Hanmer Havoc Field Trip April 2010
Sunday 11th April
Yea! Verily, it has come to pass. The jinx has been broken! John Miller was on this trip and the weather did not pack a sad! It (the weather, not JM), was exquisite in that there was no cloud, therefore no rain! The sun shone, the wind a little above a zephyr and the temperature above freezing - just!
We left the meeting point in Hanmer Springs at the appointed hour and proceeded to the summit of Jacks Pass where the assembled multitude photographed - er, things and stuff. From the top of the pass, which was cool in the fast-moving zephyrs, we descended to the Clarence Valley and paused for a while beside the cool blue waters of the river. It was here that two members showed their true mountain-goatish tendencies by ascending the steep hillside above us and there perching and imagerating. Congratulations to Carlos Fernandez, a new member, and Tony Harrison, not a new member.
The wind was now becoming more truly zephyr-like and warmer, so we drove on, through a dry ford, and stopped opposite a small waterfall. Here we had morning tea in the warm sunshine. This stop was notable in that John Thornton managed to partially drown a small bumble bee in his mug of lemonade! After this traumatic experience (for the bee), we drove on to the Clarence River bridge, which is guarded by a heavy chain and a big padlock. After parking the vehicles, we walked over the bridge and on up to the Acheron Accommodation House where members were able to photograph many interesting things and landscapes and probably some etceteras as well. Sebastien Krebs, Tony Harrison, Kaye Wilson and myself walked the 20-minute Lookout Walk in about 45 minutes. Penny Macadam did not. John Miller, Ray Bruning and Lesley Tuffley looked through the house and Lesley also sat on a rock. I don’t know what Carlos Fernandez did.
At 12:30 we repaired over the river, spotting what I have since been told was a salmon resting in the pool below the bridge. An eel was also sighted, as were a myriad of tiddlers or small fish. We sat in the shade of a convenient willow tree and had lunch and, of course, the quiz, the winners of which were Lesley in the single pen/single brain section and Tony and Kaye in the single pen/multi brain section. Chocolate fish were handed out to the above-mentioned, to John Thornton for his successful capture of another small bumble bee in his lemonade, and to Carlos, Penny and Sebastien for being first-time field trippers. From the lunch spot we moved on to the Hanmer Springs cemetery where trees and things were photographed and then on to a small section of the Hanmer Forest where the trip finished.
My grateful thanks to all attendees for your good humour and long-sufferingness in the face of some truly awful jokes and “one-liners”.
Ulysses
Morning Fog
Frosted Web
Midday Reflections