The Overland Track, Tasmania (Part 2 of 2)

It was then downhill all the way to Kia Ora Hut (with a casual tiger snake sighting on the way) where we set up our tents for evening. We were all pretty exhausted, so Dave and I decided it was the night to reveal the packet of Tim Tams we had been carrying. The only challenge was how to divide nine biscuits evenly between five people.

The team excited to discover the Kiwis had carried in packet of Tim Tams

Dave decided we should have a game of Scumbag to decide who only got one biscuit. This backfired on him when he found himself in the losing position!

The next day we awoke early, as we were combining two days on the track into one. We had been kindly informed by a friendly guide the night before two very important pieces of information. The first - there was up to 40mm of rain predicted for the the next day and night. The second - the Hungry Wombat, the best place to get burgers at the end of the tramp. We set off with a new focus and even managed to fit in a side trip to some sweet waterfalls.



It was a long way, and after the challenging day before we all entered a bit of a trance as we slogged our way down the hill. One foot in front of the other, our thoughts our own, admiring the beauty of the landscape.

Mmmmmmmmm Hungry Wombat.

We arrived at Narcissus Hut, grateful to find there were bunks left and we wouldn't have to brave the rain in our tents. We enjoyed our last night in the wilderness, full of great company and great conversation. The main topics were who wanted/needed a shower the most and what transformation would be required to make us presentable enough to attend a wedding in two days time.

The forecast was correct and we awoke to hear the sound of rain on the tin roof. We started our "lakeside meander" (as per the guidebook), otherwise known as 17.5km of undulating Australian bush, wet feet and accumulating leeches. Leeches are gross, the worst bit being you don't feel them attach themselves, so you are constantly checking your skin to see if one of the little bastards is hanging on for the ride.

LEECH!

We arrived at Lake Saint Clair wet, tired, and a little bit leechy but mostly happy to be heading to Hobart for a shower and proud of our achievement. Our friends Mark, Stephie and Alistair had introduced themselves to the world of tramping with a five night, six day adventure and had come out of it making plans for their next hike. We had lots of laughs together, no tears (ok- I may have had one or two slip out on the last uphill) and have some great memories with this awesome group of people. I would recommend the Overland Track for anyone looking for a multi day hike, that's not too strenuous and in a pretty sweet part of the world.

The guy who took this photo had no shirt on!

P.S. The Hungry Wombat burger was pretty damn good!

  -  Sarah