle Road. It started raining not long before I reached The Chalet (at about 1,000m) and then the rain turned into snowflakes. At the shelter, I put on my rain jacket and started heading back downhill. Ten minutes later the sun was out again! I intended to walk down the Middle Track from The Springs, but it was closed. So I got to enjoy a detour past Silver Falls on the way back to the car. Next time: The Pinnacle.

Project X part II

After listening to ravens roosting in the darkening southern forests with Hrafn: Conversations with Odin (season now extended into October), the next installment of Project X has arrived in the Huon Valley. The Aftermath Dislocation Principle is an artwork in the form of a 40-foot shipping container with eye holes cut into it, providing a glimpse of a town landscape in miniature. I won't describe it further, just get on down to Geeveston any time between now and November and peer inside. While you are there, why not take a look around the town and eat at one of the lovely establishments like the Old Bank of Geeveston, Baker & Co patisserie or The Bears Went Over the Mountain. Or stop in our wonderful village of Franklin on the way home, at Cinnamon and Cherry (now re-opened Friday to Sunday for the warmer months), Aqua Grill or Frank's Cider Bar and Cafe. Seriously, it's been a tougher winter period than usual this year for many local businesses since the bushfires in the region and you'll be made very welcome if you come down and stay!