Following a contour to Knocklofty

Our house is just left of centre with the golden elm.

We went for a family walk today, exploring the fire trail that runs across the hill opposite our house. We usually call that hill Knocklofty but I think properly that is the smaller hill to the east, whcih can be seen from the city. From there ours is hidden by the real Knocklofty. The boys and I explored it a little a few weeks ago, and I thought was time to sort out where it led.

We set off from the Tip Shop, up and around the switchback. This is the only climbing we did until we got to the Knocklofty park. The trail runs along a contour around the belly of the hill, and after about ten minutes we got the view of our house I was hoping for. From this height you can see not just the park above our house, but the soccer ground above that too.

Along a little further are some concrete steps leading up to concrete foundations of a building. There are remnants of brick columns, and a tin bath which makes me think it was a house. There were wallabies all around so Winston was on the lead; we might come back without him to explore this more deeply.

These power lines run down to Tara Street 

We came out at the end of Forest Road, which was what I expected.  

 Knocklofty has been quarried intensively over the years. The Hobart post office and Government House in Melbourne are built of Knocklofty sandstone.

This block has been partly dressed then left.

As we got to the junction with the Knocklofty Park road, a council man was just finsihing putting up some banners for an Open Day today. My first thought was, how can a park have an open day? There were various groups there with card tables, and some trestles set up for morning tea.

Elf thought we should do the orienteering activity. I am not a fan of orienteering if I am honest; I like to go where I please and take my time. We got lost briefly but it was OK, once we gave Marcus the map. He wasn't 100% with his pathfinding but he did OK, shouting "Mapman!!" each time he located a checkpoint.

Nice view of the bridge from this spot.

Looking north towards Mt Direction. 

So, we found ourselves walking all over Knocklofty. Winston had a swim in the Reflecting Pond and seemed to enjoy himself - most of the course was on the off-lead tracks. We got back to the car park and clocked off just in time to see the fruit, sandwiches and little cakes come out. Then we retraced our steps around the nameless hill to the Tip Shop where we had left the car; the whole walk took us under three hours.

South Hobart - Lenah Valley round trip

It's not far at all, really.

I managed to shuffle through all urgent work and get a clear few hours to tackle the walk I mentioned in the last post. A nice sunny day and no engagements until school gets out at 3. 

Yesterday I met a dog-walking friend, Roz, who is very knowledgable; she confirmed that there is definitely a track through. And she commnented on how clever the Hobart City Council were to buy up the whole gully after the 1967 fire; there had been people living in there until then. They closed the old tip behind our house and opened a new one there. Possibly the floor of the gully then was way below what it is now; there is a quite a big useable flat area which is not what I think of usually when I hear the word 'gully'. 

Winston and I left the car in the Tip shop carpark – although its not far from our house, its not very nice walking him up the tip road with no footpath. Just up the hill before you reach the gatehouse, a gravel road peels off to the right. The other day we followed this a little way then turned off to the right; today I intended to stay on it heading north and see what we could see. It climbs for a while and then you are on a fairly level fire trail looking down into the newer part of the tip. At one point a steep track heads right, up Knocklofty; I am 90% sure that its a human track but its pretty rough. 

Into the unknown

Staying on the fire trail you descend into the gully and you are for a while unpleasantly IN THE TIP. There were no trucks or traffic or people but its clearly an area where stuff is sometimes still dumped. Lots of sawdust. There is an odd dead end roadway that is all grown over with grass; until I realised it was a dead end I was going to head up it. The alternative is a narrow, very steep but 4WD-able road to the right, that follows the powerlines.

Some sawdust and rusty rebar just to give it that 'the tip' feeling

As I was approaching it I saw an elderly person coming down. I thought it might be some ancient denizen of the gully, who refused to move on after the fire and ekes out a living, Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome-style. Obviously this involves killing and eating any tubby graphic designers or none-too-bright labradors foolish enough to wander in. In fact she was a pleasant lady of German extraction kitted out in tweeds, doing a bit of freelance bushcare.

She also confirmed that the path did go through to Pottery Rd, so we kept going. I had thought that it might follow the gully and stay fairly level but it rose and fell quite a bit. Then we passed a vehicle gate with Trespassers Prohibited on it, but facing the way we were heading. I did think of a worst case scenario where we would have to walk back the long way if someone objected to us going back past that gate.

Tweed Lady said she thought this roadway dated back to before the 67 fire,
and they are keeping it clear in case its decided to push a road through one day.

Shortly after, we descended to a crossroads - on the left the Breakneck Track rises steeply to Junction cabin, on the way to Mt Wellington/kunanyi. To the right it leads into Knocklofty reserve. 

At the crossroads; I think this goes up Knocklofty.

We went straight on and found ourselves walking along a grassy vehicular track along the edge of a paddock - with some old chookhouses and dead white goods to our left. There is a big house up the hill a fair way off - I expected people and possibly dogs to object to us but no-one did.

Descending into someone's paddock

The grassy track ends at the long dirt-road driveway of the house; turning left here takes you out to Pottery Road, and bingo you are in suburban Lenah Valley. There is a gate a little way in from the road, it was open, but had a sign on it saying Please Close Gate – Private Road.

At this point you can look down into a scrubby gorse-infested back paddock and see the Mystical Seven Trampolines. Would love to know what they get up to a moonlit night up here.

Crazy times in Lenah Valley

As we regarded the trampolines various dogs started barking so we moved along smartly to a little park for lunch, where we weren't bothering anyone.

The mountain is a different shape from over here

Two views of a very cute little house on the corner of Ruth St

 Then we retraced our steps uneventfully. Didn't see the tweed lady again, no-one objected to our trespassing, saw no mountain bikes or walkers; just solitude until we popped back out at the Tip Shop.

Mission accomplished; now I know what is behind the hill. I don't really know why its not marked on maps; I guess as it involves a bit of light trespassing this is not thought to be right to encourage.