The Overland Track: day 6

This was our final day and we awoke to rain which had began during the night.

After breakfast we donned out wet weather gear for the first time and headed out on the final leg of our trip. We had some 9km to cover and the rain persisted for the entire day. While our wet weather gear kept the rain out it also kept the sweat in and before we were half way through this section I was wet on the inside too and my camera, which I was carry inside the jacket, was moist. Wet camera meant no photos. This was a pity as there was some lovely vistas and other features that I would have photographed. Such is life.

The walk was mainly through cool temperate eucalyptus forest with the odd bit of button grass plain.

Most of us looked rather bedraggled by the time we arrived at Narcissus on the northern end of Lake St Clair. We had managed to pick up the odd hitch hiker in the form of more leeches. When found these were promptly dispatched.

We ate our lunch down at the jetty in the rain with a dropping temperature. I think we were all please to see the ferry arrive for our 1 o'clock pickup.

The 17km trip along the lake to Cynthia Bay and the Lake St Clair Visitors Centre showed glimpses of the spectacular scenery on both sides of the lake.

Coffee was most welcome and provided a warming boast but I was still fairly chilled as was most of the group. We took the opportunity to change out of our wet clothes into whatever we had that was both warm and dry. While I was changing I discovered a leech on my leg just above the knee. Cheeky devil! Having flicked him off I took delight in stomping on him.

Our bus finally arrived and we headed off on the return to Quamby.

Once our borrowed gear was returned and people had reclaimed their luggage and packed their hiking gear back into them it was time for farewells. Cradle Huts provided nibbles and drinks and we said goodbye to our guides before heading in to Launceston and our various accommodations.


Overall, this was a great trip. The guides did take good care of us both on the track and in the huts. The scenery was spectacular. The alpine flora was a riot of colour. We had opportunities to learn about and appreciate the fragile nature of the special area through which we passed.

We are indebted to the people who set out to preserve this very special track of land. It could so easily have been lost. Without their courage and persistence this area with its magnificent trees which have graced this land for thousands of years would have been logged and those glorious trees turned in to wood chips.

The Overland Track: day 5

Day 5 was a day of waterfalls and forests.

Initially the track passed through button grass before entering forest. This was interrupted by a clearing which contained the Du Cane Hut. This is the oldest hut in the area and was built by a trapper, Paddy Hartnett. His  wife is credited with creating a native garden around the hut during her long stints in the bush.

The Du Cane Hut

The next section of forest is some of the oldest in the National Park with King Billy Pines as old as 200 years. We were encouraged to walk through this majestic forest solo so that we could appreciate its grandeur and the peaceful environment.

The depth of topsoil throughout this region is generally quite shallow. Even these very tall trees are shallow rooted. As a community the trees use each others roots to support themselves. When one tree falls it often results in others becoming vulnerable and they, too, may lose their tenuous grip and fall. Below is the photo of the roots of a fallen tree. The root ball, if it qualifies as such, is no more than about 30cm thick.

We gathered at the track junction marking the track down to the first of the waterfalls. Mossies were very evident and for the first time in the trip insect repellent came to the fore.

Note the tangle of roots running across the surface in this photo

The falls are on the Mersey River which has cut a deep gorge through softer layers and tumbles over harder sections, hence the falls.

The first of the falls was D'Alton Falls.

Part of the wall of the chasm adjacent to D'Alton Falls

Next came Ferguson Falls ...

It was impossible to capture the full height of either of these falls from the vantage points available to us.

From the junction we continued along the Overland Track for a short distance and then diverted to the top of
the Hartnett Falls. These are the highest of the three falls. We lunched above the falls next to the river and some of the group took the plunge and swam in the pools in the river.

Our peaceful lunch spot

Kat contemplating a swim

After lunch most of the group headed off to Windy Ridge and our overnight stop. Four of us opted to go to the bottom of the Hartnett Falls with Kat.

For the best photo opportunity it was necessary to cross the river and return. 

At least this cleaned my still muddy boots and gaiters.

Back on the Overland Track, the track climbed up to Du Cane gap where I waited for the rest of the group to catch up. The gap was heavily infested with mosquitoes. I was pleased to be given the OK to go on and leave the mosquitoes behind.

