After living in North Queensland for a couple of years I know that Australia has some pretty stunning coastal scenery. And sure, there is something special about the big skies and endless nothingness of the Outback. But coming from New Zealand's South Island I missed the alpine views and mountains found all down the country; and concluded that Australia couldn't really offer much to match it. To be honest, I still sort of think this is true for most of the country, but then there's the Overland Track in Tasmania.
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| The team on day 1 with Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff behind |
As we were visiting Tasmania for Hilary and Damian's wedding we decided we'd make the most of the visit by spending some time with my aunty Sue in Burnie and by walking the Overland with some Aussie friends. Mark, Stephie and Alistair are friends from our time living in Townsville where they were fellow interns with Sarah. At approximately 80km (if you walk out instead of
cheating getting the ferry out) it's a 6-7 day outing through the western part of the Central Highlands.
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| Boardwalk near the track's start at Ronny Creek |
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| Cradle Mountain from Marion's Lookout |
Day 1 is considered the most difficult with some steep climbing up to Marion's Lookout. Our group of 5 made good time but due to a late start didn't get the time to make the 3 hour side trip up the famous Cradle Mountain. We camped at Waterfall Valley was nice albeit a little damp with a few leeches around.
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| Early morning at Waterfall Valley |
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| Sarah |
Day 2 was short; allowing us time for a side trip to Lake Wills:
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| Mark & Stephie. Selfie or it didn't happen. |
We arrived early enough at the Lake Windermere camp to head down to the water for a swim & wash in the cold & tannin filled water.
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| Alastair went for a (very) cold swim |
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| Mark doing the laundry |
We had a peaceful night camping again. Alistair woke up to find out what happens if you leave food beside the wall of your tent:
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| Hey possum: you left a bit of Alistair's chocolate behind! |
Day 3 was also straightforward - more kilometres than the other days but easy terrain and stunning mountain views to distract us. Arriving at the spacious New Pelion Hut we decided to spend a night inside.
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| New Pelion Hut's deck was a pretty nice spot to watch the sun go down |
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| View from the deck towards the spires of Mt Oakleigh |
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| Walking through Buttongrass plains towards Pelion. Mt Ossa, highest point in Tasmania, is the peak in the cloud while the closer peak is Pelion West |
After a surprisingly good night's sleep in New Pelion Hut we had an early start to head off over Pelion Gap to Kia Ora Hut, with a sidetrip up Tasmania's highest peak - Part 2 coming soon!
- David
Great blog, looking forward to part 2!
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