Mt WELLINGTON, Devils Throne

 

1/ Mount Wellington is the beautiful mountain that towers over Hobart. This is the view from just south of Hobart City. Note the massive telecommunications tower on the summit.

2/ This view was taken from the Mt Wellington summit shelter and looks north. Notice how the forest covered mountains come right up to the edge of the Hobart suburbs.

3/ This is the Mt Wellington summit shelter. It looks down on Hobart City. In the distance to the right you can see the Tasman Bridge that crosses the River Derwent.

4/ This is the Mt Wellington summit shelter. The walkway leads to two lookouts. Behind the shelter is the massive communications tower. There is a plan to build a cable car from Hobart City to near this shelter. It will allow for very easy access to this awesome point.

5/ The Mount Wellington summit presents a bleak tundra landscape. These fields are frequently snow covered.

6/ The tundra landscape is punctuated by some interesting rocky outcrops.

7/ This is one of a number of trails that lead down from the Mt Wellington summit. It is used by both walkers and riders.

8/ This is the massive telecommunications tower on the Mt Wellington summit. I estimated that it was at least 120 metres high. It can be seen from all over the Hobart area.

9/ This view shows you the station at the base of the telecommunications tower.

10/ In this view looking east you can see most of Hobart including the Hobart CBD.

11/ This view looks south down the Derwent Estuary.

12/ Halfway to the Mt Wellington summit is the settlement of Fern Tree. There is a church, cafe, a car park and a bus stop at Fern Tree. Many walks around Mt Wellington start from this point.

13/ This was one of the walkways from Fern Tree. It was in good condition and was suitable for both walkers and riders.

14/ This is the view of Mt Wellington seen from Taroona, which is about which is about 15 kilometres south east of the Mt Wellington summit.

15/ This is the view of Mt Wellington from Blackmans Bay, which is about 20 kilometres south east of Mt Wellington. Just south west of Mt Wellington is a strange peak called Mt Sleeping Beauty. When viewed from the south Mt Sleeping Beauty looks like a lady looking up at the clouds. It is the rocky peak on the left of this photo.

 

1/ The Devils Throne is one of a number of sights on Mt Wellington. To access it, you drive up the Mt Wellington Pinnacle Road almost to the end. You then take the Thark Ridge Track. This track accesses the Devils Throne, Mt Montagu and Mt Connection. This image shows our part reaching the Throne. It is about 1100 metres high.

2/ The Thark Ridge Track ascends over a vast scree field. This image looks to the east towards Hobart City. The Pinnacle Road is just beyond the tree line. This track is only suitable for people who are capable of crossing large areas of scree and boulders.

3/ This image looks across boulder and tundra fields towards the Mt Wellington summit in the east. The telecommunications tower makes a good point of reference.

4/ The trail had good views in all directions, but it was mostly across scree and boulders. This area is very windy and snow covered in winter.

5/ This view looks down the trail towards the north east. The trail is just a marked route through the boulders that you can see in the centre.

6/ Finally we reached the Devils Throne and enjoyed the panoramic views.

7/ This view from the Devils Throne looks towards the north east. The nearest peak is Mt Arthur.

8/ This view looks towards the east. It shows the many peaks that surround Hobart. Note the forest on the lower slopes. The higher slopes are too cold and windy for trees to survive.

9/ This image shows the view to the west.