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We were now officially "Tassie bushwalkers."
If you are an outdoors person (and even if you aren't), I can't encourage you enough to visit Tasmania with its national parks and beautiful Tasman Peninsula. It is a laid-back island with friendly people and there are cycling holidays, walks, treks (both coastal and mountainous), little steam railways, historic sites...a motor vessel that leaves from Port Arthur Harbour for a tour of the Isle of the Dead, the last resting place of convicts, soldiers and free persons...or rent a car, camper or mobile home and drive around the Island. You could even take a 15-hour ferry from Melbourne on mainland Australia to Devonport in northern Tasmania.
Let's not forget the great food: salmon, oysters, mussels, tuna, crayfish - yummy. And FYI, this is what a real Tasmania Devil looks like...
nasty-looking Tasmanian Devil
Continue reading "Hobart, Tasmania And The Overland Track" »
Two very long days...first the way to Windy Ridge Hut, past Cathedral Mountain with beautiful views everywhere. Today, we actually ran into a few Freedom Walkers who were very impressed that we were staying in the lap of luxury (a cabin), while they roughed it in the adequate, but occasionally rat-infested, huts (all part of the experience, so they said). Each Freedom hut had long sleeping platforms, communal benches and tables. No food, cooking utensils, cooking stoves, mattresses or bedding were provided. Also, sleeping spaces were not allocated in the huts. There was always room for one more walker to squish in but the Forest Service strongly recommended that everyone carry a tent for safety and "just in case".... Of course, there was a huge difference in the price we paid for the luxury of a privately guided trip and what it cost them. Their fee was about $100 per person compared to the $$$$ we paid. But give me a toilet, bunk bed with mattress and Ian cooking up hot meals and scones any day!!
You do have to book with the Forest Service in advance as they only allow a limited amount of people on the trail each day.
this way to Windy Ridge
Continue reading "Windy Ridge and Lake St. Clair" »
The weather held clear! Today's walk was primarily through rainforest with a stop at Frog Flats, the headwaters to the Forth River. It seemed like such a short distance when we looked at the track map - only about 10km's, but took more than four hours. Once we reached Pelion Hut, the next day would be a rest day or, if we didn't want to rest, a climb of Mt. Ossa, Tasmania's highest mountain, was possible.
The terrain was very unusual. Mosses, lichens, Eucalyptus trees, Pines, Pandani, lots and lots of native flowers...View image..., waterfalls, very weird looking tussock grasses. When we weren't concentrating on the mud, the track was beautiful.
on the way to Pelion Hut
Continue reading "Pelion Hut and Windy Ridge, Overland Track" »
It was a beautiful day heading out across Sedgeland Moors with its glacial lakes. I had read about moors for years but never really realized exactly what a moor is. (Healthcliff, where are you...) A moor is an area of peaty wasteland, where drainage is poor. Or a bog which is wet, spongy ground. In other words --- MUD. Lots and lots of deep mud, mid-calf mud on me, boot sucking mud...and I spent most of the day trying to yank my feet out without losing a boot or falling sideways. Chris said I looked like I was trying to kick-start a motorcycle.
Throughout the trek, we'd stop to eat our lunch sandwiches in the Freedom Huts along the way. Fortunately, ex-Marine never bothered looking at the posters on the wall or reading the walker's accounts in the Hut journals. I did. I'm both curious and nosy. One account ran something like...."a rat ran over so-and-so's face during the night"....
typical Freedom Hut
Continue reading "Barn Bluff Hut to Pine Forest Moor Hut" »
Cradle Mountain didn't look too bad from where we were standing. It was sunny...the mountain was off in the distance, and the terrain looked flat in front of it. There was a beautiful lodge by the parking lot, and lots of tourists opt to stay there and do some day hikes around the area. It takes about 6-1/2 strenous hours to climb the Mountain from the parking lot and return if you day hike it. Ian took care of all the formalities: getting our National Parks pass, signing us in, and handing the three of us sack lunches for later that day.
Suddenly, the sun disappeared, we put on our rented waterproof jackets (a tasteful red), and the rain came down in sheets with gusts of wind blowing the rain sideways directly into our faces. Slinging on the heavy packs with everything needed for the next six days, we set off across a maintained but extremely muddy track. Then we started "scrambling", vertically up, hanging on to large boulders for the next two hours (I hate "scrambling") in this downpour while trying not to get blown off the mountain by the wind. Completely and absolutely miserable...to put it mildly. Later on, I re-read the Cradle Hut brochure and noticed that somehow I neglected to read a key sentence..."The entire climb is exposed to any bad weather which may arrive at any time...." Bad me...
registering at Cradle Mountain
Continue reading "The Overland Track, Tasmania" »
Cradle Huts sent detailed information, a gear check list and Launceston was the meeting place. Launceston is a small city (approximately 103,000) in the North of Tasmania. It is the second largest city in Tasmania after Hobart (the State capital). A very small, provincial city with friendly people.
We settled in at the Penny Royal Motel (with its own Gunpowder Mill, a windmill, cornmill and Jolly Miller Tavern (a mini-motel theme park), made arrangements to check in with Cradle Huts for a final briefing and pick up the rented gear. The Penny Royal Motel was the closest accommodation to Cradle Huts.
Continue reading "Arriving in Launceston, Tasmania" »
There were (and still are) only two options for the Cradle Mountain Overland Track Walk - as a Freedom Walker or part of a guided tour. If you decide to book as a Freedom Walker (independently), you can camp or use the bushwalker's huts, located at each of the five overnight stops on the Overland Track. For more details and information on independent walking, visit the Parks and Wildlife Tasmania Service Internet site.
There was only one private guiding service at that time, Cradle Huts and that is who we booked with. Now there are many other operators running this trip. You can also contact the following operators for information: Tasmania Wilderness Experiences, Tasmanian Expeditions, Tasman Bush Tours, and Tiger Trails Eco Adventures. Our preference is always let someone else do all the cooking and guiding if possible. (Ordering take-out is also good...)
Overland Track Walk
Continue reading "Planning The Cradle Mountain Trek" »
I read everything - newspapers, fashion magazines (though you wouldn't know it looking at my travel photos), National Geographic, Outside Magazine (to name just some) and one day ran across a sentence stating...."Cradle Mountain, Tasmania is one of the finest treks in the World." Tasmania? All I knew about Tasmania was the Tasmanian Devil in Loony Tunes cartoons. Hmmm...where is Tasmania???
Tasmania is an island located about 125 miles below Australia (part of the Australian state) and separated by Bass Strait. Almost a third of Tasmania is in reserves, National Parks and World Heritage Sites. The early settlers were primarily convicts and the first penal settlement was established by the British in 1803 at Hobart. Other penal colonies were built at Port Arthur in the Southeast and Macquarie Harbour on the West coast.
big hunk of yellow is Australia, with little Tasmania below
Continue reading "Trekking In Tasmania" »
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