Overland Track

Welcome to Tasmania! You will be met at the airport and transported to a hotel before a group briefing and dinner. This will be a great chance to meet your guide and do a gear check before learning all about what the next week has in store for you!

Accommodation: Launceston Hotel

Walking Time: 4-6 hours

An early start today as we get a bus from Launceston to Cradle Mountain to start the track. On arrival, we will check into the National Park and get our trekking permits before setting off on the walk.

Walk Notes: The first half hour of your journey on the Overland Track is on boardwalk, across the buttongrass moorland. The track soon rises and passes beside Crater Falls, then follows beside Crater Lake. Rest and replenish here before you tackle Marions Lookout (1250m) – the steepest section of the Overland Track.

For the next 5km you will enjoy sweeping views across the glacial landscape as you walk beside the base of Cradle Mountain, before steadily descending into spectacular Waterfall Valley to the huts and campsites. Once there, feel proud that you’ve just completed what many regard as the most difficult day – Day 1 of your Overland journey.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Walking time: 3.5 Hours

Walk Notes: Compared with the previous day’s big climb up to Marions Lookout and across the highest part of the Overland Track, the walk to Lake Windermere is relatively at and leisurely – but still above 1000 metres in elevation. In the next half hour you’ll walk through heathland and alpine gums as you skirt the rim of the spectacular Waterfall Valley cirque. After rain, you can hear several waterfalls far below.

About an hour down the track you’ll reach the junction to Lake Will. This is a popular side trip, where many people choose to lunch on the lake’s shore, beneath the backdrop of Barn Blu. From Lake Will to Lake Windermere you’ll feel on top of the world as you travel high across the plateau. In clear weather there are expansive views to the east and west of the tarn-studded alpine moors. As you approach Lake Windermere, climb the small knoll for views down to the lake.
Windermere Hut is just beyond the lake, at the edge of a myrtle forest. Tent platforms are located either side of the hut, amongst gnarly snow peppermints and graceful pandanis, with Lake Windermere visible in the distance. Enjoy a refreshing mountain lake swim on arrival. No camping at the lake please.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Walking time: 5-7 Hours

Walking Notes: Your day begins striding out across the heathland and moorland. About 4km in, take the short side track to the Forth Valley Lookout to view into this deep, dramatic valley. Back on the main track, you’ll pass through Pine Forest Moor and continue on through buttongrass moorlands before crossing Pelion Creek.

You’ll then enter a glorious myrtle-beech rainforest on the eastern flanks of Mt Pelion West. It’s a gradual descent all the way through rainforest to Frog Flats – the lowest section of the Overland Track (730m above sea level). At Frog Flats you’ll cross the Forth River. There is a campsite here, however most walkers push on to Pelion. From Frog Flats it’s a gradual walk up through more rainforest before breaking out into the open eucalypt forest on the edge of Pelion Plains. The spacious Pelion Hut is set on the edge of picturesque buttongrass plains, with the spectacular dolerite spires of Mt Oakleigh framing the view to the north.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Walking Time: 4 hours

Walking Notes: Today is mountain day. You’ll start your walk at the same altitude as you finish, with Pelion Hut and Kia Ora Hut both at 850m in elevation. In between, however, you’ll climb almost 300m to Pelion Gap – and more if you choose to summit one of the peaks.

Start by ascending steadily through rainforest, at first following beside Douglas Creek. After a few hours, you’ll emerge from the forest onto Pelion Gap – the exposed alpine plateau between Mt Pelion East and Mt Ossa. If the weather and time allows, you may choose to attempt to summit Tasmania’s highest mountain (Mt Ossa -1617m) or the slightly lower Mt Pelion East.

Good views can also be had by climbing to the saddle between Mt Doris and Mt Ossa. Leave your pack at the junction and carry a day pack with waterproof jacket, food, water, first aid kit, torch, map, compass, etc. Injury and death have occurred in the Tasmanian mountains. Don’t risk your safety, or that of your group. No matter how close to the summit you might be, it’s better to turn around if the weather closes in, rather than risk your party’s safety.

The gradual descent from Pelion Gap to Kia Ora Hut through beautiful Pinestone Valley with views to your left of Cathedral Mountain, is a favourite part of the track for many. After arriving at Kia Ora, you’ll find the delightful Kia Ora Creek just beyond the hut.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Walking time: 4-5 Hours

Walking Notes: Today is rainforest and waterfall day. Initially the track passes through buttongrass, but soon you’ll be immersed in rainforest as you skirt the lower slopes of Castle Crag. Below you, unseen from the main track, the Mersey River crashes through chasms and plunges over cliffs. About an hour into the walk, you’ll break out of the forest into a small clearing, where you’ll find Du Cane Hut, built in 1910 by Paddy Hartnett, a snarer, miner and bushman. You’re welcome to take a look inside, but its overnight use is only permitted in emergencies.

A little further on, you’ll come to the track junction marking the side trip down to see D’Alton and Fergusson Falls – the latter named after Ranger “Fergy” – the first ranger in the south end of the park. Hartnett Falls – the tallest of the three – is a little further on, o another track junction. You can leave your pack at the track junctions to explore the falls. They’re all well worth a visit.

Back on the main track, you’ll swing west and begin a gradual climb to Du Cane Gap – the saddle between the Traveller Range and the Du Cane Range. When you cross over the gap and start a steep descent, you’ll be entering the bowl-like cirque of the Du Cane Range, sculpted by glaciers thousands of years ago. Once the canopy starts to open out and eucalypts begin to appear, you’re close to camp: Windy Ridge and Bert Nichols Hut – a stunning location almost totally encircled by the spectacular Du Cane Range.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

t’s a gentle walk down the glacier’s path to Narcissus Hut beside Lake St Clair. You can relax and enjoy the last couple of hours walking. Crossing the Narcissus River is exciting, it’s the only suspension bridge on the Overland Track. A little further on, you’ll find the small and rustic Narcissus Hut on the banks of the Narcissus River. We catch the ferry down Lake St Clair, the deepest lake in Australia. Our transport will pick us up and drive us the 2 and a half hours back to Launceston hotel for a clebratory dinner, hot shower and your first night back in a bed.Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

We transfer to your flight time home or further on. You have just completed another great adventure with On Track Expeditions!
 

Meals included: Breakfast