Blessington Track

Blessington Track

South Arm
(last walked 27 February 2019)

Meeting at South Arm for an interesting walk along the top of the cliffs to Fort Beach, past Fort Direction and then along Pot Beach, with views across to The Alum Cliffs and Cape Queen Elizabeth as well as a closer look at the Iron Pot Lighthouse.

Jetty Road 

Those guerilla knitters have been here!

Looking down on the platform of Permian Mudstone.

With Cormorant and showing the circular holes created as minerals within the mudstone weather away at different rates and cause sinkholes.

And Sooty Oystercatcher. 

The path has been upgraded since last time we were here.

 Cape Deliverance and Fort Direction in the distance.

Descending to Fort Beach

Close up of the mudstone, 

Lolly break

As we crossed  Cape Deliverance we met this young echidna fossicking through the grass

Iron Pot. The first lighthouse in Tasmania and the second in Australia. The first to use a locally made optic and it became the first to use solar power. It marks the entrance to Derwent River.

Pot Bay

The end point of today's walk, on a rock platform

Retracing our steps to return

As sea water sprays onto warm mudstone the salt crystallises and erodes these holes and pits .

Lovely clear rock pools, but no exciting wildlife today.

Air BnB?

The memorial at Fort Direction. This site has a long and varied history as cannon emplacement, training camp and munitions store.

(More information http://southarmrsla.customer.netspace.net.au/fortdirection.htm)

The return continues

Some sculpture on the return walk 

Mm! Not sure how this crept in.

There were 17 Ramblers and lunch was at Touch of the Mo at South Arm

The Renkon Chips (Lotus root) were delicious

Map

We went further than this, to the end of the beach.