One of the many peaks visible from the track

At Bert Nicholls Hut, the public Windy Ridge Hut, there is a terrific viewing platform with views across to the Du Cane Range. The peaks have some great descriptive names: Falling Mountain and The Acropolis being just two. 

Our hut was just a short distance beyond the Bert Nicholls Hut and we had great views over the Du Cane Range, too. As the sun went down the colour of the mountains changed to a golden hue.

This was our final night on the Track and after another lovely meal and some guitar playing it was time to turn in.

The distance today was 9km plus the side trips to the waterfalls.

The Overland Track: day 4

After a pleasant night at Pelion Hut, this was set up a little differently to other 4 huts we used, and another great breakfast it was off to climb the highest mountain in Tasmania: Mt Ossa.

The Mt Pelion hut almost hidden by the surrounding vegetation

Starting at an elevation of around 850m we climbed up to Pelion Gap, situated about 300m higher than our stating point. The ascent was a fairly steady climb through rainforest following Douglas Creek.

We did a side trip to cascades on Douglas Creek which provided us with a opportunity to fill up our water bottles.

A very pretty and restful spot.

We encountered many Pandani. Some were in flower like the one shown below.

Walking through groves of mature pandani, with dry lower leaves, was like walking through a car wash ... something that we encountered on the climb up Mt Oakleigh.

I think that this is Cathedral Mountain viewed across the trees

Leaving the rainforest we emerged onto Pelion Gap, an exposed alpine saddle between Mt Pelion East and Mt Ossa.

Pelion Gap is quite exposed and probably qualifies to be described as a moor. It is certainly wet and boggy.

We left our packs on a platform at Pelion Gap and headed towards Mt Ossa with light packs which included our lunch, waterproof jacket and plenty of water.

We stopped for lunch on the relatively flat section on the slope of Mt Doris. There were great views out across the valley below as well as to Mt Ossa. It was rather daunting watching other climbers climb up or down the track that we were soon to tackle. Sometimes I would rather not have a close look at what is ahead and just take it as it comes!

Lunching on Mt Doris. Note everone sticking to the rocks to preserve the fragile flora

Mt Ossa ... the track heads around the left of the bump to the right

While the route up and down the mountain is well marked picking the best track was sometimes a challenge. Scrambling was the order of the day once we reached the upper slope.

Still quite a bit of climbing to go

Looking back along the track towards Mt Doris

Plants dotted the mountainside

After a short breather on reaching the top of the right hand bit it was then a case of crossing a saddle to get to the summit.

Our objective ... the summit of Mt Ossa

As we came over the final crest we we confronted with a glorious array of flowering plants hugging the rocks.

At the edge of the plateau was a pretty tarn

But there was still a climb to reach the official summit ...

Finally, the marker on the rock ... 1617m ...

And here I am ... with my foot planted on the marker

There were panoramic views from the summit.

The group gathered at the summit ...

Boys being boys ...

Tackling an outcrop ... just because they could!

Sean taking a break on the descent

This skink kept us amused while waiting for the rest of our group to get back to our lunch spot

 Once back at Pelion Gap we collected our packs and headed down to Kia Ora and our hut.

Once again, dinner was quite late as it was late when we finally arrived at the hut.

The distance today was just over 12km with quite a substantial elevation gain.

The Overland Track: day 3

After a night at Pine Forest Moor Hut and another generous breakfast we headed out.

The day began with a long, slow descent around the base of Mt Pelion West, a peak that had dominated the skyline for much of the previous day. The track continued down to the Forth River at a point just before the river plunged down into the Lemonthyme Valley.

Scaring from a slip that took out trees right down the slope

This huge King Billy Pine had fallen over the track and was left in situ with steps cut into its trunk

I came across a group of Christmas Bells up above the track. None of the other walker spotted them. With full heads of flowers they surpassed the ones that we saw last January. The vivid red blooms stood out against the green and white.

All through the area we walked there were streams and cascades - some big and other quite small

Button grass plains abounded. The button grass provides an environment for an array of flora and fauna.

We had a break at Frog Flats beside the Forth River.

A profusion of flowering trees and shrubs greeted us at every turn

Next came a long slow ascent out of the valley up onto the Pelion Plains with views of Mt Oakleigh dominating the skyline.

