Our Hiking Blog

57 signs you might be obsessed with hiking, backpacking or bushwalking.

2009-10-25T16:18:00.018+11:00

Get teased by friends and family that you are obsessed with hiking?

Can't resist an outdoor goods sale just in case you find a new bit of gear?

Spend time at your day job dreaming of your next trip?

Don't understand why anyone would stay in a five star hotel when they could be sleeping in a tent or tarp?

Frank recently joined the forums at Trailspace.com and he stumbled across a thread titled:

You know when you are a backpacker when:

and it got him thinking that maybe HE is obsessed with the idea of the next hike or bushwalk. On continued examination he decided that being obsessed with such thoughts is a healthy pursuit and he was particularly reassured there are many others (particularly in this U.S. forum) who think the same way!

So in this post we summarise some of the great comments on the Trailspace.com forum and invite you to add your own answer to this question in the comments section below:

You know when you are a backpacker, multi-day hiker, bushwalker, tramper or treker (phew, one word to mean the same thing would be great) when:

1. During the winter, most of your internet browsing history contains new places to backpack, new gear, etc.

2. Your wife tells you to buy the bigger tent because if you don't stop ordering new gear we are going to have to live in it.

3. You pack your stuff in boxes to move, and there are more boxes labelled "gear" than there are labelled "kitchen"

4. You insist on taking the stairs at work and when you get to the top, you stop for a snack break

5. Your truck payment is late because there was a sale at REI/ Mountain Designs/ Paddy Pallin.

6. You close your eyes at night and still see a white blaze/ yellow triangle/ track sign.

7. You're always saying..."I just wanted to see if that way was quicker".

8. You have calluses on your shoulders.

Picture by mbiskoping / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

9. You tell the clerk at Goodwill / the Op Shop they should have a synthetic and wool section.

10. You cook spaghetti noodles and then dehydrate them. Same with beans.

11. When not out backpacking you waste time on internet forums talking about it.

12. You realize that you think the people who don't backpack are just a little....weird....

13. You randomly organise a carpool for the 6 hour drive to MEC / a track and back just because

14. There's an MSR pot gripper on top of your stove at home

15. There's a car under 5 feet of snow in the driveway because you unscrewed the licence plate to make a brake on your winter sled

16. All your socks are expedition weight merino wool

17. You use your 90L pack to carry the groceries

18. You sleep on a thermarest

19. Your keychain is a Swiss army knife/fox40/flint combo on a biner/ climbing loop

20. Your homepage is Trailspace.com/ Bushwalk Tasmania

21. You name your sleeping bags (yes you can come with me this time, Hayden McWeatherfordshiredam IV)

22. You wonder if the meal you are eating can be dehydrated effectively...

23. You are given the weird look when you try to explain to your co-workers how you ended up burning your hand when your homemade Pepsi stove exploded..

Photo by thedayhascome/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

24. You see a hailstorm as a unique opportunity to test your tent.

25. You know you are a climber or backcountry skier, when it's -40, your friends say let's camp out, and you don't hesitate to grab your gear and head for the door.

26. When you visit relatives for the holidays, you camp in the backyard

27. You sleep in your sleeping bag because you just can't get comfy under bed covers

28. You never stay in motels when travelling, but stay in the woods/bush nearby

29. You cook on your camp stove at home, because that’s the only cook set you have

30. When you go hiking for the weekend, you don't want to go back to work on Monday

31. You learn edible plants to save weight in your pack.

32. You test your new sleeping bag in your room with the windows open, during winter...And maybe the fan blowing on you...

33. You never stow your gear, it always stays mostly packed, accessible & ready to go at a moments notice.

34. When you partake in a spirited debate about boots. ....and tents in hurricanes.

35. You ask questions no one can answer like: How do you get snail slime off a tent.

36. You hike all day just to cook over a beer can cause that is the real test of your stove making skills.

37. You check on your two packs at least once a week. You don't want them gaining weight when your not around...

38. You enjoy eating whatever the hell you want guilt free with a beautiful view and nobody to disturb you.

39. When your friends call or e-mail for recommendations for equipment (and you give them 5 equipment options for every question).

40. When you can outfit at least two of your friends completely so they can go on a trip with you.
Photo by canadianveggie - he loves his backpack / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

41. When you have to sneak new equipment past your spouse into the house.

42. When you've memorized, to the 1/10th of an ounce, the weight of all your equipment.

43. When you can recite the URLs of your favourite cottage gear manufacturers when you are asked for recommendations on the trail, as well as prices and a general summary of the user reviews from backpackgeartest.

44. When you can bring two extra stoves, two shelters, two extra pads and random rain ponchos to the trailhead/ start of the trip , because you know someone will forget something.

45. When your bear canister has more miles on it than your car.

46. You evaluate prospective spouses based on their gear holdings. Mine had an original North Face Oval Intention, dubbed "the Bim-Bam Room" (yes, we name our tents). Love at first sight...

47. You keep energy bars and bottled water in your car...just in case

48. You wear a rain jacket on a sunny day JUST IN CASE

49. You pass my the cooking section in Wal/K-Mart and double take cuz you could have SWORN you saw an MSR pot

50. You get excited when you have no dinner plans so you can use your cook set

51. You're the only one in 10 miles that's happy when the power goes out in winter

52. You ignore your boss's emails to click on *30% off sale at REI.com/ Mountain Designs*

53. You think about your next hike during you current one

54. Your dream job is testing gear.

55. Most of your recipes will work on or off the trail/track, and the approval process of new recipes includes trying it out on trail

56. When your back at home and you say to yourself....."I think there's half a snickers bar in my pack."

57. You can accurately guess the weight of "trimmable" stuff from a pack

Have we missed anything? Drop us a comment and add your ideas to the list, we would love to read them!

Trailspace.com is a great community for backpackers, hikers and anyone who loves the outdoors. Drop by, look around and join like Frank did. There are many like minded people there!

Related Posts
Larry, our resident gear junkie's list from The South Coast Track
5 features we don't want in a new backpack
Best one person tent? You decide
The Spirituality of Bushwalking - great post by Grant
Our Hiking Blog goes car camping - definitely NOT lightweight!

Camp Hosting? Cockle Creek - Tasmania - Volunteer Opportunities for summer 2009/10

2009-10-22T07:44:00.013+11:00

Looking for two weeks camp hosting in Southern Tasmania?

Happy to volunteer as a campsite host at Cockle Creek?

Like the idea of free accommodation in return for working with the Parks and Wildlife Service?

The Parks and Wildlife Service in Tasmania are seeking Campground Hosts for two week stints at Cockle Creek in Southern Tasmania.

View Larger Map

Cockle Creek is well known by bushwalkers who are completing (or starting) the South Coast Track. This tiny "village" is 2 hours drive from Hobart and is the furthest point you can drive south in Australia.

This is a great way to have a free "holiday" and to experience some of Tasmania's beautiful wilderness areas. For example, it is a relatively easy walk into the start of the South Coast Track to visit spots such as Coal Bluff or even further on to South Cape Rivulet. It would also be a bit of fun being there to meet hikers who had finished the South Coast Track and check out their condition after this 6- 10 day walk!

Larry Hamilton, in his excellent series on the South Coast Track, shared a couple of pictures with us.

The beach at Cockle Creek

The Cockle Creek bridge

As you can see, it is a very pretty place and quite isolated. Looks like a great spot for a couple of weeks in Tasmania!

