Good discussion, but what is the answer here? Somehow I’ve found myself living in Hobart for several years now, and the mountain has become my new backyard. I walk its slopes almost every single week and have learnt many of its secret places, including the Disappearing Tarn, amongst many, many other places. Old bushwalkers who are very familiar with the mountain have shown me places people rarely see, but i've also shown them places they’ve never seen before, and by no means do I think I’m an expert, knowing there are many more secrets for me to learn too.
Before I came here I knew of the Tarn through its name on the map, and admittedly, a photo posted to this site many years ago, so had visited it on a number of occasions, hoping to see it full. I saw it in the snow, after some rain once, maybe almost a quarter full, and never saw anyone else when I’d been there. I went in after the big rains in 2018, guessing it would have water, inviting a photographer friend along, finally seeing it full and I even posted some pics here on this thread. We met maybe 10 or so people there that day, more than I normally see anywhere on the Mountain other than at The Springs or the Pinnacle, but it wasn't over run. Apparently once photos were posted to instagram etc everyone went there after that.
Last week I walked there on Wednesday. I’d invited the same friend who came with me on the previous occasion, and when we arrived at The Springs I baulked at the number of cars and asked how desperate he was to go there again. If he’d not wished to go in, I’d have walked elsewhere, simply because of the number of people.
There were many more people than I could be bothered counting, and yeah, there were dogs too. Of course me and my friend were there as well, and of course we all had a right to be there (not sure about the dogs).
Were we there to enjoy the bush? Absolutely. Though it was raining, quite wet and cold, this was a once in a blue moon phenomenon. However, I can’t imagine many of them bushwaking if there if it wasn't so unusual. After all, if I could see it anytime, I’d likely have stayed inside that day. And yes, people were swimming, something I wouldn’t do there, not the least because it was freezing and the very reason ILUV pointed out, that this is the water catchment.
- Blury Tarn People 1
- Blury Tarn Swimming People 2
But people were out enjoying nature in their own way, I guess, and the way they treated it comes down to individual attitudes. I’m not the bushwalking ethics police, but there’s places I won’t show people because I don’t want it becoming the next place for people to ‘discover’.
I’ve previously noted other places I love becoming ‘Instafamous’ and these arguments play out time and time again on social media and elsewhere. I know everyone has a right to go to these places, and yes, i'm a ring-in from the Mainland so am adding to the pressure to Disappearing Tarn that wasn't there previously, but I'd like to think i'm generally respectful where I go, but I don’t always see the same respect from others. For example, I noted recently on a walk to a ‘secret’ location, a ruin somewhere off track that i'd last visited years ago, had been deliberately defaced and broken up, relatively recently by the looks of things. This is not the first time, and likely not the last, that I’ve seen this sort of thing.
But am I a hypocrite when I decide to visit these places? Probably. Though I’d like to think I respect them, not touching anything. What ever happened to ‘Take only pictures, leave only foot prints’?
I guess some people don’t really get it. Or do they get it and simply enjoy the world differently? I don't really know. Not sure if i'll go to the tarn next time it rains big though.