The Overland Track Day 4 - January4, 2009

The fourth day dawned with the most spectacular weather we'd seen yet. In two days we were going from frostbite to heat stroke. Maybe not heat stroke, as you can see we were still rugged up, but it was beautiful walking weather. Today was to be the longest day for the week at almost 20 kms from Windemere Hut to New Pelion Hut.

Looking back to Barn Bluff and Cradle Mountain

Our first real break for the day came at the Forth River Gorge lookout. It was only a short side trip but the most spectacular views came from the stop on the track itself where we got our best view of Cradle Mountain and could see all the way to Mount Ossa.

Looking Forward to Mount Ossa and Pelion East

My beautiful wife who gets credit for most of the photos

Our best view of Cradle Mountain

Snow dusted Mount Ossa from Pine Forest Moor

 The walk across Pine Forest was damp at times but quite straightforward with only the occasional creek to cross. The hard section came when we started the descent from Pine Forest Moor to Frog Flats. There's nothing really hard about this section. Lots of mud and tree roots to dodge which in and of itself is not hard. The difficulty lies in the tedium. You walk in a steady descent for many kilometres while knowing the whole time that you will just have to climb the other side of the valley before reaching Pelion Hut for the night.

Resting on the descent to Frog Flats

The saving grace is sitting in front of your tent watching the sun set on Mount Oakleigh. Suddenly the feet don't feel quite so sore and the freeze dried meal tastes so much nicer...okay, I lied about the last bit.

Mount Oakleigh

The Overland Track Day 3 - January 3, 2009

Day 3 dawned sunny with the snow starting to clear off the track. The weather wasn't going to hold like this all day but at least it gave us an encouraging start. Our snowmen were starting to feel the effects of the weather but it was time to leave them behind.

Barn Bluff

 By the time we loaded up and started walking the cloud had closed in a little but there was no threat of snow, or even rain,  so we started in good spirits. It was great to be able to put on some dry clothes today. The other encouraging fact about today was that it was only a short day.

Starting Out - Day 3

One of many waterfalls

 As we crested the last ridge before Lake Windemere we got a great view into the valley and we could even see the hut which was to be today's destination. Encouraging for some, disheartening for others.

Looking toward Lake Windemere

Just some proof I was there

Lake Windemere - the hut is to the right of the lake

 We made the hut in good time and settled in to have a rest and then explore. This was aided by the ranger we met at Waterfall Valley, Brian.

Windemere Hut

Well deserved rest

 The advantage of a nature walk with a park ranger, who is a qualified botanist as well, is that he can freely pick plant specimens that the usual walker isn't permitted to. He gave us some great insights into the local botany and geography which gives a fantastic appreciation of the area we were walking through. people like this are a credit to Parks and Wildlife Tasmania.

The Overland Track Day 2 - January 2, 2009

The snow eased overnight and we woke to a beautiful, white landscape. It wasn't a white christmas but it was as close as we'd probably ever get in Australia. By this stage there had been about 15-20cm of snowfall. 

Waterfall Valley

 The hut was very crowded in the morning as many groups had arrived through the night. The last group arrived at nearly 9:30 pm after arriving in Tassie  that morning. They drove down to Cradle Valley and started late afternoon in quite horrible conditions. By he time they arrived at Waterfall Valley there was no chance of them setting up a tent so the floor of the hut looked pretty attractive.

Our group of 5 had a small conference in the morning as the previous day sure tested us all, although the boys did an amazing job in conditions that tested many adults. After some discussion we decided to use the rest day we'd built into our itinerary and wait for some snow to stop falling and clear off the track before proceeding. Planning this sort of flexibility into any walk is invaluable as it gave us a chance to dry out properly, regain some energy and dry our gear thoroughly.

Snowball Fight!

 The next question was obviously what to do with a spare day in the snow. Of course, there as no TV, computers, internet and so on, so the obvious choice was snowball fights and snowmen. When you're stuck in a small valley with very little level ground, and  you need to build a snowman, always look for a nearby helipad. They make it very easy from a level ground perspective and the accumulation of snow. There's a survival tip Bear Grylls won't teach you.

Snowmen on the Helipad

Windblown Tree

As the crowd thinned out we realised there were a few other groups with a similar plan to our own. One lovely couple we met were Terry and Cathy from Penguin on Tassie's north west coast. We ended up walking a similar itinerary for the rest of the walk and became good friends.

As the day progressed the hut again started to fill with the next group of walkers. There's a sign on the door of the hut advising walkers to enter through the rear drying room in order to keep the hut floor dry. One walker arrived and came in through the front doors I proceeded to point out the drying room at the back and the rear entrance that should be used. This walker held out his hand, introduced himself as Brian, and proceeded to give me his Parks and Wildlife Services business card. Yep, I'd just attempted to correct a National Parks Ranger. Thankfully he was very good natured, we had a good laugh and ended up becoming good friends. He, along with many others, took a keen interest in both our boys and their Papa doing the walk together. This started many conversations throughout the week. 

