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Kunanyi controls everything!

The lovely city of Hobart occupies the hills on both sides of a continuous body of water formed by the harbour and the Derwent River. I don’t know where the boundary between them lies!

The entire area is dominated by Kunanyi (or Mt. Wellington): rising to a height of 1271 metres (4170′), she is capped by a huge plateau that is other-worldly in geology and flora and fauna.

Incredibly steep but beautiful, she was climbed by many a famous figure, including Charles Darwin.

The weather in the area is heavily affected by Kunanyi and nearby peaks, even moreso than the Rockies affect Calgary.

Understandably, she is a sacred place for the traditional custodians of the land in this area: the Palawa people. They have lived in the area for over 40,000 years. That is hard to wrap my head around. 🧐

Kunanyi from across the harbour.
Looking west from the summit…after a bit of a nervy drive up. We were rather surprised to see an open Alpine plateau!
The rock columns are the uplifted dolerite that forms the core of the mountain.
The Postmaster general tower, built in 1959 to bring TV to Tasmania for the first time.
Looking to the left (NWN) from the top one sees the path of the Derwent River.
Hobart.
Feb 22, 2023. The panorama from the summit of Kunanyi.

David and Bernadette Harris

10 responses to “Kunanyi controls everything!”

  1. John Smiley Avatar
    John Smiley

    The sunrise from atop Kunanyi must be incredible.

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    1. David and Bernadette Harris Avatar
      David and Bernadette Harris

      For sure! Too bad I’m more about sunsets than getting up early for a sunrise. Although I did do that once on another visit to Australia! There’s no way Dave would have made that drive in the dark. It was worse than the cliff on a car ride you, me and mom did long ago when she expressed concern and you said “you’ve had a good life!” We all laughed after she called you a jerk! 😝

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      1. John Smiley Avatar
        John Smiley

        Yeah, that’s quite a drive. But you have those sticks and some rope to keep you on the road at least. Maybe. https://www.google.com/maps/@-42.8898304,147.2374089,3a,75y,43.99h,72.62t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skgZ-GwIC54Ejru7dklnV9A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

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      2. David and Bernadette Harris Avatar
        David and Bernadette Harris

        Haha, that’s funny…but not for Dave who developed major vertigo on the drive back down! Poor guy.

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  2. kas Avatar
    kas

    seen any Tasmanian Devils as yet?

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    1. David and Bernadette Harris Avatar
      David and Bernadette Harris

      Only in captivity. Dave just added a short video of one to Pinnacle Of Cute blog.

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    2. David and Bernadette Harris Avatar
      David and Bernadette Harris

      We had to drive in the dark a bit last night so we did see our first wild wallaby!

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  3. Gillian Hinds Avatar
    Gillian Hinds

    The drive is challenging, I made a momentary lack of judgement call to briefly spy the view but managed to almost hit a guide post in the process! Deb still hasn’t forgiven me. She loved the view from up there but I am certain she will never travel up there again! Oops

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    1. David and Bernadette Harris Avatar
      David and Bernadette Harris

      OMG Gill! So scary! Unfortunately Dave developed a bad case of vertigo and would not move closer than 3 feet from the edge. As you know that road is not wide and barely allows cars to pass each other so I’m pretty sure Dave was pissing everyone off who had to get by him!

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      1. Gill Avatar
        Gill

        It freaked me out that they allowed public busses, people with camper vans and cars towing trailers on that road. It’s so narrow and steep! Looks like you were there on a reasonably nice day. They often close it when it’s snowing! I totally feel Dave’s pain!

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