Huon Valley

Having driven all the sealed roads on Bruny Island I headed for the ferry. Like yesterday I saw it leaving as I arrived and was once again first in line. Unlike yesterday the wait was only about 10 minutes.

I’d been undecided about what to do today and ended up heading to Huonville. There actually wasn’t a lot in Huonville and I had plenty of time so I made the drive out to the Tahune Air Walk which is on the Huon river. The drive from Huonville along the Huon river was very picturesque.

I got there in time for a guided walk through the Huon pines. I’ve heard a lot about these trees throughout this trip and for such a remarkable tree it looks extremely unremarkable. A fire went through the area in 2019 and while the visitor centre and the area surrounding it was spared there was a lot of evidence of damage.
The walk took about an hour, longer than I had expected. From there I did the actual air walk. I was the only person on each part of the the walk while I was there. There were others two sections ahead. I’m glad there weren’t a lot of other people, it was bouncy enough with just me. It has been cloudy most of the morning and rained a bit while I did the Huon pine walk. Just as I got to the beginning of the air walk it started to rain big fat heavy drops. It was still quite warm though so I started the walk. It stopped about half way round. Towards the end there is a part that sticks out (counter lever) and that was extra bouncy. As I walked out there I heard a voice yell “jump” and looked down to see a couple who had already done the walk. I couldn’t resist giving a little jump and the whole section did move quite a bit.
As I walk the last section I could hear thunder. I wasn’t anxious to be on a metal structure in a thunderstorm so hurried to the end. I was met by a staff member who was there to lock the gate to the structure do the danger of lightning. Apparently the structure has been hit by lightning in the past. They had a golf buggy and offered me a lift down. There was a couple there who had walked all the way to the top to start the walk only to have it shut when they got there. They are staying in the area for a couple of days so will go back tomorrow for another go.

The storm hit as I was driving back to Huonville, lots of lightning and heavy rain. It only got heavier as I headed towards Hobart. That was a long drive as I hit peak hour traffic. I’m staying near the airport so had to come through the centre of Hobart.
Tomorrow I fly to Melbourne for a few days. Catching up with family and friends.Read more