5. Annette - The Overland Track - Tasmania

 

How do I start? Hiking The Overland track was everything and more than I thought it would be. 

My friend Jacqui and I decided to trek with “Intrepid” as we had not done such a long hike before and had heard so many tales about the difficulty of this hike. (Safety in a group) 

So, early on Saturday morning, we were picked up from our motel in Launceston by 

a small bus and, along with 7 others and 2 guides, spent two and a half hrs traveling to the Cradle Mountain National Park, and the trail head of the hike at Ronny Creek. 

They said day one was the hardest, and they were right. Boardwalk for the first couple of Kms, then up & up & up to Marion’s Lookout. Great views of Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain in perfect weather. We stopped at Kitchen Hut for lunch, then grabbed small day packs to scale Cradle Mountain itself. This was one of the best bits in my mind, as the steep track became a rock scramble, then rock climb, then boulder climb, as we scaled the mountain. Finally we made it to the top and were rewarded with SPECTACULAR views!. This was then followed with the very careful rock climb down, returning to take up our heavy packs (approx. 15kg’s) and continued our hike, finally descending into WATERFALL VALLEY for the first night’s camp. 

As we were a group, we had a designated area and camped on the ‘group site’ each night - a collection of platforms. A recent addition to these sites has been a camp kitchen/shelter. About 4mtsx 1.5mts- Long bench for cooking purposes - closable double doors/dry and possum proof. There was a toilet block at each camp – but all were extremely smelly!!! 

Day 2 dawned with a light mist which quickly cleared. We climbed out of the valley, curtesy of more boardwalk, up to the undulating moorlands scattered with pencil pines, myrtles and snowgums. 

After an hour, we dropped our heavy packs and took up our light day pack again, for another side trip. This time we followed a very narrow boardwalk to a lake where we had lunch and one brave lass had a swim! Then back to retrieve our packs and on to the next camp – WINDERMERE  (where a few of us had a swim in Lake Windermere)

The 3rd day dawned fine again and we were up early for the longest day (17kms).This was a beautiful hike as the terrain was constantly changing – enchanted beech forests covered in moss, crossing the Forth River, the forest glades of Frog Flats – all with lots of assents and descents. We did a side trip to Old Pelion Hut (built by copper miners at the end of the 19th century) where a river swim was enjoyed by a few. 

Finally we arrived at our camp, NEW PELION, tired but exhilarated. The hut at this campsite is the largest of all the huts on The Overland, sitting at the junction of Overland and Arm River Tracks. It had begun to rain just as we arrived, so it was a damp camp set-up and all had to shelter under a big tarp for dinner. 

Unfortunately, the rain continued overnight and it was a very wet pack up in the morning. Because of the weather, our guides decided it was too wet and slippery (with low cloud cover) to climb Mt Ossa, so we scaled Mr Doris instead (next to Ossa) – Light day packs again. I was very disappointed not to have climbed Mt Ossa, but respected the guides decision. 

Day 4 - Todays walk passed through the glaciated Pinestone Valley. Again – beautiful!. Surrounded by the Duncan Range on one side, and Cathedral Mountain on the opposite side. The rain eased to just the odd light shower during the day, and sunshine by the time we arrived at KIA ORA hut and campsite. 

Day 5 dawned in sunshine again. This morning was a hike through myrtle beech rainforests – magical, beautiful, stunning, enchanted, prehistoric….Words do not do the forest justice!!!!  Then, in the middle of it all, we came to Du Cane Jut, built in 1910 out of King Billy Pine by a trapper as a base for his trade. Here we stopped for a drink and nibbles, then pushed on again, only to drop our pack and change to day packs for a side trip to see the falls of D’Alton, Fergusson and Harnett – All spectacular because of that wet Tuesday we had! After lunch by the side of the river, some of us ventured in for an extremely cold swim at the base of one of the waterfalls!! The climb back up to where our big packs were was just what was needed to warm up again. This was followed with more climbing until Du Cane Gap was reached, then steady downhill through a huge eucalypt forest to reach WINDY RIDGE campsite, and our camp for the final night of our trek. 

The last morning dawned fine again, so an early breakfast, camp pack up and we were on our way again, all feeling a little sad that our time together was coming to an end. We passed through temperate rainforest and eucalypt forest and noted how much dryer it was on this side of the range, finally arriving at the Narcissus River, where we used a suspension bridge to cross over. After another couple of Kms, we passed by the NARCISSUS Huts and onto the edge of LAKE ST CLAIR, where the ferry was to pick us up. Most of our group had a quick swim in the lake (which was MUCH warmer than the swim the day before!!) 

We were all on the ferry by 11.30 and the trip across the lake took us the Cynthia Bay, where the Intrepid bus driver was waiting for us with a picnic lunch. We also managed to have a very welcome (but quick) beer, then onto the bus for the return trip to Launceston. 

 

Jacqui and I consider ourselves very lucky in choosing to hike with Intrepid. They were great guides, Angus and John. The food was perfect. The other people in our group were fantastic. The weather was spot on (except for that one rainy day) and, as you probably gathered, it was not cold from all the swimming that was done. Yes, there were leeches that managed to find all of us at one stage or another, and I was stung a couple of times by an angry European wasp, but no snake bites or broken limbs. We only lost one of our group after the first night who had to be helicoptered out. He had a bad night with sharp side pains and vomiting – turned out he had kidney stones!  

So there it is….. THE OVERLAND – 80+kms (including side trips) done and dusted. And I loved it!!!!