Life Trove

21 January 2015

Mount Field National Park

After Lake St Clair, we moved on to Mount Fields National Park, famous for its alpine hikes, waterfalls and giant tall trees.

Russell Falls

We did a rather wet but mercifully short walk to view Russell Falls. Srini disappeared and then reappeared to frolic under the falls, adorned in his GoPro helmet, to the great amusement (and respect) of all the onlookers. What a champion he is!!

The Tarn Shelf

This hike was one of the highlights of our whole trip. Our 6 hour hike along the stunning Tarn Shelf took us through a wonderworld of gorgeous lakes with amazing reflections. We returned via Twilight Tarn and Lake Webster.

Reaching the plateau after a pretty steep walk up from Lake Dobson.

We were rewarded with gorgeous views of The Tarn Shelf (left) and Lake Seal (right).

Srini embracing the view.

Another view of The Tarn Shelf, a network of alpine lakes nestled on a narrow shelf between The Rodway Range and a sharp drop down into the valley.

The day was overcast mostly but in places where the blue sky showed through, the water sparkled into a gorgeous turquoise blue.

I loved the textures on the rocks in the foreground.

We walked along the shelf and were greeted by lake after lake.

This is one of my favourite photos of our time in Tasmania. Unfortunately I didn't take it. Well done, Zante!

Here we are, exhilarated by all the amazing scenery.

Time for a leap.

Individual leaps, trying to include the reflections.

Some rare "behind the scenes" footage of leap capturing. As you can see, it is an art we take seriously. It requires getting down very low to get the shot!

A beautiful little "Bonsai Tree."

Lots of lovely alpine vegetation.

The Pencil Pines (left) are everywhere in alpine Tasmania. I love them. I haven't noticed them elsewhere in Australia.

Gorgeous moss, with tiny white flowers.

Stunning flowers out in abundance.

An amazing photo of a dragon fly, captured by Liz.

I loved the warm colour and the texture in the rocks.

We arrived at a forest of dead trees. This occurs in many places in Australia. I'm not sure what kills them (flooding, fire?) but it always sets up some great photos.

Srini climbed a tree to get a better view of things ...

... and inspired us all to do the same.

Here we are at the largest lake on The Tarn Shelf.

Later in the morning, the sun came out more and the reflections in the little lakes were sublime.

More reflections.

I absolutely adored this gnarled dead tree. Beauty even in death.

On the way back, we passed The Twilight Tarn. We were delighted to find it contained old memorabilia from when it used to be a popular shelter for skiers back in the day.

Some more photos of the intrepid hikers.

What an amazing hike, one I'll remember for a long while.

Next stop

For our next adventure, we moved onto Cathedral Peak (Mount Wellington).

Places in Tasmania we visited

Photos by others in the group

20 January 2015

Sue's birthday treat

I treated Sue to lunch at The Oaks for her 70th birthday. A delicious meal and good company as always. The Oaks was very quiet which was nice for us.

Lake St Clair National Park (Tasmania)

After Cradle Mountain National Park, we drove on to Lake St Clair. Here, Srini and I did a wonderful walk up Mount Rufus while the girls hiked along Lake St Clair itself.

Climbing Mount Rufus

Srini and I were feeling more energetic than the girls, so we decided to climb Mount Rufus (elevation 1416 metres) while they did a flatter walk along the Lake. It was a stunning 18 km walk offering panoramic views with a return via the idyllic Richea Valley and a lovely swim in Shadow Lake to finish off.

I didn't see this snake on the track and stepped right over it! Lucky it was just small one.

A view back over Lake St Clair after a 5 km hike through forest.

Srini looking out onto Mount Rufus from the plateau.

Lake St Clair from the plateau.

View from half way up Mount Rufus. Stunning! This is where we had lunch.

Always time for a leap.

My turn.

No way this rock was moving!

What a great view.

Once again, Srini sets up a great shot.

I loved the colours, shapes and textures of the faraway mountains in the view.

More beautiful flowers. It always amazes me how they change as we gain altitude.

Climbing a mountain is hard work!

Celebrating being at the summit.

Walking back down the other side.

On this side of the mountain, there were some beautiful rock formations, sculptured by the wind.

Is is my imagination, or does this rock not look like a creature from Star Wars?

I loved this tree.

After arriving at the bottom of the mountain, we started walking through a valley ...

... the stunning Richea Valley with beautiful native heath communities and pencil pines fed by an underground stream.

The track back to St Clair passed the beautiful Shadow Lake where we had a gorgeous swim.

Walk along Lake St Clair

While Srini and I climbed Mount Rufus, they caught a ferry to Narcissus Bay and then walked back to the St Clair visitor centre via the lake. It was an 18 km walk through some pristine forest. Here is a sample of photos from their walk.

Next stop

Our next stop was Mount Field National Park.

Places in Tasmania we visited

Photos by others in the group

19 January 2015

Buying my first Macbook Pro

I'm totally in love with the wonderful 15 inch computer. I'm now totally hooked on Apple. The aesthetics and quality and service are unparalleled. It also talks beautifully with my iPhone. Also, I love the Mac operating system, finding it much more intuitive and pleasing than Windows. I'm so glad I got to learn it by helping Sue with her iMac a couple of years previously.