We relaxed as we walked along the trail from the parking area towards Sphinx Rock on Mt Wellington near Hobart, Tasmania. It took us close to 40 minutes as opposed to the 20 minutes shown on the sign at the start of the trail.
Mt Wellington Aerial View:
We were surprised when we came close to the rock to see that a childproof gate has been installed to stop kids from running ahead and plummeting off Sphinx rock as there are no guardrails around the rock.
The gate is just like a swimming pool gate and so will stop children from rushing ahead of their parents. A great idea, in my opinion as the rock can be dangerous if care is not taken.
We were blown away with the glorious view that welcomed us as we came around the final part of the track to the rock. The view was so clear of the city and suburbs of Hobart down below with the Derwent River flowing along under the Tasman Highway Bridge.
The Tasman Bridge, the Hobart Casino and other landmarks were all clearly visible while standing on the rock.
After about 5 minutes of taking in the lovely view and getting some great photos and video shots we were surprised by the black currawong birds that began to fly around us.
When the first bird swooped in about a meter from Tehillah’s head only to land on a dead tree trunk a few metres from us, we were actually startled and wondered what the black thing was that came so close to us!
We relaxed when we saw that it was just a currawong. Then we noticed that more and more currawongs began to appear.
It reminded us of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds” as we began to be surrounded by these black birds with bright, almost glowing, orange, yellow eyes.
After a while we realized that other visitors to the mountain must have fed the currawongs in the past. The birds were just being friendly and looking for a feed.
We got some lovely photos and really enjoyed our time on the rock.
Another great feature of the view from the Sphinx Rock is that you can look down on Hobart and the Derwent, but you can also look up at the Pinnacle and the tower at the top of Mt Wellington. It is pretty awesome. Sometimes even with clouds hovering around the tower on the pinnacle. Fantastic views both in the up and down directions!
We found that the walk back was only 20 minutes as we already had stopped on the way in for the photos and to enjoy the landscape and view.
In our next blog post we will start with our trip from Wyndham Seven Mile Beach, through Hobart over the Tasman Bridge and then heading southeast towards the Huon Valley.
Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Walk in a National Park!
Leanne Annett <><
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