A Walk in Hollybank Forest

Tasmania is a great place for walking. There's something for everyone. As an island, there's plenty of beaches, some good for swimming, some good for walking, some long and sandy, some rocky, some with beautiful hills or interesting cliffs. There are lots of rivers, many running through forests, with a huge amount of waterfalls. There are mountains, lakes, gorges, bays, meadows, valleys, tarns and bluffs...In short, it's a great place for walking with something for everyone.

Now I'm not a particularly fit walker, and my wife suffers from fibromyalgia which seriously hampers her energy levels, so we usually look for short and not very difficult walks. We currently live in the north of Tasmania in the Tamar Valley and on the eastern side of the Tamar there's a forest called Hollybanks which has a bunch of easy trails. It's one of the 60 Great Short Walks in Tasmania, though it also offers some side tracks, one of which is a steep trail down to the Piper's River.

Pipers River at Hollybank Forest

The forest is about 20 minutes drive north east of Launceston, and can be combined with a trip to Lilydale Falls which is about another 20 minutes further on. All the while, hills and mountains will be on either side of you as you head through the north east of the state. But yesterday, we just visited the forest (after I had a dentist appointment in the morning) for a short winter's walk. It wasn't too bad for weather, with the rain holding off and the temperatures about 10C. The walk is supposed to take between 15-40 minutes, but we were out for nearly 2 hours looking at the flora and stopping to marvel at the beautiful surrounds. There's a great mixture of native trees and imports, including huge pines and lots of holly trees from where the forest gets its name.

Great stand of deciduous oaks

The forest is a great walk at all times of the year, but will be especially popular during the warmer seasons. Saying that, during our winter walk yesterday we got to see lots of bare branches of deciduous trees and plenty of fungi.

Coral fungi

White brain fungi

And of course during the colder and wetter months, the rivers and waterfalls flow better. The Pipers River was much higher than I've seen it, and flowing beautifully through the forest.

Pipers River flowing around the rocks

This is a gentle walk that I'll be heading back to during all seasons to enjoy the differences in the forest throughout the year.