Helipad at Waterfall Valley Hut

The approach to Waterfall Valley Hut

Waterfall Valley - more snowball fight

By mid afternoon the snow had stopped falling and we were getting glimpses of blue sky. This encouraged us no end as we knew we couldn't wait another day and would have to walk tomorrow no mater what the weather was like. The clearing conditions also gave me a chance to explore the valley a bit and I was able to visit the old hut that I stayed in on my previous trips.

Old Waterfall Valley Hut

Looking back at the new hut from the original hut

Shelly and the boys got a great surprise late afternoon when they looked outside and noticed a prominent peak overlooking the whole valley. Until this point they hadn't realised Barn Bluff was so close and they got a new appreciation for the surroundings they were in.

Barn Bluff

Across the valley to Barn Bluff

As the second night came we were in good spirits and keen to get going tomorrow as we headed on toward  Windermere Hut on the shores of Lake Windermere. Most importantly, we were dry and warm.

The Ghost of Bushwalks Past

It's been a while since I updated as I haven't been out walking for some weeks. Hopefully this will be remedied soon, but in the meantime I thought it might be fun to revisit some of the walks we've done as a family. In trying to decide which walk to start with I kept coming back to one place...


The Overland Track, Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park,
Tasmania


My wife and I, along with our twin boys aged 10 at the time, and my dad, completed this walk in January 2009. I'll write this up as a day by day account to give you a good idea of what is required to undertake this walk.


I'll fill you in on some of our background with this walk.  My dad first undertook this walk in 1978-79. This would now be his 4th trip through the park. I first completed the Overland when I was 12 and this would be my 3rd trip.  My wife had never completed the Overland before but the bug bit her when we summited Cradle Mountain a few years earlier. Obviously our boys were also novices to the Overland, and this would in fact be their first walk of this length and duration.


January 1, 2009 - Day 1


The day dawned with clear skies and quite mild weather...in Devonport. Unfortunately over the past few days the weather bureau had been issuing bushwalkers weather alerts for the Tasmanian Highlands.  Thankfully we took heed of these warnings, helped by previous experience in this part of Tassie, and we were fully prepared for any weather.


We loaded the cars and headed of to Cradle Mountain National Park where we would commence our walk at Ronnies Creek. We arrived at Cradle Valley at 9:00 am to give us as much walking time as possible.

Dad gearing up

Getting ready

Of course, the first order of the day was ensuring everyone had the appropriate wet weather gear on.

We caught the park bus from the visitor's centre to the start of the track at Ronnie's Creek. As we wrote our intentions in the log book it started to hit home just what we were starting  out on.

Signing in

Starting out (my wife's taking the photo)

Our first encounter with Parks staff occurred here when we met a ranger who commended us on our obvious preparedness for the walk.  We found out later, from another ranger, that only days earlier the had dragged a foreign visitor off the track after finding him attempting the walk in denim jeans, no tent, and carrying a shopping bag full of Snickers bars and several bottles of Coke.


The track ahead saw us climb steadily up onto Cradle Plateau while the weather slowly deteriorated. Thankfully it didn;t affect our spirits and we continued to view this as the great adventure it was becoming.

Crater Lake (actually a glacial lake)

From Crater Lake we continued to climb up onto Marion's Lookout, atop the cliffs surrounding Crater Lake. It was during this time the first snowfalls started. We were initially a bit excited by this as January is the middle of Australia's summer, however little did we know that this snow would continue for some time...just how long, and how much you'll find out.

Ascending Marion's Lookout

We hit the top

But it was a struggle

We lunched at Kitchen Hut which is a rather grand name for this construction as it has no kitchen and could barely be clued a hut. But, thankfully for us, it was a dry and relatively wind free spot to have some lunch before heading off around Cradle Cirque. The disappointing part was the lack of views of Cradle Mountain due to the weather. As we continued on the snow continued to fall.

Pandanus Palm under snow

Snow on the track

As we started to descend into Waterfall Valley for our first night the wind was blowing to the point that we had to hold onto our boys' packs as they were getting blown of the track. One funny moment occurred when Jack got blown of into several feet of snow. As I leapt after him to haul him to his feet he started yelling "Dad, dad!". "What" I said. "You're standing on my hand." That explained why I couldn't get him to his feet. Thankfully the snow was soft enough to prevent any damage and we struggled on to Waterfall Valley hut where we settled for the night, got a hot meal into us and had a very welcome first night's sleep.




Tomorrow is a whole new day.

Mike Williams

I want to draw everyone's attention to the death of a great man, and terrific friend, in Darwin.

Mike was a paediatrician in Darwin and a great inspiration to many people, particularly myself.  He was incredibly active in many areas, not just his career. He had a great faith in God and when I first caught up with him inMelbourne, shortly after he was first diagnosed with a brain tumour, he told me he didn;t know how people got through these type of events without faith in God.

Here's a link to a Darwin News report the night he passed away.Mike Williams dies of brain cancer

God's blessings to Jill and the kids.