Franklin News and Views

Bushwalks: Thark Ridge Rock Slab Circuit : Monday 22 December 2014 Several years ago while walking on Thark Ridge Sue and I discovered a largish cairn in an unexpected spot and some...

Photo Albums: Thark Ridge

Photo Albums: Frenchmans Cap October 2014

Thursday 7 August 2014 The final plateau leading to the waterfall was very pleasant open eucalypt with spacious low grassland.  The big v shaped valley below the falls was scenic as was the view of Table Mountain, which seemed quite close beyond the trees.   At the start of the walk the breeze was quite chilly but once we had a bit of tree and hill protection conditions became most pleasant, especially when in the sun. The falls had a reasonable sloping drop of 40 metres and a good flow of water was going over.  The views were particularly good from the sheltered western side which had a number of edges in convenient viewing locations. The walk started on a logging road then an old vehicle track and eventually through a section of fairly untouched open woodland.  It took almost 1:15 to get there and much the same to return. Although the return distance was 9k the wandering about the falls area added well over another kilometre.

Wednesday 23 July 2014 As I hadn’t done any bike riding this year I went for a couple of rides so it wouldn’t be such a shock to the body. One was the day before (Tuesday) on the Pipeline from Neika.   I was finding it quite hard work pedalling up the track and was wondering why it seemed harder than previous times.  I was ¾ of the way to the end when I switched up a gear and discovered it became easier to ride.  I had put it in high gear at the start thinking it was low.  At least the last ¼ was a lot easier.  I enjoyed the ride back better. As for the Cockatoo Gully event, the ride was along two valleys, the first along Clifton Vale Rd with the Jordan River coming into view on a number of occasions and the other somewhat narrower valley following the Cockatoo Gully Rd. Dave chose the direction well because the reverse would have entailed a long uphill section. The views, especially on Clifton Vale had tree covered hills either side of the valley. Th...

Geocaching: Mortimer Bay and Tangara Tracks : Wednesday , 14 May 2014 We parked at the northern end of Mortimer Bay and walked along the beach. It was good to see that some of the curse...

Sue and I have been on a couple of three day bushwalks over the last month. One was to Mount Rogoona and a few people noticed the blog post for that walk. I did introduce it with the words “a bushwalk where I fell into a creek, missed the intended track and took a photo of a snake without realising it was there”. I did refer to a photo album and several comments received back were along the lines of where was the snake photo, so it is below.  

Bushwalks: Mount Rogoona : 12-14 April 2014 A bushwalk where I fell into a creek, missed the intended track and took a photo of a snake without realising it was ther...

Music: Bring Thunder and Rain by Neil Murray :   One of Neil Murray's best albums A somewhat reflective album with lots of fine songs.   Favourites were Whispering Casuarina (3), B...

Bush Heritage Blog - Bush Heritage Australia Blog

Geocaching: Up the Derwent valley Again : Saturday , 29 March 2014 It was a predicted fine day and although quite cloudy and misty in Hobart it became sunnier as we drove west. The ...

Bushwalks: Mount Styx : Thursday 20 March 2014 From the top of the head it sounded plausible; go on a bushwalk to Mount Styx and because it is not a long walk col...

Bushwalks: South Wellington Milles Circuit : via Ice House Track and Potato Fields Tuesday 11 March 2014 On top of Mount Wellington a temperature of 21 degrees was expected with Hob...

Wellington Park: Erica at the edge of Wellington Park – Kalang Site... : Tuesday 4 March 2014 The aim in this particular area is to bring back the Erica line to the outside of the bush.  Beyond that is an extensi...

We had our bathroom tiled by Gary McDonald from South Arm.  The work was a very good and the cost quite acceptable.  If you are looking for a tiler in the Hobart area of Tasmania then it would be worth considering Gary for the job. His business name  is Sun City Carpentry & Tiling Services His service is promoted as quality bathroom renovations.  All types of carpentry and ceramic tile laying Mobile  0417 937 840    After hours  03 6239 9759

This article was originally published on The Conversation . . SPC Ardmona's bailout is crucial given China's food safety record By Christopher G. Baker , University of Sydney SPC Ardmona’s $22 million lifeline from the Victorian government seems to have saved Australia’s largest food packaging company. Yet the firm’s recent tribulations are a reminder of why I regularly choose to buy products at the supermarket that are more expensive than the alternative. Local produce: Victorian workers and politicians have rallied behind the SPC brand. AAP One reason is that Australian food standards are generally world-class when it comes to the amount of contamination allowed from metals such as lead and cadmium. Although it is not always possible to police this perfectly, these standards allow a high degree of confidence that Australian food is free from contamination. Contamination issues The story is different elsewhere. In China, for example, the past decade has seen ...

  From the report in the Conversation   quote Globally  …... Thirteen of the 14 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001. That means that according to the Government’s advisor and probably many in the Government they would have us believe that the the people worldwide who keep these weather details have been conspiring to tell a lie for the last 13 years .  That is truly a remarkable achievement and must be brilliantly organised and without anyone of them spilling the beans.   Here is the article in full 2013 was Australia's hottest year, warm for much of the world By Blair Trewin , Australian Bureau of Meteorology ; David Jones , Australian Bureau of Meteorology ; Karl Braganza , Australian Bureau of Meteorology ; Neil Plummer , Australian Bureau of Meteorology , and Rob Smalley , Australian Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed 2013 as Australia’s hottest year since records began in 1910. Average temperature...

  I have been reading the Guardian Australia since it started up here in 2013, it gives a good run down on Australian and world news.  The Australian news is gradually getting more content.  I hope it flourishes as, apart from Fairfax newspapers, there is not a lot of options if you don’t like the Murdoch papers.