This is the link to the full information provided by Parks and Wildlife Service in Tasmania (including contact details of where to apply)

Related Posts
The South Coast Track - Solo Winter Trip report by Larry Hamilton - Part One
South Coast Track - Part Two by Larry Hamilton - Ironbound Ranges and Leeches
South Coast Track - Part Three by Larry Hamilton - Surprise Bay to Cockle Creek
Larry's Port Davey Trip Report- great reading
Gear List for Wilderness Bushwalking Trip - Larry Hamilton's excellent gear list
Stuck between Louisa and Faraway Creeks - Our adventure on the South Coast Track
Hiking the South Coast Track - our first (and last time)

Best hiking gear for a multi day trip in Tasmania? A retrospective review

2009-10-18T18:02:00.001+11:00

What is the best hiking gear for a wilderness adventure?

What gear do I need for a multi-day hike?

What is the best equipment (stove, coat, poncho, overpants, sleeping mat) for several days hiking?

In this guest post , Larry Hamilton (self confessed gear junkie) analyses his gear selection for a recent 10 day hike on Tasmania's South Coast Track. It is a follow up of a previous report about his gear for the Port Davey Track and is Part one of a two part "gear fest"

Introduction (and apology)
These gear notes have been included against the advice of my wife who believes it just indicates a tendency towards nerdishness about equipment, extremely embarrassing materialism and makes me look like an overgrown boy scout.

So if you aren't into gear choices stop reading now and if you are, don't let your partner read it.

Their chortles and guffaws are likely to be quite off putting!

I admit to being a bit of a gear freak and I enjoy the preparation for walks because it means a planning phase which holds its own pleasures and which provides an opportunity to think anew about what I like and what I need. This year for the South Coast Track I planned to take food for fourteen days and at just under a kilo of food per day that meant a fair proportion of my pack weight would be of food. As a result I planned to pare the rest of my gear down as much as I could.

Jacket
From my experiences on the Port Davey Track last year in some appalling weather I ditched my goretex jacket and pants and a pair of goretex overmits. I replaced the jacket with a Montane Featherlite H2O jacket with substantially less bulk and weight.

I used this jacket and liked it but the DRW properties were quickly eroded in areas where my pack rubbed on the jacket such as over my shoulders where the straps rubbed and across my shoulders and across the small of my back. Because I predominantly had the jacket as a windproof barrier I wasn't too worried but I'll experiment in proofing the jacket again with a slightly different DRW treatment.

I believe that you inevitably end up getting pretty wet anyway from the bush, from wading through creeks and from wicking up sleeves, and down through neck openings so I expect to get wet on walks and am not concerned primarily about the level of waterproofness. So the only goretex items I took on this trip were my gaiters.

Overpants
I replaced my goretex overpants with some Golite Whim pants again with a substantial reduction in both weight and bulk.

I didn't end up using the overpants which I took mainly as a windproof barrier for my legs rather than for their waterproofness but if the weather had been like it was last year they would have had substantial use.

I live in regional Western Australia and don't have an opportunity to see and try out exotic gear so I ordered a large pair over the phone and they were enormous on me so my sartorial elegance was really suspect with them on but with the advantage that I could get them on over my boots. I will probably purchase a smaller pair before my next walk. Despite the fact that they stayed in my pack for the trip I'd take them with me again.

Overmits
I gave up on overmits and simply carried two sets of gloves; a fairly light pair of windstopper gloves to walk with and an pair of fleece gloves to use with a fleece beanie and my set of dry gear in camp.

It turned out not to be sufficiently cold enough to wear either pair and so these remained unused but I was pleased to carry them.

In Addition:
I took a pair of thermals for everyday use and used them only in camp. My recorded temperatures inside the tent on waking (at around 5.30am most mornings) varied from a brisk 4 degrees Celsius to a balmy 13 degrees Celsius.

Poncho
On a whim I took also a tarp/poncho as I'd read positive reports about the use of these. I actually tried to use this as a poncho on the beach trek to New River and it took me half an hour of dancing around in drizzle along the beach trying to put it on. Stupidly I'd only tried this out at home with my wife to help me get it on.

I defy anyone on their own to successfully and quickly get into a poncho with a full pack in a reasonable breeze.

I must have looked a sight trying various ways to get it over my full (and fairly high) pack in a balanced way. I tried to put it over my head and then manouver it over my pack, fighting the wind's efforts to blow it back. I used one of my walking poles to try to get it in place and only managed to look stupid. I put it over my pack and then tried to get under everything, and put my pack on with the poncho already in place but only succeeded in getting tangled up. I eventually got it mostly sorted out albeit getting pretty wet in the process and it worked for the next couple of kilometres until I got to the boat crossing where I needed to take it off anyway.

I think that ponchos are only useful when walking with another person who can assist in arranging the poncho across the pack so that it drapes as intended.

On the one day that I holed up from some heavy rain I used the poncho as an additional tarp which gave me some added scope for movement outside of my tent in the rain but I wouldn't take it again. If I wanted additional tarp space (a luxury), I'd take a spinnaker tarp instead. So the poncho will be consigned to the growing pile of gear that I've tried and discarded.

Sleeping Mat
I ditched my self inflating mat (three quarter length) for a Thermarest Z Lite closed cell foam mat for a substantial savings in weight but an increase in bulk. My experimentation with this before starting the walk had revealed that my hips (I'm a side sleeper) compressed the foam enough to mean the insulation was insufficient and I got cold.

I always previously carried a small piece of closed cell foam as a seat in camp and as a foot pad for my three quarter length self inflating mat and I found that this was usefully employed under the Z lite in my hip region to provide the necessary insulation.

I disliked the added bulk of the Z lite inside my pack and found the lack of comfort when sleeping a frustration.

Sleeping mats are always a compromise but I've resolved to shell out for an Exped Downmat for winter trips in the future. I'll endure the additional weight in return for greater insulation and comfort.

Stove
I opted to change my stove system from my Triad titanium burner used last year and go for more convenience but extra weight by purchasing a Clickstand and using a standard Trangia burner.

I went for the heavier Trangia burner for two reasons. Firstly it enabled me to carry unused fuel in the burner as the cap has an o-ring. The second reason is because it has a simmer ring. I'm not sure why I think that this is an advantage because I never simmer and didn't on this trip but it came with me and was used only as a snuffer for the burner.

I like the Clickstand but was careful about packing it because I didn't want to bend the frame and render it useless. So I had to take a bit more care with packing than I'm used to. I normally get pretty violent in ramming gear into small spaces in my pack, particularly at the beginning of a trip when space is at a premium.

Pots
My MSR titanium pot came again with its home made pot cosy. I also took my favourite double-wall titanium mug rather than a lighter single wall one I sometimes use. Some luxury is worth it.

Fuel
I took 1600ml of metho for my stove in a 1 litre MSR fuel bottle and a 600ml coke bottle. I always get too nervous about fuel use and ended up using just on a litre for the eleven days.

Additional Gear
This year I took a small pair of binoculars which I thought would be useful and provide me with another dimension of interest along the coast. I ended up using these very little and mostly only because they were there and because I didn't want to take them back unused. I wouldn't bother with the weight again on a walk.

Leeches
I have a thing about leeches and some interesting experiences with them. During the year I engaged in some research and wanted to experiment on this trip with Pyrethrin (or Permethrin its synthetic equivalent) as it was reported to be very effective against leeches.

