Mount Wellington, Tasmania

In February 1836, Charles Darwin (who later went on to enjoy great popularity from his famous book On the Original of Species) visited Hobart Town and climbed Mt. Wellington. In his book "The Voyage of the Beagle", Darwin described the mountain:

......The day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view; to the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height with that on which we were standing, and with an equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us. ..."

We took the 21 kilometre drive to the top of Mount Wellington today, 20 minutes from the city of Hobart. The weather can be rather unpredictable, there was a solid fall of snow up there one summer on Christmas Day.

The temperature dropped alarmingly as we neared the summit and I was excited to see that the snow, which fell last night, was still on the ground. But when I got out of the car, the wind almost blew me over, my cheeks went numb and the freeezing cold air made me gasp for breath. But it was so worth it.