O is for Osborne
Lake Osborne, that is. Today's destination. O is also for Old Kermandie Track. This was the original track from Geeveston to the Harz area before all those roads were put in. We started from the end of Bennett's Road, making it a much shorter walk.
In the early days, a
trip into the Harz definitely required overnight camping. Hikers who
felt they had to carry too much could hire a packhorse, but if
today's adventure is anything to go by, that would not have been a
great help. Because
O is for Obstacles
Here are some of them.Things to climb over |
Things to struggle through |
Things to crawl under |
Mud. Lots of mud. In some places corduroy had been laid, but this has
its own perils, being very slippery when wet. Which it usually is –
that's why it's there.
There were creeks to cross; usually there were a few strategically placed stones
In a couple of places there were nice little bridges
This is what the new
footbridge replaced: the forest is not kind to the works of man
There were a few rocks to step up and there was some definitely anti-pedestrian vegetation.
However, there were some absolutely beautiful views through the
forest. I took far too many photographs.
O is for "Oh – wow!"
a cry which immediately had cameras appearing in every hand and photographers jostling for
position to get the perfect shot.
Most popular today were
climbing heath (Prionotes
cerinthoides) and various fungi.
Some tree trunks grow their own little forests of lichen, climbing heath, mosses, ferns and fungi. |
coral fungi - bright orange and pale pink |
young celery-top pine |
baby ferns are so cute |
There is a pretty little waterfall behind all this vegetable entanglement – and it was duly
photographed, too.
Despite all these
distractions, we eventually came to an old hut site where some of the
party elected to stop for lunch. The rest of us were determined to
carry on to Lake Osborne.
Another ten minute's
walk brought us to the Hartz carpark, where we took advantage of the
comparatively luxurious facilities before continuing on.
It's only a kilometre
or so from the carpark to Lake Osborne and the track's much more civilised. No mud and fallen trees
for all those delicate tourists, thank you!
And lunch at a rather windswept Lake
Osborne which, I'm happy to note, nestles at the foot of the Devil's
Backbone.