I'd considered DEET but had rejected that as being noxious to me and not as effective as Pyrethrin.

As I normally do I took salt but this time before starting I rinsed my walking pants, socks and gaiters in Permethrin shampoo intended for pets. I also took some Pyrethrin horse insecticide in a small spray bottle. I doubt that the shampoo wash made much of a difference as the constant soaking of my clothes would probably have rendered the wash useless after a short time.

This trip I didn't have much of a problem with leeches but the few I had a chance of having a go at shrivelled up with a touch of the Pyrethrin spray and unlike DEET, Pyrethrin doesn't affect fabric or plastics. So I'd take that again and leave the salt behind. Salt is always a problem because of its need for waterproof storage.

Many thanks to Larry for his excellent write up and review of his gear. We will post part two in the next few days where the rest of this self confessed "gear junkies" equipment for the trip is reviewed.

Related Posts
The South Coast Track - Solo Winter Trip report by Larry Hamilton - Part One
South Coast Track - Part Two by Larry Hamilton - Ironbound Ranges and Leeches
South Coast Track - Part Three by Larry Hamilton - Surprise Bay to Cockle Creek
Larry's Port Davey Trip Report- great reading
Gear List for Wilderness Bushwalking Trip - Larry Hamilton's excellent gear list
Stuck between Louisa and Faraway Creeks - Our adventure on the South Coast Track
Hiking the South Coast Track - our first (and last time)

The Overland Track - Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair - a nice slow trip

2009-10-14T13:35:00.001+11:00

Spring hiking in Tasmania? Will there be snow or just rain?

Hiking the Overland Track from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair?

A leisurely bushwalk on a World Heritage "Top 10 Hikes in the World"

We have just returned from a seven day, six night trip on the Overland Track in Tasmania. There were four of us in the party with the plan to take our time and enjoy any good spring weather we might get along the way. With typical Tasmanian weather variability we were blessed with some great sunny days and also snow, sleet and rain in various forms. All this was expected and we were well prepared for any conditions.

Why hike the Overland Track again you may ask? Because we LOVE it!

In this post we will just make a few comments and observations about the trip, as there are many other posts on Our Hiking Blog about hiking the Overland Track. Check out the links to them at the bottom of the page.

Heading up the Horse Track as an alternative to the big grunt up Marions. Perfect for someone with barthmophobia. It is still a bit of a "climb" but over a longer distance. Every time we do it it seems to get harder....

We were hoping for snow, in fact a lot of snow! It had snowed heavily a couple of weeks before and while there was some on the Cradle Plateau it was very slushy and soft. Above is Sue heading across the Horse "Track" towards the intersection with the Overland Track proper (where it intersects just before Kitchen Hut)

We had planned to take snow shoes (Yowies) but Frank ended up the only person carrying them as the snow was patchy and not forecast for the duration of the trip. They were OK in this section but because the snow was so soft and slushy they broke through to ground several times and it was quite difficult to get them out of the snow.

Heading across to Kitchen Hut (with Cradle Mountain in the background). The snow was particularly soft here as there was a lot of water running across the ground (under the snow)

The Overland Track was easy to find in the snow. We had fantastic weather on day one.

We left the Ronney Creek car park (the official start of the Overland Track) at 1pm. Slow as ever, and hindered by the snow, we reached Waterfall valley Hut at 7pm. Sunset (above from just before the Barn Bluff turnoff) was at 6:07 so we had quite a bit of walking with headlights in the dark.

Cooking dinner at Windemere Hut we were surprised to be the only party in the hut that night. We were lucky enough to get ABC radio reception here and were able to listen to the AFL football and hear our team win the game and make the Grand Final. We also had Pelion and Kia Ora huts to ourselves which was surprising (but nice for a change, we have been at Pelion Hut when it was at it's capacity of 60 people)

Of seven days hiking, we had two totally fine days. The rest was a variety of "weather". Pictured above is John heading down the track. Tasmania has had a significant amount of winter and spring rain and the track was quite wet in places.

At Pelion Gap and the Mt Ossa turnoff. That evening we discovered we had red faces from sunburn! Colin had left Pelion Hut early hoping to climb Mt Ossa. When he arrived it was covered in cloud and after waiting an hour decided to head on to Kia Ora. As he says, no use climbing a mountain if you can't see the view. We arrive in sunshine and a cloud free Ossa!

Sue heading down Pelion Gap towards Kia Ora Hut. Nice bit of snow here but not enough for snow shoes.

It was a "bit chilly" on a couple of days. Pictured above is Frank feeling the cold.

We had never been into Ferguson Falls (which are between Kia Ora and Bert Nichols Hut) and were lucky to have chosen a great time of the year as it was PUMPING! We could not believe the roar of the water nor the sheer volume coming over the waterfall. It was a great side trip.

Above is a great view of the Acropolis from Bert Nichols Hut. The new hut is an interesting addition to the Overland Track. There is a very long, funny and interesting post on Bushwalk Tasmania about the Hut development. (some people love it, others hate it- we can see both sides)

We completed the walk at Echo Point Hut as the jetty at Narcissus was under a metre of water due to the high level of Lake St Clair.

In conclusion, a few reflections on this walk may be useful for anyone planning a spring bushwalk on the Overland Track.
- the snow was wet and really soft. Travel time was slow and snow shoes unhelpful
- temperatures were never below freezing so the tracks were slushy and wet rather than icy as we had in our Winter Overland Track
- We took it easy and just went from hut to hut. It made for a very relaxing trip, leaving late (between 9 and 10 am) each day and arriving into the Hut most days between 2 and 4 pm. It was a great way to "do" the track.
- We saw 22 people in total for the whole seven days (and saw no one for 3 of the days). If you are experienced, well prepared and not too ambitious it may be a good time of the year to hike the Overland Track without the seasonal "crowds"
- we allowed 7 nights and 8 days in case the weather held us up (or if we wanted a side trip). Snow is very common in September and there had been a large dump two weeks before our trip.
- we ended coming out "early" and had a night at the Derwent Bridge Hotel. It was great and we really enjoyed the food and hospitality.

Related Posts
How to hike the Overland Track - our eBook on getting the trip done - 2009/10 update
Backpacking the Overland Track - a view from the States
Planning food for a multiday hike
Various Overland Track posts

Bibbulmun Track - Advice and tips on this long distance hike

2009-10-12T09:10:00.015+11:00

What is the best section of the Bibbulman Track to hike?

Do you need a tent?

What is the water supply like on this famous 1000km adventure from Kalamunda, a suburb in the hills on the outskirts of Perth, to the historic town of Albany on the south coast of Australia?

We received an email from Bruce asking several questions about the Bibbulman Track, and in this post, we share Dave Tomlinson's answers with other readers of "Our Hiking Blog".

Regular readers will remember Dave's excellent reports on the Bibbulman Track and The Great South West Walk.

We have split Bruce's email into questions and then Dave's answers.

My name is Bruce Bxxx and I was thinking about doing a hike on the Bibbulmun for the full month of December 2009. I am an experienced walker (Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker, trails in Tasmania, Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Scotland), though had a couple of questions I was wondering if I might bother you with.

Q: I understand Dec can be very hot on the Track...will I have problems finding water? I realize the shelters' tanks should probably have some. But was wondering I might endure some very dry spells with empty tanks. I'll probably start the morning off with 2 full litres in my pack.

