Saturday, 26 January 2019

Mount Wellington


The smoke haze from the bush fires is still lingering this morning. Today is our last full day in Tasmania so this morning was our last chance to go up to the summit of Mount Wellington.

The drive to the summit (elevation 1,271m above sea level) is pretty windy and takes about half an hour to get there from the waterfront. It was already 24 degrees down in the city and were expecting a bit of a reprieve at the top. (The rule of thumb is 6.5°C/km of elevation gain.)

We got a reprieve and some! So much for 6.5°C/km. The wind chill factor and a menacing storm combined to bring the temperature down under 5°C. There was a weather station there to back up our shivering.

This wind-swept rocky landscape, that is also covered in snow part of the year, is a hostile environment that allows only small shrubs to cling to the edge of existence.

The views of Hobart and surrounding environs are very impressive. It was just a shame that the smoke haze and some cloud cover ruined it a little.

Tasmanian Museum - Dinosaurs Take Flight

Sortly after lunch, Harry & I went to the Tasmanian Museum to check out the special exhibition.

'Dinosaurs Take Flight' has an array of exhibits tracking the evolution of feathers on dinosaurs leading to the emergence of birds. They vary from intricate small fossils captured in slate...

.... to massive Cerotopsian skulls....

... and impressive life-like animatronic models.