Wellington Park is Tasmania’s second largest State Reserve at 18,000 hectares and includes the iconic Mt Wellington (1,270m) and a diverse array of topographical features from dolerite columns (the Organ Pipes) to block/boulder streams, precipitous gullies, and bleak alpine heathland and moors. The Wellington plateau provides spectacular views over Hobart and the Derwent estuary, with vistas extending south to the Tasman Peninsula and Bruny Island, and north up the Derwent Valley. Many walking tracks are available from which to choose, offering a range of different experiences and showcasing the remarkable variety Tasmania’s flora present on the mountain range.

We leave Hobart via Davey Street and quickly enter the timbered lower reaches of the park before we turn up the Pinnacle Road to our start point at The Springs (the site of a former hotel burnt out in severe bushfires in 1967). From here we enter the forested flanks of the mountain and climb gently through a wet eucalypt forest under the shadow of the 350m Jurassic dolerite columns of the Organ Pipes until we reach the shelter of the ‘Chalet’. Along the route we enjoy spectacular views of Hobart while crossing several block streams of shattered dolerite from the slopes above us. We join the Pinnacle road briefly before re-entering the lightly timbered Panorama Track to the pinnacle where we will break for lunch and again enjoy the panoramic views. After lunch, our track now takes us across the bleak and exposed Wellington plateau to South Wellington’s summit with sidetracks to inspect the Rocking Stone and Smith’s Monument before descending via the Ice House Track to Milles Track and ultimately returning to our starting point. Here we rejoin our bus for the short trip down the mountain into Hobart.