A: December is summer time in Western Australia but it may not have the heat of February when I was on the track.
Dave's water carrier - note the tannin stain - no problems to drink

Please be assured that you'll have no problem with water.

The CALM (Conservation and Land Management) staff do a wonderful job maintaining the facilities and checking that tanks have adequate water. They are also supported by an army of volunteers along the entire track length. During my hike, a couple of the tanks had low water levels with a request to be conservative with it but it was never a problem. Because you can depend on water at every shelter only carry what you need to drink.

I consistently arrived at each campsite with only about 100m left in my bottle.

Carrying any more is pointless. Through the top of the northern section you can 'double-hut', which means you can refill halfway through the day and carry even less.

Q: If I walked from 2 Dec to 29 Dec...what would you recommend as being the best part? North to Mid? Mid to North? South to Mid or Mid to South? I probably only have enough time for 350 or so miles.

The question of which part to hike is a difficult one because it depends on the individual. Each section offers it's unique beauty and tranquility. There are a few highlights though and the most popular section for many is the area around Walpole because of the huge and iconic karri trees.

Karri Tree

The southern section has some magnificent coastal scenery although the hiking is more difficult in parts because of the sand dunes. There are some beautiful areas of Jarrah forest in the northern section and I loved the rugged Pingerup Plains.

To be honest, I really can't answer this question because it depends on what you prefer. I suggest you have a look at the track photos that I've uploaded onto the internet and see what inspires you. The link is: here to all my pictures .

Q: I'll probably carry a 3 lb tent.

A: At the time I hiked the track there was absolutely no need for a tent.

Frankland River campsite

This could well be different in spring time when many people hike to see the wild flowers. However, with December being the beginning of summer I would suggest you don't need it. So, unless you plan to camp between the shelters (where you won't have water)

I suggest you leave it behind. The shelters comfortably sleep at least 8 people.

Q: Could I get by with a sleeping bag rated to 10 degrees C or 45 degrees Farenheit?

A: The sleeping bag is an interesting question because I don't trust their ratings. Mine was rated at 5C and was only just adequate, especially in the southern section where it's cooler.

So, to be honest I don't think a bag rated at 10C would be warm enough.

For your comfort and peace of mind I'd suggest 5 deg C or even 0 deg C. Remember that the shelters are not fully enclosed. They are three-sided and although they are beautifully constructed and provide shelter from the prevailing winds, it can still be chilly at night.

Q: Any problems finding gas cannisters for stove (iso butyl mix)?

A: Providing your stove is a standard model, you won't have any problem finding gas canisters.
Each town that you pass through will have them in either the supermarket, general store or petrol station. I used the butane canisters with the threaded connection. Depending on the time of year and the section of track you are in, you may be able to use the fireplaces to cook but fire bans are often in place during the summer period.

Q: Think I would need a fleece?

A: Dave did not address this question but I would, note answer to sleeping bag question, it can get cold at night! (Frank)

There is also another great post by Dave on the blog titled - Bibbulman Track planning - it is well worth reading in conjunction with this post.

Related Posts:
Bibbulmun Track - Part One - A very long hike
Bibbulmun Track - Part Two - The Southern Section

The Official Site:
Bibbulmun Track - Trip Planning

Many thanks to Dave Tomlinson for his fantastic words and pictures for this post.

Family backpacking or bushwalking - planning your trip

2009-09-09T09:22:00.011+10:00

Planning on a hiking trip with your children?
Looking for information on how to bushwalk or backpack with your family?
What is the best way to go multiday hiking with your kids?

Damian and Renee have a fantastic blog called Adventure in progress which focuses on "Encouraging families to get outdoors and experience adventure".

Frank got lost in reading some of the terrific posts and enjoying Renee's wonderful photography.

This family , with three young children, just completed their first family backpacking (we call it bushwalking in Australia) trip to Gentian Pond on the Appalachian Trail. Damian just posted a great yarn titled: Gentian Pond Backpacking - Successes and Failures

It is highly recommended reading as Damian has analysed the different gear that worked (was a Success) and did not work (Failed) when hiking with children. Great reading and very informative.

(btw -Gentian Pond Campsite is on the Mahoosuc Trail section of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire, located 5 miles or so from the Maine border)

Related Posts
Hiking Gear - the basics
The Spirituality of Bushwalking - one man's reflections
Australian Alps Walking Track - when your kids go it alone!
Tasmania Hiking - we drag out the young people!
What basic gear do you need to get started multiday hiking?

Microspikes - a solution for hiking in icy conditions?

2009-08-25T08:28:00.027+10:00

Having trouble hiking or bushwalking on icy tracks?
Want to stop falling over on your next winter trek?
Are conditions too good (or not good enough) for snowshoes but icy and slippery?

What is the best footwear for hiking in the snow or ice?

Hiking in Tasmania in winter can be a treacherous experience. The snow is not consistent and there are many sections of track that remain icy all day or , just to add to the fun, the duck boarding is covered with compressed, slippery snow and ice. When we were there a couple of years ago, walking was slow and dangerous as we constantly tested our footing to avoid slipping and a serious fall.

We needed a solution for our Overland Track hike in mid September (early Spring)

Snow shoes were impractical to wear all the time because of the inconsistancy in snow cover. In addition, the narrowness of the track or it's condition meant it was dangerous to wear snowshoes as they can easily be caught in roots or rocks.

In an attempt to solve this problem we recently purchased some Kahtoola Microspikes. This weekend we tested them around Falls Creek in Victoria on a family skiing trip and were very happy with our purchase.

What are they?
"Lightweight" (300 - 400gms depending on size) boot / shoe "chains" WITH spikes

Background:
The microspikes were recommended by Alan, a mate from the east coast of the USA, who walked the Overland Track with us a couple of years ago. (we have never seen them for sale in Oz)
We researched them and according to the "blurb" the Microspikes are OK for rock, concrete, scree, ice, snow. Perfect for the type of conditions we would be facing.

Four pairs were ordered from Kahtoola - the prices (in Australian dollars) worked out to $90 each including freight.

Incredibly, they were ordered on a Monday night and were delivered Friday of the same week!

Test
We went to Falls Creek in Victoria last weekend on a family ski trip. The conditions were snowy, icy and very slippery on the roads etc around the village.

Threw on our Microspikes and they were great:
1) Really easy to put on (almost one handed)
2) Did not feel too weird to wear on solid surfaces like road and gravel - (Thought it would be like being perched up in the air on unstable chains)
3) Worked a treat on icy surfaces. Just like walking normally
4) Worked really well on compressed / icy snow (like you get on duck boarding) Including one section that was almost a 40 degree angle.
5) Did not move around or slip off the boot - just held in position

Possible risks/ problems / issues
- This was an hour long test in "civilised" conditions - no pack or tree roots or bog holes - therefore untested in rough conditions (not that the OT is very rough)
- not sure of durability of (to quote) "tough elastomer shoe harness" if hooked in branches , roots etc. It does fit very snugly to your boot / shoe so that is a bonus.
- NOT designed to replace snow shoes in deep snow - we bought them to improve traction where snow shoes are a pain i.e. wearing big and clumpy duck like feet trying to walk up an icy rock face or down a very slippery section of duck boarding

Conclusion
- Look the goods for us even if they assist with increasing our speed on icy sections by 20%
- adding another 400g is acceptable if we can save a few falls and bruises
- will probably still take snow shoes (we have Yowies and have used them in the area before) on the chance there is a good dump of snow and we can do some off track walking
- We will do a follow up post on how they perform in real conditions

Related Topics:
Living on the Edge – or was it cold? Pictures of Walls of Jerusalem to Overland Track via the Never Never
Launceston to Dixon Kingdom Hut – Walls of Jerusalem – Winter
Walls of Jerusalem – Mt Jerusalem – Winter
Dixon Kingdom Hut to Meston Hut – Winter
Meston Hut to Kia Ora Hut – via the Never Never – Winter
Kia Ora Hut to Pelion Hut – Winter
Pelion Hut to Windemere Hut – Winter
Windemere Hut to Cradle Mountain Lodge - Winter

Hiking the South Coast Track in Tasmania - Surprise Bay to Cockle Creek

2009-08-17T17:22:00.000+10:00

In this post, Larry Hamilton continues his extensive trip report on the South Coast Track in Southern Tasmania.

