One of the big benefits of house sitting is that the home owners often introduce you to their friends and neighbours. We were introduced to Kimbra, a lovely, friendly person who adores dogs and has two that are the same size as our little fur bundles. Kimbra loves to take all 4 of them for walks and will take them to the park for a game of ball and a run. That is good because at this stage we keep the dogs on their leads when we take them out. Henry is so sociable and energetic he would chase every dog and child that we pass.
On Monday morning Kimbra rang to ask us if we had any plans for the day because, as the sky was blue and not a cloud in sight, the mountain was magnificent and revealing all it’s glory and she would love to take us for a drive up the 21 kilometres to the top. At 1270 metres most days it has a cloud cover on it’s peak.
What an opportunity we gladly accepted.
So with all 4 dogs in the car with us we slowly wound our way up. The 21-kilometre (13-mile) drive to the summit takes you from temperate rainforest to sub-alpine flora and glacial rock formations. The present road was blasted from rock during the Depression (1932), around the same time that the Sydney Harbour Bridge was built. It is quite narrow with many sharp bends. The views are stunning. But as we near the top we drive into the cloud cover. The views disappear in a cloud of mist but we are seeing the mountain in it’s usual guise.
A week ago the temperature at the peak was -1 degrees and snow had fallen but after a week of sunshine the snow was visibly melting.
When we drive back down as soon as we drop below the cloud cover we pull into a stopping area to admire the fantastic view.
The narrow road created in 1932 and dug out by pick and shovel
Looking along the Derwent River
Looking over to the East side across the Tasman Bridge
Looking west next habitation 11000kilometres to Patagonia, South America
It has been a truly memorable day out. Thank you Kimbra.
gypsy life 
Stunning views Pauline 🙂
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That day was clear. A previous day we went up it was shrouded in fog and mist and snow on the ground, a quite different atmosphere, but good for photos…
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wow, fantastic views.. and the dogs – you will probably want one when you get home! PS it looks cold!
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We have fallen in love with the little dogs but no we just enjoy looking after other peoples, like grandkids, we can give them back…
It is not as cold as we were expecting, as long as you dress for the weather it is actually invigorating
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What an absolutely stunning view. I don’t know if I could do that road, but I’d certainly try for views like that 😀
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At one point a bus came toward us. Kimbra had to pull well over, and we all breathed in….
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I love that you don’t turn down an opportunity!
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You would miss out on so much if you are too rigid with your plans. I always like to say yes please
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You guys are my heroes.
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Thank you for that I am honoured. 🙂
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wow, that is one amazing vista!!!! it’s so great that you are sharing all of this with us! z
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Hobart definately has the best vantage point of all the Australian capital cities. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day so many of my friends that have been here have not been able to see that view
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