Mt Oakleigh off in the distance ... the dominant peak for most of the day

The briefing for the days activities outlined what to expect if we took up the option of climbing Mt Oakleigh. We could expect waist deep mud and other challenges. You must be kidding! Waist deep mud? The mountain certainly did not look any more difficult to climb than a number I had already tackled so I opted in for climbing Mt Oakleigh.

The group going up Mt Oakleigh proceeded to the Pelion Hut where we gathered for lunch on its wide verandah with views across the button grass moor towards our objective.

The warm weather had brought out skinks by the truckload. They were happily sunning themselves on the boards and generally slipped off when they realised someone was approaching. The dominant species were the ocellalated and southern snow skinks.

Just before I reached the hut I had had a close encounter with a wrigglely thing that was sunning itself on a boardwalk and was tucked up against the board of a step down. I was already committed to step when I saw it and instantly did an almighty leap and hurried along the board before turning back to see what the snake was doing. Fortunately for me it was not chasing me but heading off through the surrounding vegetation.

Obviously being in the lead has its disadvantages!

Pelion Hut appeared to have some resident pademelons and wallabies.

Very cute.

After lunch we set out for Mt Oakleigh. We left our packs back at Pelion Hut and only carried a light pack with water and bare essentials.

The first part of the walk skirted a button grass plain before we cross a "river" which flowed in to Lake Ayr. The crossing was via a suspension bridge with a strict one person at a time limit. As the bridge was very bouncy this was a sensible precaution.

Once across the bridge we struck out across Pelion Plains. Pelion swamp would probably have been a more apt name. We had been directed to follow the existing track and not to go around it even if the puddles looked deepish. There is a great deal of concern that walking around the tracks is causing a broadening of the passage and environmental degradation. With this in mind our party collected a number of sticks that had been left, strategically, just over the suspension bridge. It was suggested that these would be handy to help us get through the water and mud as they could be used as probes and stabilisers.

The warning about waist deep mud was not an exaggeration. In places it was even deeper and we had to employ a range of strategies to avoid getting our light packs wet/muddy. Doing crawls along some of the deep stretches challenged our ability to stretch. In reality, while difficult, this was a very funny undertaking. It made mud wrestling look a tame pastime. The group was constantly in fits of laughter as one or other of us slipped or attempted to negotiate the mud.

Yes, the mud was really waist deep!

We finally cleared the worst of the mud. It had taken longer than expected as there were 8 of us heading up the mountain and that meant slow progress as we needed to wait for the whole party to clear the worst of the muddy spots before proceeding to the next.

Once throough the mud we headed up the slope of Mt Oakleigh. There were wet and muddy spots along this track, too, but not nearly as difficult to negotiate as those down below.

The summit of Mt Oakleigh is 1286m above sea level. It was a scramble over rocks to reach the summit with some great views as a reward.

On the summit of Mt Oakleigh. I'm 2nd from the left in the back row

Having achieved the summit we were faced with the return through the mud. Having been through it once we could only shrug and take it as it came. At least on the way down there would be no surprises!

Looking down on Lake Ayr from the side of Mt Oakleigh

Looking down across the Pelion Plains from Mt Oakleigh

Sun coming through the canopy creating patches of bright green

The passage across through the mud seemed to take less time on the return. Perhaps we were beyond caring about the mud and just plunged in.

Back at Pelion hut we retrieved our packs and headed off to our hut.

By the time we cleaned ourselves and got the worst of the mud off our clothes it was very late indeed. We were eating dinner at 9:30pm ... gourmet pizzas made by John which really hit the spot after a long day.

I'm not sure how far we actually walked. According to the walking notes it was 10km excluding the side trip to Mt Oakleigh, though. Even taking a straight line, as the crow flies, measure from Pelion Hut to the summit of Mt Oakleigh the return distance was at least 7km. Given that the track wound back and forth I think it could have been double that distance.

I almost forgot the leeches. The muddy section has alive with leeches. When I striped off while having my shower, initially we showered with our muddy clothes on so that we could remove as much of the mud as possible, I discovered that I was bleeding just above the waist. I had had a leech however it had had its fill and dropped off. At least I didn't have to deal with the blood sucker just the aftermath.