Our walks have been few and far between this year. We welcomed our fifth child in late 2017 and hiking has not always been at the top of our priority list. We have completed a few walks, but nothing significant.
For my birthday this year my wife wanted to surprise me with an 'adventure' in the south of the state. We had left the children with her parents, so I knew this was going to be a walk that we may not necessarily attempt with children. I was a little excited and also nervous at the same time. As you know, we have attempted some challenging walks with our children, so this had to be good.
We set off early in the morning and headed in a southerly direction. As we reached the town of Geeveston, my wife indicated that we would need to turn off soon. I had seen a sign for the Tahune Air Walk earlier and wondered if this is where we were headed. I was instructed to take the next right, and sure enough, this was the way to Tahune. I recalled all the times that we had been past, but never called in and completed the walk. So we were finally doing it.
As we took another turn off, I managed to spark up a conversation about the plans for the day. The plan was to walk to Lake Esperance, which was part the way to the summit of Hartz Peak, then head back to complete the Tahune Air Walk. I was disappointed that we would not be making it to the summit of Hartz Peak.
I suggested that we not stop at the lake and just keep going to the top. My wife had it all planned out and I could tell that she was a little hesitant at changing the plan. So I said, why don't we just try and make it to the top as quickly as we could and see what happens from there. She agreed. We completed the walker log book and set off.
The beginning of the walk is quite easy, a slight incline at the beginning, then a gentle walk across the plateau. Most of the plateau section has been improved with a number of new and old boardwalks. It was a beautiful clear day, absolutely stunning. We could see where we were headed and we were full of enthusiasm. We passed 4 other walkers early in the day, and pushed on. We passed the turn off to Lake Esperance and agreed that we would swing by on our way back. We stopped at Ladies Tarn to admire the peaks of Devils Backbone. Devils Backbone is a series of sharp, steep cliffs that guide you through the Hartz Plateau.
Once you pass Ladies Tarn, the walk does intensify. There are some large steps to navigate and the constant walking and weather makes you very cautions about foot placement. This is looking back from where we had just climbed. We are less than a quarter of our way to the top of this section.
Once you reach the top of the almost vertical incline, you begin to sense how beautiful the view will be from the top of Hartz Peak. The climb heads in a south easterly direction from this point. It becomes quite rocky and the vegetation changes. There are clear views to the North and South and South West. We were so lucky with the weather the day we climbed. The horizon was so clear that we could see the beginning of the South West National Park. The sharp peaks in the next photo are of Federation Peak. A hike that we are unlikely to attempt, as it sounds quite dangerous, and suggested for experienced climbers.
We reached the base of Hartz Peak. A drink and a snack renewed our enthusiasm to make it to the top. What we had experienced so far had been absolutely breathtaking. We could not wait to see what we would see from the top.
One thing I would suggest, it keep looking in all directions as you climb. We turned around at one point to take in this breathtaking view of Hartz Lake.
The higher you climb the more sparse the vegetation becomes, until it disappears completely except for a small few who have found a small patch of dirt in which to set roots.
The harshness of the rocks also suggests that we are almost at the top. We actually thought that this was going to be it, but we had one more corner to turn and a few more meters to climb.
Looking south, with the final few meters to climb.
Finally we made it.
From the top we called the kids on Messenger to show them that we had made it and show them what we were looking it.
As you can see from the photos, we could not have been asked for a better day. The view was stunning. To the east we can see out across to Bruny Island. To the South West, the amazing peaks of the South West National Park. To the North we could make out the towers on Mount Wellington.
We had a wonderful day, and would do this again with the kids. It was not a difficult walk at all. There were sections that were challenging, but they were not long.