This post commences on Day Eight where Larry had overnighted at Surprise Bay, (one of our favourite places on the SCT) and continues to the end of the Track at Cockle Creek.

Day Eight 26 June

The rain continued heavily overnight and was steadily falling in the morning so I took an enforced rest day. Because of the previous rest days I got a little stir crazy and would have liked to keep moving but it wouldn't have been pleasant walking. I had a brief respite from the rain in the afternoon and ventured out with my camera. The creek I crossed yesterday which was over waist deep was impressively high and I got a photo of it which unfortunately didn't do it justice. Had I been crossing it today it would have been an exciting swim.

Surprise Bay from the campsite

Day Nine 27 June

It stopped raining about 1am and apart from the occasional sprinkle was pretty dry. The wind had also dropped off so the condensation issues in the tent were pretty severe. It is a short hop to Granite Beach with the South Cape Range thereafter so in clearing weather and showers I walked over the range and down to Granite Beach. Granite Beach turned out to be the highlight of my trip probably because I arrived with rainbows and three quite big waterfalls pouring into a very pretty bay. I also liked the climb up beside the waterfall and the interesting location of the campsite. The rain showers gradually decreased and stopped late in the afternoon enabling me to dry some of my gear out and really appreciate just what a pretty spot it is. I'd go back there in a flash.

Tent and tarp setup at Granite Beach campsite

Granite Beach from the western campsite

Day Ten 28 June

I started early and was walking in pretty dim light at 7.30am as I anticipated a long day over South Cape Range. The weather had cleared and I had a bright, sunny and cool day. As predicted it was a muddy day and I sloshed over the range getting dirtier and dirtier. Initially the descent is tough with long drops and lots of exposed and slippery tree roots. Because of the rain, the track was in many places the river course and I got pretty wet. The later descent from the range when I broke out of the forest is a really nice walk and because I had made good time over the range I ended up whistling happily along a nice track through light coastal forest down towards South Cape Rivulet. I'd had a good day which I didn't really expect, given the tales I'd heard about South Cape Range.

Looking back at the ocean from the South Cape Range

I ended the day by swimming South Cape Rivulet which was still big from the rain on the previous days. The camp on the west side of the rivulet is a nice spot in a unique environment. I set up camp and got into dry gear. Towards the evening clouds gathered in the west and it looked as if rain was on the way again as I prepared my evening meal.

South Cape Rivulet

Day Eleven 29 June

I had some rain showers overnight but the day dawned clear with light and fluffy clouds which cleared during the day. It wasn't too pleasant putting on completely saturated clothes when it was only six degrees in the morning but it didn't take long to warm up. The walk to Cockle Creek is a pleasant one and has some great views, some beautiful beaches and some interesting landforms at Coal Bluff.
The author - Larry Knight

It is a really enjoyable way to end the walk and I felt a bit ambivalent at the finish. I still had food and fuel in my pack but had to stop. I was pleased to be at the end but also disappointed that there was not more to go.

The beach - Cockle Creek

I arrived at Cockle Creek at midday and after phoning Dover for the pickup taxi had plenty of time to change into clean clothes, phone my wife and poke around Cockle Creek taking photos.
Bridge over Cockle Creek

I was lucky with the weather and had taken it easy. The walk was everything I'd expected and certainly as good as it is reported to be. I'd happily do the walk again but am setting my sights on seeing some of South West Cape and of the side bays, now that I've seen the main track. I enjoyed having the South West Track to myself and didn't see a soul for the eleven days. That for me adds to the sense of wilderness. I'd certainly recommend the walk as one to do. The track is well marked and navigation isn't an issue. The muddiest plains have boardwalks and there is sufficient challenge in the walk to make it exciting and interesting. But it is the environment and the scenery that really make it worth doing.

Related Posts

The South Coast Track - Solo Winter Trip report by Larry Hamilton - Part One
South Coast Track - Part Two by Larry Hamilton - Ironbound Ranges and Leeches
Larry's Port Davey Trip Report- great reading
Gear List for Wilderness Bushwalking Trip - Larry Hamilton's excellent gear list
Stuck between Louisa and Faraway Creeks - Our adventure on the South Coast Track
Hiking the South Coast Track - our first (and last time)

South Coast Track - Ironbound Ranges and Leeches

2009-08-09T11:39:00.011+10:00

In this post we continue with Larry Hamilton's guest post on hiking the South Coast Track in Southern Tasmania.

The South Coast Track runs between Melaluka and Cockle Creek in the South West Heritage area in Tasmania. It combines spectacular coastal hiking with some (a lot) of slog through inland sections with mud and more mud....

Part Two commences from the Louisa Creek campsite before he heads up the Ironbound Range, a climb notorious for difficult weather conditions and a very steep exposed climb.

Day Four 22 June

I was up by 5.30 am packing up in the dark and on the track before dawn at 7.45am. It was a beautiful, clear, still morning and the weather report for the area was for heavy fog. That wasn't evident in the Louisa River valley but as I ascended the Ironbounds the fog rolled in over the ranges and through the valleys from the west. I was above the fog by the time it arrived and so got a very pretty view of the mountains poking out of the fog for most of the day. And I walked in clear weather for the whole of the day. I got to the top of the Ironbounds at 11.30am and was pleased to have had a cool day for the climb. Tackling the climb on a hot summer's day wouldn't be my idea of fun.

Views from the Ironbound Range- great weather

I hit the Ironbounds high camp at midday, had lunch and a look around the campsite. The descent was trickier than the ascent as everyone finds and I reached the low camp at 2.30pm and thought carefully about continuing as dusk was not that far away. I decided to push on and almost immediately came across a number of big trees down across the track and my pet hate (yellow, slimy mud! I much prefer the peaty black mud) this combination slowed me down considerably, probably contributed to by some weariness from the climb and descent.

I got into camp as dusk was descending at 4.15pm in pretty dim light and was pleased to have done so. Little Deadmans Bay is a pretty spot and I thought I'd take another rest day to have a good look at it and its surroundings on the morrow.

(Ed: Check out this post Hiking the South Coast Track Solo by a very fit woman)

Day Five 23 June

Having resolved to take a rest day I woke up feeling fresh and eager to continue and as a result thought again about continuing. The forecast was for deteriorating weather and drizzle in the evening so I fought the tendency to keep moving and instead I took advantage of the sunshine and pretty location to dry things out, relax and take some photos.

