Labyrinths in More Ways than One

| TravellinPenguin
The path

I won’t talk about this wonderful book The Labyrinth by Amanda Lowry too much as there are conversations everywhere online about this Australian Miles Franklin winner. Except to say I really loved it and felt sad when I finished. I loved the characters with all their flaws. I liked the fact the author didn’t go overboard in describing them yet they were well enough drawn I could see them in my mind. I loved the pace of the book. I loved how there weren’t tied up solutions to all of the issues shared by the various characters. It is a book I would recommend to others and wouldn’t mind reading it again. It will be discussed in more depth at our February book group and I look forward to that.

But it did have me researching labyrinths. I hadn’t thought about them before. Not at all. I had to see how they differed from mazes. One can get lost in a maze and the object is to enter it, then find your way out. A labyrinth doesn’t have tall shrubs at the edges. It is a designed path, often made of rocks where one can meditatively walk and then arrive at the centre where meditation can take place. It is calm and peaceful. You would not get lost in it.

The Red Star marks the spot.

I wondered if Tasmania had any labyrinths one could visit so I googled it and found one in a council bush reserve about 45 minutes from where I live. I live in the Cascades area. Potters Hill is across the river and south.

I thought as my first project of undiscovered Tasmania for 2022 I would visit and get a photo. Yesterday was the day I chose. It was warm out with a cool breeze. I followed google directions in the car and it took me to the front door.

I parked in a pullover at the bottom of a hill and followed the sign. No motorised vehicles allowed. I walked 400n metres up hill along a tree lined path. I saw many rosellas flying amongst the trees. Upon reaching my destination a large field opened up and to the right there it lay. There were swooping swallows everywhere around the trees. I had a 360 degree view of the land and water around me. If you look at the map you can see the amount of water around this area. I hope you enjoy the photos.

The labyrinth (view towards Derwent River)

Who would have thought the first book of the year I explore turned out to be such an adventure. I have ideas of combining future books with photographic experiences if at all possible. It is something different that gives me thought. Enjoy the photos.

A bug’s view
A view in the opposite direction
Walking back to the car. A view of Kunanyi (Mt. Wellington)
What adventure will the next book bring?
Here’s to a new year of books and adventure!

23 thoughts on “Labyrinths in More Ways than One”

  1. Like you, Pam, I knew nothing about labyrinths, and had no idea we had one on our doorstep! Thanks for sharing, I will be making a trip out to Potter’s Hill one day. Looking forward to reading group resuming, and more discoveries in 2022.

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  2. Sydney has one too – in Centennial Park – I saw it (pre-Covid & therefore pre-Amanda Lohrey’s book) and didn’t appreciate its purpose, thinking at the time, it wasn’t much of a maze!!
    http://www.sydneylabyrinth.org/

    Love your undiscovered Tasmania project. I started doing something similar on my photographic blog many years ago – using the DK Top Ten Guide to Sydney, but I’ve done nothing on there since 2019…maybe you will inspire me to 1. Move it to wordpress and 2. add more posts.

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    1. Will remember about the labyrinth jn Centennial Park, Sydney. Am hoping to do a photography road trip with a friend there if Covid ever settles down. Would love to see you pick up your photo projects.

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  6. Interesting! I didn’t know about the difference between mazes and labyrinths. It’s a great idea to combine photos and books. I try to do the same in my “literary locations” posts. They are more time consuming, than normal reviews, though.

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  9. What a great idea. I only know of one small labyrinth near me, it is behind one of the local churches and was built for contemplation, oddly enough I only heard about it from another local blogger and I have been meaning to pay it a visit, must read Amanda Lohrey’s Labyrinth. The Potter’s hill labyrinth looks lovely.

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  10. What a fantastic idea, and it sent me searching in Melbourne to see if we have any. It turns out that there is one within walking distance not far from a small white church that I’ve driven past a thousand times but never investigated. I’ve also been to the McClelland Sculpture Gallery but never realised what was there…
    See https://www.melbourneplaygrounds.com.au/location-of-labyrinths-in-melbourne-and-victoria
    I think I’ll go exploring once the need for Do It Yourself Lockdown is over…

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  11. lovely post and photos… there are lots of labyrinths around here, they’re just not marked out very well… in fact, not at all, except in some itinerant mind, lol…

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