Australian Mountain Peaks
Cache Name: AMP049 – Mount Lofty
Peak ID: ~60 (guesstimate)
Elevation: 727m
State: SA
Location: Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia
Coordinates: S 34.973625 E 138.7088
Cache Size: 60ml Plastic screw top
Mount Lofty is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about 15 km east of the Adelaide city centre. It has panoramic views of the city and the Adelaide Plains to the west, and of the Piccadilly Valley to the east.
The summit can be accessed by road from the South Eastern Freeway at Crafers, and from the eastern suburbs via Greenhill Road and the Mount Lofty Scenic Route. The more enthusiastic can walk up the gully from Waterfall Gully, through the Cleland Conservation Park and from Chambers Gully. The track from Waterfall Gully to the summit is a 4 km uphill trek and one of Adelaide's most popular exercise circuits so the car park at the bottom is often busy.
The summit provides panoramic views across Adelaide. The structures at the summit are relatively new due to protracted disputes over appropriate development following the destruction of the old cafe in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. Kangaroos are often spotted on the trails leading up to the summit.
Mount Lofty was named by Matthew Flinders on 23 March 1802 during his circumnavigation of the Australian continent. It was first climbed by a European when the explorer Collet Barker climbed it in April 1831, almost six years before Adelaide was settled.
A stone cairn at the summit was originally used to mark the trig point, and in 1885 this was replaced by an obelisk which served as the central reference point for surveying purposes across Adelaide. In 1902 the obelisk was rededicated and renamed as the "Flinders Column".
The Summit was closed to the public during the Second World War, when the obelisk was considered an indispensable navigation aid. A flashing strobe was fitted to the top to improve visibility at night. This strobe was removed after the war, but then re-installed in the 1990s, when the obelisk was repainted and restored during construction of the new kiosk.
On the ridge near the summit are three television transmission towers, and the Mount Lofty Fire Tower operated by the Country Fire Service. The summit has become a popular spot for tourists to Adelaide, and also for cyclists coming up the old Mount Barker Road through Eagle on the Hill.
Cache Note - This cache represents the size of Mount Lofty against the other 48 in the series. It is a little small, and its inclusion is a little up in the air.