Deadmans Bay

Day Six 24 June

The drizzle didn't eventuate yesterday or last night and while the weather was evidently coming, it was not a frontal gale coming from the west but more heavy overcast and increasing drizzle. It is an easy walk from Little Deadmans Bay to the New River Lagoon and the rain started while walking on the beach approaching the lagoon. I had an interesting half hour trying to put on a tarp/poncho I had brought with me and would have been good entertainment for an observer as I struggled to get it draped as it is intended to be. When I eventually got it on I had a good laugh at my tracks on the beach. It looked as if I'd had a moment of madness dancing and pirouetting around in the midst of a sober and solitary trail up to and on from that mad dance. I enjoyed the walk along the beach.

Somehow the wind and the drizzle matched the wildness of the waves, the windswept beach with its jetsam of bull kelp and the pacific gulls and oyster catchers along the shore. As the wind wasn't all that strong and was mostly from a northerly direction the crossing was uneventful and uncomplicated. I was impressed by how many wombat and wallaby tracks there were along the banks of the lagoon.

The boat at New River Lagoon - it is heavier than it looks!

Day Seven 25 June

The morning forecast was for increasing showers and rain for the next four days but while there were some heavy showers, most of the early rain was drizzle really so I packed up and headed for Surprise Bay. I got pretty wet on the walk to Surprise Bay as the showers certainly got heavier so I decided to camp there after a short day to wait out the worst of the rain. It was a nice walk though. The crossing of Milford Creek was a thigh-deep wade and it looked like it was rising.

By the time I got to Surprise Bay the creek at the west end of the beach was running pretty strongly and was turbulent with froth and dark with tannin so that I had no idea how deep it was. It turned out to be above waist deep with a strong current but I managed to keep my feet. The campsite above the beach was quite large with a good selection of sites to pitch a tent so I set up my tent and tarp and added my poncho/tarp to the set-up which allowed me quite a bit of dry space to sit under outside of my tent.

New River Lagoon from the air

Leeches!

I came across my first leech here. I can't say I'd missed them earlier in the walk as I'm not too fond of the little suckers but I'd been surprised by their relative absence and had puzzled over why this might have been the case. I can only think that the salty air and seaside environment was something that they weren't fond of. I always carry salt to deal with them and know how much they dislike it.

For this trip I was keen to try some pyrethrin spray that my research indicated should be effective with leeches. So the first leech was experiment number one and it was one leech down. Even here there were not many leeches and because of that I suppose I got careless. After retiring to my sleeping bag after dark something bothered me while I was lying there reflecting on the day. On turning on my led lantern I discovered a leech stretching from the inside of the inner tent towards my cheek, only a few centimetres away. A flurry of activity and some more spray and scratch leech number two. That had me checking the inside of my tent pretty carefully to make sure that there were no more to surprise me inside the tent and that the inner was zipped up fully.

When it gets dark at 5pm and doesn't get light again until 7.30am I tend to spend a lot of time in my sleeping bag and really too much time trying to get some sleep. Winter walking is a way of catching up on sleep and I wouldn't recommend it for insomniacs. At night I value the mp3 player and little radio, even when the reception is pretty crappy.

Related Posts

The South Coast Track - Solo Winter Trip report by Larry Hamilton - Part One
Larry's Port Davey Trip Report- great reading
Gear List for Wilderness Bushwalking Trip - Larry Hamilton's excellent gear list
Stuck between Louisa and Faraway Creeks - Our adventure on the South Coast Track
Hiking the South Coast Track - our first (and last time)

Overland Track - Winter hike - a photographers paradise

2009-07-29T18:43:00.014+10:00

There are photographs of the Tasmanian Wilderness and then there are beautiful images.

Pieces of art that reflect the beauty of the area and tell a story that excites you and makes you want to be there!
Ice on duck boarding - Dave Noble

In this post, we highlight a TINY part of a fantastic photographic essay of a recent hike across the Overland Track in Tasmania by Dave Noble (and party). The walk from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair covers about 85km of some spectacular wilderness in the heart of Tasmania. It is usually undertaken over five nights but in this case the trip was planned for 10 days to allow for side trips and photography.

The glow of a coal stove - Kia Ora Hut - The Overland Track - Dave Noble

Frank has enormous respect for Dave Noble who has been hiking in Tasmania (and many other places) since the early 1970's. He has achieved many feats that are the envy of less adventurous bushwalkers. These include extensive multi-day hikes in the South West National Park in Tasmania in the mid 1970's and then a multitude of fantastic trips in various places across Australia.

Close up with reflection - Overland Track - Dave Noble

We encourage you to visit Dave's site and read the full trip report and check out the terrific images of this winter hike: The Reserve in Winter - A Walk Along Tasmania's Overland Track - July 2009

Related Posts:
Overland Track - Winter in Tasmania - some lessons
The Overland Track eBook - information post
Overland Track eBook reviews
The Overland Track solo - Sue's trip report

Additional Information
Overland Track 2008 - Great trip report by Matthias
Bushwalk Tasmania - the resource for Tasmanian Bushwalking

All photographs are used with the kind permission of Dave Noble

South Coast Track - Tasmania - Solo winter trip report

2009-07-28T13:11:00.015+10:00

Solo hiking in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area?
A fantastic mix of coastal and inland hiking over 85km (53 miles)
Wild oceans with the next land mass south the Antarctica?
Challenging bushwalking with harsh weather conditions, no huts, minimal infrastructure that requires experience and thorough planning?

If all (or some) of the above get you itching for a great adventure then read on.....

In this guest post, Larry Hamilton returns with a wonderful trip report following his recent completion of the South Coast Track in Tasmania's far south west.

View South Coast Track in a larger map

The following is Part One of Larry's South Coast Track trip report from Melaleuca to Louisa River.

Intentions
This walk was originally intended to be combined with the Port Davey Track and completed in 2008. Unfortunately last year I struck some unusually bad weather and took longer to do the Port Davey track than planned because I had to wait out bad weather and high stream levels. When I got to Melaleuca my resupply food wasn't waiting for me and took another three days to arrive. Prudence led me to cut my losses and fly out from Melaleuca rather than continue with no buffer of spare days for bad weather or high rivers. So the South Coast Track and the completion of my planned walk waited until this year when I managed to find another period of leave to do it.

My goal for this year was to do the South Coast Track in winter, allowing for sufficient food, fuel and time to accommodate the vagaries of the weather and flood levels. Accordingly I kept a period of three weeks available to undertake the walk had had my fingers crossed that the weather would not delay a Par Avion flight into Melaleuca longer than a week. I therefore planned to have available sufficient time, fuel and food for 14 days on the track, hoping of course to be able to complete it in shorter time.

In winter you don’t get long daylight hours and you have to be prepared to wait. I started the South Coast Track on 19 June when it doesn’t really get light enough to walk until 8 am and it is almost dark again at 5pm. I ended up going over the Ironbounds on the day after the winter solstice and took 8.5 hours but I started before dawn and walked into Little Deadman Bay in the dusk. Short daylight hours are I think the biggest limitation in winter walking, much more so than is the weather.

I'd planned to be very flexible with my itinerary and looked forward to taking some side trips. I particularly wanted to get into Louisa Bay as I'd read that this is a pretty spot. As it happened though, the good weather enticed me to get past the problem rivers while the water was low so in the end I didn't take any side trips and instead took rest days and poked around the main campsites along the track.

