Czeching Out Tasmania

A couple of weeks ago, the meteorologists and local media were all frothing at the mouth as snow was predicted to reach sea level! The last time that happened was in 2015 and before that 1986, so a pretty rare treat. The sea level prediction didn’t eventuate but the hills around us in Dulcot got a nice sprinkling.

Mount Wellington, at 1,271m is far more prone to a bit of the white stuff come Winter time and sure enough has been nicely coated since that first big snow of the season.

We hadn’t been on a bushwalk in months, never mind one in the snow and were so excited to be heading out with Hannah, the old hiking gang back together at last! Our ambitious goal for the day was Devil’s Throne, a rocky outcrop located down the back of the mountain. Things didn’t start well as we got ready to set off from the Big Bend carpark, I’d forgotten my gaiters! My hiking boots are low tops, that is the mere sniff of moisture on the ground and my feet are getting wet. Gaiters help alleviate this quite well so not having them wasn’t ideal.

We set off anyway, crossing the road and entering the wilds along the Mount Montagu track. Within about…..ooooh…….10 seconds we knew this wasn’t going to be happening. The track is largely unmarked and has a number of wet spots…..and that’s in good clear weather. When hiking you ALWAYS have to be sensible so we decided not to risk it and instead opted to explore along the fire trail leading off from Big Bend. Scout Hut is a fun side trip from the Big Bend trail, so we decided to go check that out.

A fun scramble in almost knee deep snow later and we arrived at Scout Hut, albeit we had gone around the back rather than approaching it from above, which is the usual route. Rock cairns are great for navigation but they’re not much use when underneath snow 🙂

The last time we had visited Scout Hut, we were able to take a look inside but alas it is now closed pending some much needed renovations. It was constructed in 1969 by a group of teenagers from a local scout group in Hobart. The construction of the stone footings alone required them to move over 1.5 tonnes of stone by hand. And they say teenagers are lazy!

We hung out by the hut for a bit and Gemma and Hannah built a snowman….of sorts before scrambling up the rocks and back towards Big Bend Trail. With plenty of time to kill, we decided to continue on down the trail rather than returning to the carpark. The going was pretty easy with a few streams to be hopped over along the way. The scrub lining the track has the most beautiful muted colours and the contrast provided by the snow only served to highlight their stunning tones even more.

When we got back to the car, we STILL had plenty of time to kill, so we decided to pile into our car and head on up to the summit for a goosey. Sure enough, the views were outstanding as you’ll see below 🙂

We’re very lucky in Tasmania with the current situation. There’s a lot of people around the World missing out on this kind of freedom and activity so I’m very grateful to be able to get out for walks and see the beautiful sights of Tasmania. It’s been really quite pleasant having the place to ourselves actually.