Pinnacle Circuit
Mount Wellington | Kunanyi
Directions - Located 20 minutes from the centre of Hobart, take the A6 and then Huon Rd towards Mount Wellington. Snake up this road for a while until you see the sign pointing you up towards the summit of Mount Wellington. The Springs is located on Pinnacle Road before the summit with the Lost Freight Café at the trail head.
The Hike - To finish what had been a lowkey year of adventure in 2022, a trip to Tasmania was planned to finally hike the South Coast Track. With the aviation industry struggling thanks to constant staff shortages due to illness, I gave myself a couple of days before the start of the South Coast Track just in case my flight was delayed, as we experienced in July coming back from Darwin.
After enjoying a lovely Christmas down in Funbury with the family, it was time to fly out on the red eye, arriving in Hobart mid morning on the 29th of December. Picking up the hire car at the airport, I had a few hours to kill before I could check in to my accommodation so wandered around the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens before meeting up with fellow South Coast Track hiker, Bronwyn, for lunch. Feeling very tired, I did some last minute shopping for the upcoming week long trek, before having a quick nanna nap. Wanting to get in a hike on Mount Wellington, the beauty of Tasmania in the summer is that I could be out until 8-9pm as the daylight hours last until well after 9pm. Feeling somewhat refreshed, I drove out to The Springs in my Kia Stonic (worst modern car I've driven) with the goal of doing a summit hike via several of the named tracks that dot the mountainside. I initially called this the Mount Wellington Circuit but after perusing the Wellington Park website, they list this suggested walk as the Pinnacle Circuit so I'll keep things consistent.
My route would take me from The Springs up the Pinnacle Track, the Grays Fire Trail, Milles Track, Ice House Track and South Wellington Track to the summit before coming back down via the Zig Zag Track and Pinnacle Track. If that sounds complication, it really isn't once you're out there as everything is really well marked and if you're carrying a copy of the map then you will be able to pinpoint your location at each intersection. Studying the map at The Spring, I visually mapped it out in my head before crossing Pinnacle Road to find the correct track. This was my second hike on Mount Wellington after doing the Organ Pipes Circuit way back in 2018, so I was looking forward to finally hiking up to the summit. Although it was summer, you never quite know what the weather will be like, with Mount Wellington copping a dusting a snow just a month prior to my visit. Well prepared with warm clothing, enough water and my PLB, I passed the old Springs Hotel site on my way to the Grays Fire Trail and eventually the Milles Track.
Starting at about 700m ASL, I had about 550m of climbing to get through before reaching the summit. Settling into the steady climb, the gradients never get too crazy up here and the quality of the trail means that it feels easier than it is. I really enjoy that the tracks up here get properly looked after and there is a sense of pride about having such a great choose your own adventure network of tracks. The Grays Fire Trail and Milles Track don't last long but I was happy for some great views and to see some Cheeseberry plants. Reaching the Ice House Track, this would be home for the next 2.2 kilometres as I ascended roughly 300m to reach the South Wellington Track. A combination of rocky steps and well drained compacted track made for an enjoyable hike as I meandered through the forested slopes of Mount Wellington, looking our for wildflowers, ferns, mosses and fungi.
I was excited to see my first Tasmanian Waratah since the Three Capes in 2018, with many more in flower the higher I climbed. With orchid season in WA mostly over by November, I was curious when I spotted an orchid like flower that wasn't very large, growing on the side of the track. Getting on all fours to photograph it, this was the start of what would be a really enjoyable experience for the iNaturalist side of me. Over the past year or two I've gotten serious about capturing and cataloging all my hiking finds, with this one turning out to be a Mountain Caladenia (Caladenia alpina). As I climbed higher I saw River Rose, Asthma Bush, Mountain Pinkberry, Dragon Heath and plenty more Tasmanian Waratahs. Popping out of the forest section, I got my first proper views of the summit of Mount Wellington as an exposed boulder field opened up the landscape. Having seen these on the Organ Pipes Circuit, I thought it would require some rock hopping but the track takes a slight left to continue through sparser woodland.
The views looking both to what was ahead and back down to the Hobart CBD through the trees was pretty special and it still amazes me that a 1250m mountain is a twenty minute drive away from the centre of a capital city. The climb hadn't been too bad considering my fitness wasn't the greatest thanks to a non-Covid illness keeping me grounded for two weeks before coming out. Part of wanting to do a Mount Wellington hike, apart from being convenient, was to test myself before the South Coast Track to see where I was at. Although I only had a day pack on, this hike provided me with a bit of confidence that I'd be just fine. Hiking through the slot in the mountain, I reached the South Wellington Track intersection and pointed myself to the right as that was the way to the summit. I had passed a couple of hikers on my way up and they warned me of high winds at the summit, so I was pleasantly surprised when I reached this open plateau section and it was relatively fine.
