Hiking Australia: This is it! The Overland Track January, 2013.

It has taken the start of the next adventure to force me to finish (read start) the blog on our Overland Track Journey. My plan here is to keep it short but hopefully sweet!

Firstly, If you want to walk the Overland track with the best people in the world, you need to chose Andrea, Liz, Mic, Richard and Robyn! Best travel partners that anyone could have and if you ever get the chance to check out the video doc (may eventually be posted) you'll understand why!
Okay so, flights booked, walk dates booked, equipment bought, post walk accommodation booked, transport booked and just about everything else we could do to prepare done! Oh and of course, we trained..... another champagne anyone?
Our flight across the Tasman was standard, we charted our own A320 to ensure the trip was trouble free! (see picture).

We arranged bus transport to our Cradle Mt accommodation with Tiger Wilderness. Efficient pick up from Launceston with on-board tour guide, slight hitch on pick up at the end which was remedied with a couple of phone calls! Our overnight accommodation was at Waldheim Huts. Basic accommodation but perfect for us to cook our last steak and drink a well selected bottle of Shiraz (perhaps two? And, a bottle of champagne for good measure) before heading off in the morning.

Day One - Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley (10.7kms - side trip to Cradle mountain 2kms).

After an uneventful sleep, at this point I was wishing that I had bought my ear plugs, we woke to bacon, eggs and adventure in our hearts! All packed and ready to walk off into the wilderness! Sunshine greeted us and remained throughout the day! We did the side trip up Cradle Mountain and it was undeniably worth it! The views spectacular albeit an energy burner. No matter where we looked the view was awesome. The climb up Cradle is brilliant if you are a mountain goat. It is like rock hopping but over giant boulders - great fun!

Climbing to Marions Lookout

Ronny Creek

Crater Lake

Dove Lake

Kitchen Hut

Barn Bluff

After what seemed to be an eternity we arrived at our first night camp, Waterfall Valley. Boy, was it good to get the pack off and relax after what was an absolute blinder of a day! Don't tell anyone but the Ranger on duty allowed us to set up in the group area! Waterfall Valley was absolutely beautiful and even looked better in the morning as we departed on our second day.

Richard and Liz perched above Waterfall Creek

Walking into out first camp at Waterfall Valley.

Day Two - Waterfall Valley to Lake Windermere (7.8kms - side trip to Lake Wills and waterfall 5kms).

With Barn Bluff setting the scene for our second day we ventured up the hill and onto Lake Windermere. The day was another out of the bag with beautiful sunshine all day. We took the side trip to Lake Will with our lunch, the trip turning out to be a little less than our expectations. The trouble came when we decided to head to the Innes waterfall at the end of the lake.... that was a trip! Scrub, mud, scrub, mud! All in all, we did enjoy a 'nice' lunch on the banks of Lake Wills.

Walking out of Waterfall valley

What started as a clothed dip in
Lake Freezamere ended up in a skinny dip!
No photos..... that we will publish!

Lake Wills - Innes Falls

Awesome views were the order of the day!
Every time you thought you had seen it all, there was more to come!

There is no doubt that it was a long day, made longer by our side trip to Lake Wills, but what a day. Awe inspiring views all day long, beautiful weather finished off with a relaxing campsite. Liz, Richard, Andrea and I enjoyed a refreshing swim in Lake Windermere. When I say refreshing you can assume freezing! It certainly finished of another exhausting day in the best possible way.

Day Three - Lake Windermere to Pelion (the longest day on the walk, 16.8kms)

Every day ends with an opportunity to stay in a hut, but Pelion Hut was our first and only hut stop. And what a hut, more on that later.
The day started in stark contrast with the previous two days... rain! Our first experience on the track of wet weather and just quietly, it wasn't all that bad! The fact that we were walking through rain forest was apt. The forest seem to come alive with the moisture, with drops of rain highlighting every different moss and lichen.

Yes! It was wet!

The hump back of Overland

Even the spider webs were wet!

The girls on the track!

On arriving at Pelion the weather was still overcast and looking less than favourable. So a decision was made to spend the night in the hut, from that moment on the clouds cleared and the sun came out to dry our tents, socks and bones! As you can see our accommodation was very good and apart from the snoring we had a very restful night!

Pelion Hut sleeping arrangements!

We spent the afternoon sunning ourselves on the boardwalks, stretches and massages were the order of the afternoon! What started out as a damp awaking ended in a beautiful sunset and one we watched and will remember for a very long time!

The view from Pelion Hut - Mt Oakleigh!

Barn Bluff - for the last time, also taking from the balcony at Pelion Hut!