Trip Report
The weather was kind to me approaching the date of my leave and my booking with Par Avion for an 18 June fly out wasn't delayed. I flew into Melaleuca with five tourists doing a visit to Melaleuca combined with a trip out on Bathurst Harbour with the Par Avion pilot. I decided to go out onto Bathurst Harbour with them, stay at Melaleuca for the night and begin the South Coast Track the following day.

Day One 19 June
Towards Point Eric

Despite having some overnight rain the day dawned clear and cold and I had a beautiful day walking in to Freney Lagoon. I was at the beach early and had lunch at Point Eric. Because of the time I decided to push on to Buoy Creek, arrived there early in the afternoon and whiled away the afternoon sitting in the sun, eating scroggin and drinking cups of tea. I had knee deep water in rounding Black Cliff even though it was just past low tide but that was the only tricky spot for the day. An easy and enjoyable day!

Looking back towards Point Eric

Day Two 20 June
Another clear and cold day with lots of dew. It was quite muddy going up alongside Buoy Creek across the buttongrass plain and I slipped and fell a couple of times. In one fall the branches of a bush flicked my glasses off and despite some earnest efforts and about half an hour looking I couldn't find them. It didn't help that the frames were a similar colour to the buttongrass stems and that I my acuity wasn't flash without my glasses so I ended up giving up without finding them. I always carry a spare pair of reading glasses but would have to manage without glasses for distance work for the rest of the trip. I've got quite severe astigmatism and while I can cope without glasses, my capacity to deal with detail is significantly reduced. I found it interesting that I coped well without glasses when the light was good but in dim light I found myself peering myopically at the track. So at each end of the day and under heavy tree cover particularly when it was cloudy, I suffered a bit.

Buoy Creek campsite

The Red Point Hills were the first ascent of the trip. Foolishly I tried to take these quickly and ended up suffering as a result. My preparation for the trip was interfered with by a busy work schedule and too much work travel which cut into my training. When I started panting on the way up Red Point Hills I worried a bit as the 200 metre ascent was tiny compared to what was ahead. My concern was unnecessary as it turned out as I quickly got my second wind and got into a groove with climbing at a more sensible pace. The view from the top and the desire to linger and enjoy it helped as well.

Looking back towards Buoy Creek from Red Point Hills

The day was a significant one as three potential delay points (Faraway Creek, Louisa Creek and Louisa River) were passed without incident as the water was low and the crossings trouble-free. I was both surprised and impressed by the extensive boardwalk that had been installed over the wet buttongrass plain approaching Louisa River. Along the way there were many packs of boards that had been airlifted in and were awaiting a construction effort. It would have been a very muddy and damp section without the work already done and the upgrading of the track is going to be pretty extensive.

I found this a fairly tiring day, probably because it was the second day of the walk which I always find the toughest and the first day with vertical ascents and mud. Because of this I was pleased to get into the campsite at Louisa River. During the day the wind had picked up and some gusts were quite strong. I kept eying off the dead branches of the forest trees I was camping under and was careful to pick a site that was not just level and dry but without branches likely to come off in a high wind.

Louisa River Crossing

Just on dusk I surprised a young Eastern Quoll determined to investigate my tent. I had to work hard to discourage his interest. Because of his determination to check out my food supplies, I was a bit anxious about him returning and damaging my gear in his enthusiasm to get at my scroggin supplies. Despite my worries and some careful listening in the dark I don't think he returned. Maybe my snoring scared him off.

Day Three 21 June
I decided to have a relaxing day poking around Louisa River, partly because the forecast was for strong winds and some rain but also so that I would be rested for the anticipated long day over the Ironbounds. John Chapman had provided me with the locations of the interim campsites on the Ironbounds so I was prepared to make the trip over the Ironbounds a two-day trip but for obvious reasons I wanted to do it in one day. As a result I had a rest day on the winter solstice and used my little radio to listen in to the broadcast football matches.

Related Posts
Larry's Port Davey Trip Report- great reading
Gear List for Wilderness Bushwalking Trip - Larry Hamilton's excellent gear list
Stuck between Louisa and Faraway Creeks - Our adventure on the South Coast Track
Hiking the South Coast Track - our first (and last time)

Bibbulmun Track - Planning

2009-06-22T12:52:00.007+10:00

The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world's great long distance walk trails, stretching nearly 1000kms from Kalamunda, a suburb in the hills on the outskirts of Perth, to the historic town of Albany on the south coast of Australia.

In this post, our "End to Ender" Dave Tomlinson, shares his experience on planning, equipment, food, shelter, clothing, cooking and navigation.

There is some great information in this post to assist anyone planning all or part of the Bibbulman Track - something we would love to undertake in the future.

Shelter
The Bibbulmun Track has wooden shelters generally spaced between 13km and 24km apart. The average distance would be about 18km, although in the Kalamunda National Park they are only about 10km apart. I recommend passing through every second one in that section.

Inside the Waalegh shelter - great facilities

At the time of year I completed the track I had 80% of the campsites totally to myself. So there was no need to carry a tent and I appreciated not having the extra weight. I could assure anyone walking in summer that you'd always find accommodation in the shelters. However, the most popular period for hiking is in spring time when the wildflowers are out. Based on what I read in some of the logbooks, I couldn't give the same assurance during this season.
The Waalegh shelter - water tank and fireplace

The facilities of the track are world class and very well maintained. I often thought of the wooden shelters as large 'bus stops', with three sides that always offered protection from the prevailing winds. There was a difference between the shelters in the northern half and those in the south. Those in the north had a picnic table in the middle and hardboard bunks on either side. In the south the sleeping platform extended around two walls in a large L shape with the picnic table in the remaining space. Both would be able to sleep a maximum of 16 people.

The campsites were generally in a very pleasant location and well landscaped. Apart from the shelter and picnic table, there was a pit toilet that often had toilet paper. There was a large rainwater tank beside the shelter and this is checked by park staff through the dry season to ensure there is always an adequate supply. There was always a fireplace that can usually be used for cooking but I respected the summer fire ban and used my camp stove instead. Most sites also had a second picnic table outside the shelter.

The one campsite which was different from the others was Mount Wells. This was fully enclosed hut because it's in an exposed and often windy location. You feel a bit like Scott in the Antarctic staying there but as the wind whistles around outside you appreciate having the four walls and it's a nice view when you awake in the morning.

Stove
My camp stove is a simple arrangement that folds up into a small pouch. It uses the butane gas canisters that have a threaded attachment to the stove. I found, on average, that one standard size canister would last about a week and they were easily found at every town along the track. There was one occasion when I ran out of gas and had to (very carefully) break the fire ban to cook.
The offending fireplace...
Clothing
Again, this depends largely on the time of year. I walked during February and March which is the warmest time of the year in Western Australia. So, I usually only needed t-shirt and shorts when I was hiking during the day. Sometimes I'd use a light windbreaker along the southern coast but it was never cold. It was sometimes cool in the evenings so I put on a sweater and long pants. Altogether, I only had about four days of rain in seven weeks but appreciated having my Goretex jacket when it did.

One of the most important recommendations I could make about clothing relates to your feet. They are what will carry you each day and you must look after them. Firstly, ensure your boots are well broken in and comfortable. Secondly, wear two pairs of socks and always carry at least one other pair. Wearing a thin pair of socks under your hiking socks will help prevent blisters. Also, ensure that your toenails are always cut short, especially in sections that involve hills.

