Hanmer Mid Winter Base
6 -7 July 2019
We had all arrived at the double storeyed Holiday House by late Friday afternoon. Just off the road up to Conical Hill, it was an ideal place for a base camp with the dining / lounge area focused around a large woodburner that was kept fed with logs from the amply stacked woodshed behind the house.
After sorting out our sleeping arrangements, John, Wendy, Shane and Jill went to a pub and joined in karaoke while the rest of us had a cuppa at the house. I was the only one who walked down to the town for a disappointing hamburger as everyone else had brought something to have for dinner.
Saturday was a bit overcast as we piled into two cars and drove out to the Jollies Pass carpark to climb up Mt Isobel. We steadily gained height as we walked up the Jollies Pass road to 800 metres past the pass where the track heads off towards Mt Isobel. Not far up this track, Glenda turned around and headed back to take one car back to the house. She planned to have a relaxing day enjoying the delights of the Hanmer shops and the pools.
Descending from the top required a little more care; poles or ice-axes were useful in a few places. Once we had dropped down to tree level we had enough shelter to enjoy our late lunch. Walking back down through the bush we were struck by the birdsong and at one spot had at least 3 bellbirds calling at once.
Descending from the top required a little more care; poles or ice-axes were useful in a few places. Once we had dropped down to tree level we had enough shelter to enjoy our late lunch. Walking back down through the bush we were struck by the birdsong and at one spot had at least 3 bellbirds calling at once. Down further where the track goes close to mid-way up Jack’s Pass, conifers have been harvested and recently replanted, we had a choice of routes to return to the house. It was still relatively early in the day and we headed off on a path that eventually led us to what used to be the DOC information centre. From there we walked beside the road back to the town and up to our accommodation.