Day Four - Pelion to Kia Ora (8.6kms - side trip to East Pelion 2kms).

Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

The day started with a warm and dry breakfast in Pelion Hut. The day was a little overcast and as we started the climb to Pelion gap 1113m the cloud thickened! Our aim for the morning was to climb to the top of East Pelion but cloud stopped us just short, we did however get a glimpse just prior to returning to our packs at the Gap.

The views around the valley from Pelion Gap are extraordinary, everywhere you look there are mountains. While the clouds were a slight hindrance they didn't get in the way of some awesome views. This was probably one of the easier days travelling around 10km with our side trip.

Easy walking on the track out of Pelion!

A tantalising glimpse of East Pelion before
the cloud stopped us in our tracks!

Mt Ossa!

You start and finish the walk at the same elevation but in between you climb 300metres in the 8.6kms! We finished the day with a swim in Kia Ora Creek...now that was cold! But, by then the clouds had disappeared and the sun warmed us as we rested around camp, enjoying a beautiful evening. We were all tired, but without doubt agreed that every day had been brilliant. We were very blessed to be experiencing the Overland Track in all its wonder!

Cathedral Mountain

Not a bad view from our camp at Kia Ora!

Kia Ora Creek - even colder than Windermere!

Day Five - Kia Ora to Windy Ridge (9.6kms - Side trips to D'Alton, Fergusson and Hartnett Falls 2.5kms)

While the evening ended with beautiful weather we woke to it bucketing down! It certainly made for an interesting pack up! Once again we donned jackets and ponchos and headed into the weather! This was waterfall day and we took every side track opportunity to witness the spectacular falls. The pictures say it all! The rain didn't really give up the entire day and we considered sleeping in the newly built Burt Nichols hut. Fortunately the weather eased as the hut was full with snorers. After setting up our tents we ventured in to the outer hut area (without open wood fire) and ate and relaxed before turning in. It had been a very tiring day and once again delicious fatigue set in and a great nights sleep was had!

D'Alton Falls

Fergusson Falls

Water Falls and rain forest gardens were the highlight of the day as we walked through drizzle, mist, cloud and the like. The weather matched perfectly with the terrain and once again made the journey.

Hartnett Falls

A small creek on the way into Windy Ridge Hut

Forest wonderland!

The view from Windy Ridge Hut! Dark and Gloomy

Day Six - Windy Ridge to Pine Valley (10kms)

The walk into Pine Valley is uneventful, yet after the last few days we were all pretty tired! Our intention was to do the side trip to the labyrinth in the afternoon but we were all happy to spend the afternoon in the hut and warm ourselves by the potbelly! Mic slept from lunch until dinner and needed it!

Looking a little puffy eyed!

Still Smiling!

Day Seven - Pine Valley to Narcissus (9.6kms - side trip to The Acropolis 6kms)

Forget the gloomy weather from the day before, our last official walking day turned out to be an absolute ripper! The photos will say it all suffice to say it turned out to be one of our hardest days! But was it worth it. We began the day with the journey to The Acropolis. While only 6kms it took us the best part of 6 hours! This is not an easy walk by any means, with steep exposed sections once you leave the surrounding forest. Rock hopping and scrambling up the side of The Acropolis made for another interesting challenge. The entire walk was spectacular but once on the summit it was difficult to hold back the tears as we witnessed one very special 360 degree view over the Tasmanian wilderness! As I remember the day, I don't think the photos will do the view justice.

The Acropolis

From the summit

The team on top!

Lake St Clair

Frenchmans Cap

Narcissus River

Richard off the Jetty!

Our last camp set up!

After taking millions of pictures and soaking up the grandeur we had to depart what has to be considered the highlight of the journey to make our way to Narcissus Hut. This became a bit of a route march as destination sickness had set in. Behind us the Overland Track was becoming less of a focus as we began to concentrate on the first beer and or champagne as our reward. But... there was still more to come for us. Tired and elated we walked in to Narcissus Hut site, set up camp then wandered down to Lake St Clair for a swim and freshen up. Cold, but was it worth it, everyone felt rejuvenated! On waking the next morning we packed and prepared for the boat trip to Cynthia Bay. Just to top the trip off we had a final farewell from the local Platypus!

Day 8 - Narcissus Hut to Cynthia Bay via the Ferry! (0.3km to the Jetty!)

Our last day of the journey! A gentle stroll down to the Jetty and a leisurely ferry ride to Cynthia Bay and of course, the celebratory drink at the end of a 91+kms remarkable trip! Our next stop Hobart for a few days R&R and that, my friends is another story not to be told here!