LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY > HOBART REGION AND THE WELLINGTON RANGE – TASMANIA > Collins Bonnet Mountain Rocket (Wellington Range, Wellington Park, Hobart)

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Wellington Park contains a large network of walking tracks and fire trails that not only provide access to Kunanyi / Mt. Wellington but also to other mountains, such as Collins Bonnet and Collins Cap. My personal favourite mountain in the Wellington Range is Collins Bonnet because it provides spectacular views of the Huon Valley, the Derwent Valley and the surrounding mountains.

Mountain Rocket (bellendena montana) is a beautiful alpine shrub endemic to Tasmania. During the spring it produces white to pink flowers, and in the autumn it produces large, bright red seed pods which give the plant its common name.


Photographer’s Reflection:

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law…Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.” (Romans 13:8,10)

Sometimes we only have one chance at something before our opportunity is gone forever.

This shot from the summit of Collins Bonnet was exactly like that.

The cloud was thick on the Wellington Range that day, but it briefly parted to reveal Trestle Mountain below. It cleared just long enough for me to snap this quick handheld test shot with the lovely, bright red seed pods of the endemic Tasmanian alpine flower, Mountain Rocket (bellendena montana) in the foreground.

As I dashed for my tripod to set up a proper shot, the cloud thickened and obscured my view. I sat down in the windy, freezing, cold rain to wait it out, but to no avail; the rain had set in for the day. My opportunity to take that specific photo was gone forever. That’s why I am thankful to have come away with this shot, even though it’s not technically perfect.

Reflecting on this experience reminded me of the fleetingness of our own lives. Our lives are far too short to take time for granted. We only have one chance to love people during our lifetimes.

“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Selah.” (Psalm 39:4-5)

“Teach us [God] to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

How many of us go through life holding grudges or cutting off communication with family until their deathbeds? Some never take that blessed window of opportunity to reconcile, and then death severs their last chance to say, “I love you”. 

How precious is life! How precious is time!

What an extraordinary tragedy it is to waste our lives living in bitterness and unforgiveness.

Unlike bitterness, love never has regrets.

Blessed are those who have overcome personal woundedness for the sake of loving another.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Landscape Photography