What was worrying me from a website perspective was the poor visibility now I was much higher. Really hoping it wouldn't be whiteout conditions at the summit, I soldiered on through the eerie landscape, with the woodland now replaced with boulder fields filled in with alpine heath. With the bulk of the climbing over with, I could enjoy the alpine scenery and the challenge of spotting the next orange marker. The ascent was less steps and more getting up and over boulder fields, that looked pretty spectacular with low mist hanging around. In clearer weather you can see off to Bruny Island (my post SCT destination) and the Tasman Peninsula (tomorrow's destination). Weaving in and out of the rocks was good fun as I hopped between markers and it felt like alpine terrain now the temperature had dropped. Off in the distance I could see something that looked like the summit car park, with the iconic Post Master General Tower mostly obscured under cloud.
There was nothing I could do about the weather, so continued on and hoped for the best. The last section of the South Wellington Track takes you to the Zig Zag Track, with the summit being a side quest. Spotting all the tourists at the car park really takes you out of alpine adventure mode and into let me take a selfie territory. Feeling well out of place with a backpack and t-shirt (most were rugged up), I decided to check out the western lookout first while I waited for the clouds to clear up a little. The views looking to the west weren't very clear but the poor visibility provided a bit of mystic. The northern view was much better and I turned around to notice that the clouds had mostly dissipated around the summit trig point. Walking over, I found the path that led to where all the tourists had gathered at the trig point and entered the bun fight to get a decent spot to take photos. Patiently waiting for a couple to get a few dozen posed photos of them conquering the mountain, I eventually found a good spot to snap away.
With clear views looking over the Hobart CBD, River Derwent and the Pinnacle Observation Shelter in the foreground, this was what I was hoping for as I climbed up the Ice House Track. My backup plan was to drive up the following day and sneakily add the photos to this post but in the end it wasn't needed. It's not a bad spot to stand and enjoy the impressive views, and really makes me ponder moving to Tasweginland. Moving on from the trig point, I explored the area to the east and found some better views of the observation shelter to photograph (including the cover photo panorama). Having stopped moving at the same pace, my sweat was being cooled by the wind and I was getting quite cold. With enough photos in the bag, I moved on and doubled back to the Zig Zag Track. There was a track notice about the Zig Zag near The Springs and I should have read it before climbing up. There was another one at the summit and it broadcast the track closure that was scheduled for Jan-July 2023. I let out a sigh of relief as I could still come down via the Zig Zag, instead of having to backtrack along the South Wellington Track.
Walking down the flat path to reach the serious descent, the view looking south and east was amazing. Distracted by this, I almost missed the Bennett's Wallaby sitting just off to the left but managed to stop myself before I scared it away. Reaching the gate that marks the beginning of the steeper part, the views looking across to Hobart and Bruny Island would provide me plenty to photograph. As advertised, the track goes in a zig zag down the eastern flank of the mountain but really only has a couple of switchbacks. As I continued to descend, I really was wondering what track improvements needed to be made as the quality was very similar to the Ice House Track. I guess with high rainfall, snow and the chances of rock fall, the track needs to be in the best possible shape for safety reasons so I applaud them for being ahead of the curve here. Coming across a number of Tasmanian Waratahs was lovely but photographing them wasn't always easy as it was getting late in the day and the sun was on the opposite side of the mountain now.
Passing several white bags of building material that had been dropped in my helicopter, I was lucky to have done this hike before the closure as I won't be in the area for a while now. After dropping over 300m in just over a kilometre, I reached the intersection with the Pinnacle Track that would take me all the way back to The Springs. This would be semi-familiar territory as I used this track as part of the Organ Pipes Circuit, although that was about four years ago so my memory was a little vague. With the golden hour lighting in place, this was a pleasant finish as I continued to head downhill, looking out for echidnas and new wildflowers. I did find some Christmas Bush and an odd yellow fungi clinging to the underside of a leaf so that was fun. The final part of the hike contained a lot of small rapids as the excellent drainage system they have in place does its job. One last surprise was a baby Pademelon having a feed near The Springs, posing for photos before hopping away. I don't think I've ever finished a hike after 8pm before, especially not when it's still light so this was a new experience for me.
Final Thoughts – I finally hiked up to the summit of Mount Wellington and given how fickle the weather can be up there, I count myself lucky to get the conditions I did.
The quantity and quality of tracks around Mount Wellington amazes me and it's a great system of choosing where you want to go and having a few options to get there. I look forward to returning on future trips and I might have to dedicate a few days to exploring Kunanyi.
In terms of this hike, I think the route I took provides a good variety of scenery, along with being one of the more efficient circuits that includes the summit. The ascent didn't feel as bad as it looks, with the views providing a good excuse to stop and have a break.
Not a bad way to start what was a really enjoyable two week visit to Tasmania.
Get out there and experience it!
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