Schizophrenic Weather

Mt Baw Baw before we arrived (of course)

A large cruise ship in the harbour, plenty of buses and taxis on a Saturday, shoulder to shoulder crowds at the markets! The signs all said, extra busy with one-day-only tourists.So why did I decide to take a scenic drive which is difficult on the best of days? Because I didn't read the signs. I just thought that, as it was a lovely clear days, the view from Mt Wellington would be worth the drive. On any other day it would have been a good decision.

The rocks of Mt Wellington invite climbers

Hobart from above

Fascinating rock clusters. I could fill a book

I will be interested to drive up again some time and see what it is like in normal traffic. My little excursion was so hair raising on the way up, that I stayed at the summit much longer than I intended, plucking up courage to drive down again. Buses, mini buses, taxis and the usual motorhomes and campervans snaked up and down the mountain. I gripped the steering wheel, dropped into first and second gear and crawled along, never knowing what might be bearing down on me from the next corner.

All the way uphill, I muttered at oncoming drivers , Move over. Can't you see I have a steep rugged cliff waiting to rip the side out of my car, and you just have guide posts. On the way down, my story changed, Move over. You just have a few rocks to worry about but I have a sheer hundred foot drop. The view was slightly clouded by the time I got to the top but worth the drive. I was interested in the rock formations. The whole area was like a moonscape, strewn with lichen covered boulders. It would be a good setting for an alien-invasion movie, with the winding road an ideal pursuit scene.

When I gaze up at the brooding mountain looming over the city, I can populate the peaks not only with natural features but also with extra-terrestrial beings.A fantastic world made even more so by my imagination!