kunanyi/Mount Wellington

kunanyi is the indigenous name for one of the most prominent landscape features in Hobart (the colonizers named it Mount Wellington). I decided to take a hike and find the water body that feeds into the Rivulet I walked earlier in my trip. I climbed a trail straight up the mountain for an hour, then circled back around and found the remnants of an area that used to have a dam, a lake and a popular place to 'promenade' in the early days of Hobart. Now, the water is still part of the drinking water supply for Hobart, but a huge flood in 1960 destroyed much of the dam and original infrastructure. Now it is pretty minimal, a few catchments and pipes, pretty well obscured in the park/bush landscape. There are beautiful trails, amazing gum trees and tree ferns. Even a cute cafe in a converted shipping container. This is a popular spot for mountain bikers as well. After I hiked I drove to the top. My timing was super lucky, it was clear and calm. When I drove up to the top in 2017 I could barely open my car door the wind was to intense. I also got to see the fog rolling in, and a big cruise ship heading out to sea in the harbor (as an aside, a bartender on the waterfront told me she thinks there are about 800 cruise ships that come through the port annually. This is a big increase from when I've been here in the past. I was quite surprised to encounter so many Americans in Tassie this time! The ships stay for the afternoon, the visitors take buses to wineries, or the botanical garden, or they shop in Salamanca for a few hours before the heading out again.