Sleeping Bag
My sleeping bag is rated 5ºC and this was adequate…just! There were some nights, especially in the southern section, where I needed my warm clothing inside my bag at night. Obviously, the rating of your sleeping bag will depend on the season you are walking but I'd make a simple recommendation: go 5ºC below what you think you'll require. A bag with a hood is best, especially in the colder conditions.

Other equipment
Apart from my clothing, sleeping bag and cooking equipment, there were a number of other important items that should be taken. If you are hiking in summer then ensure you have good supplies of sun cream and insect repellent. A basic kit and first aid knowledge are essential, especially if you are hiking alone. Know what to do if you get a snake bite.

I had a headlight and very small torch as a back up. If you enjoy the camp logbooks as I did, there is usually plenty of reading at each site but I recommend taking a book and also a journal. In such tranquility, I enjoyed writing about my thoughts and experiences each day. I also recommend taking an MP3 player. Listening to some music for half an hour is always a pleasant way to end the day. The one thing that I wish I hadn't taken is my deodorant. I meant well but really…who needs it out there?

A couple of things I did find very useful were an inflatable pillow and a net you can wear on your head to keep flies and mosquitoes away. I didn't need the latter too often but really I valued it sometimes. I found my pair of gaiters to be useful in the southern sections that involved walking though sand dunes. Never forget your sunhat, especially in summer and I recommend carrying a beanie at any time of the year.

Food
Food, glorious food. In planning any hiking trip, this is undoubtedly one of the first considerations. Between Kalamunda and Albany, the Bibbulmun Track goes through a total of seven towns, past a roadhouse and a camping ground. So, you always need to be supplied for between three and ten days along the way.
Mushrooms along the Track - don't think this one is edible

The longest leg is the first from Kalamunda to Dwellingup. This is ten days, although you do reach the roadhouse at North Bannister after a week. Apart from a good takeaway meal, an ice cream and some snack food, don't count on being able to re-supply here. The other option is to hide a food drop here for the three days through to Dwellingup.

Each of the other towns has either a general store or even small supermarket where you can get the food you require and also a new canister of cooking gas. If you need to buy any new clothing items (I wore out a pair of socks), Collie, Pemberton, Walpole and Denmark all have a reasonable range. I also recommend the bakeries in these towns, although the one in Collie does close early on some days.

There is also a small store in the settlement of Donnelly River that stocks some hiking food. There isn't a great variety but you'll certainly find enough to get you through to Pemberton. Peaceful Bay has a general store at the caravan park which was well stocked when I was there. However, this is a seasonal place and wouldn't have the same choice at other times of the year. I suggest checking in Walpole if you're unsure.
Youth Hostel at Walpole - Dave was very impressed with all the "locals" he met along the Track

Personally, I like to carry at least a small quantity of fresh food. This was usually in the form of a cucumber and a few apples, tomatoes and carrots. I recommend carrying fresh food, cheese and salami in a small cooler bag, especially in warmer weather. This will help it stay fresh and protect it from getting squashed in your pack.

Ensure that you have a large plastic bottle (at least 1.5 litre) with you. This will carry your water while you're hiking but I also used it to have a bath at each campsite. Remember that water is heavy so don't carry more than you need to each day. Consider the weather conditions, distance and whether you will be passing a campsite along the way. I usually arrived at my destination camp each day with about 100ml of water. This small amount was kept in case anything unforeseen happened.

Camera
As with all of my trips, I had my digital camera with me. Although it's a little more bulky than most, it does have 6x optical zoom. Compared to the 3x zoom of many cameras, this is often very handy. To conserve batteries, I removed them from the camera each night and replaced them again in the morning. I was able to recharge them at each place I stayed at along the way. Always carry a spare set though because there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to capture that beautiful scene because of dead camera batteries!

I always carry my camera on the front supporting strap of my pack. That way it's always easily accessible without having to stop. I always ensure it's kept dry and away from sand and dust as much as possible. It's a good idea to have a second data card and always ensure you have enough space on it for the photos that you're likely to take.

Navigation
There is no need for a detailed topographical map or GPS unit. The track is very well marked along its entire length and any navigational errors were simply due to my own inattention at vital moments. Keep watching for those yellow triangle track markers! It's not essential, but I recommend a small guide book or at least some notes from the internet as a reference for the terrain and any particular things of interest along the way.

Related Posts:
Bibbulmun Track - Part One - A very long hike

Bibbulmun Track - Part Two - The Southern Section

The Official Site:
Bibbulmun Track - Trip Planning

Many thanks to Dave Tomlinson for his fantastic words and pictures for this post.

Don't forget to check out his other posts on the Great South West Walk, another long distance hike on the other side of Australia.

GSWW - Section 1 - The Cobboboonee Forest

GSWW - Section 2 - Glenelg River - Nelson

GSWW - Section 3 - Discovery Bay to Trewalla Camp
GSWW - Section 4 - The Capes and Bays

Cradle Mountain adventure - a short story

2009-06-16T14:24:00.012+10:00

Adventure around Cradle Mountain?
Fact or fiction?
A day hike around Cradle Mountain with a twist (or two)?

Then this story is for you!

Frank stumbled across a very enjoyable blog today titled American in Oz. He reads a lot of blog posts about Tasmania and especially the Cradle Mountain area in Australia's most southern state, Tasmania. These post are a great source of inspiration and fun when he is stuck in his "real life".

This post , Tracks Less Travelled, a Tasmanian short story , really got his attention and the beautiful word craft and surprises in the story had him captivated.

Another fantastic image by Tasadam, Definitive Cradle Mountain - This picture is from a set titled The Overland Track - Tasmania - well worth a look at all his great photographs.

The following are some exerts from the story by annielaural:

" At the same time that she was fearful of stepping off the planked trail, she wished she had the courage to head off cross-country, to snake up the face of Marian’s Lookout, to beat Chris to the top. The competition between them never failed to engage her "

" Nueva’s was far more moderate in grade, longer with twelve hundred year old King Billy and Pencil Pines growing close to the water. Pandani towered over her head in the protection of the Ballroom Forest and Cutting Grass and Sassafras, growing far too close to the track, waited to wound. Daydreaming here was out of the question."

" It was still early afternoon. She had three more hours of daylight. A night in the dark on the trail was not appealing. She had plenty of clothes if she kept moving, but she didn’t have enough cold weather gear to spend the night out here, especially if it rained, and it was bound to rain as the temperatures cooled down "

To read the whole story (and it is a lot different to what you would normally read here), go to the full post on "American in Oz" , Tracks Less Travelled - a Tasmanian short story

We hope you enjoy it.

Related Posts:
The Overland Track - Planning the walk from Overseas
Hiking the Overland Track - a view from the States
Cradle Mountain local walk and Cradle Mountain Lodge

Overland Track - Tasmania in Winter - some lessons

2009-06-15T06:52:00.027+10:00

The Overland Track in Tasmania is a fantastic 6 days hiking experience. It is isolated, can throw up tough conditions and challenge you both physically and mentally. In fact, unless you are adequately prepared for bitterly cold and mind numbing conditions in winter, you risk serious problems (and the possibility of death) No joking.

Walking the Overland Track in winter needs thorough planning, excellent gear and experience in tough Tasmanian conditions.

In this post we are shamelessly plugging our Hiking the Overland Track eBook, not as a way to make us rich, but as a good resource to help you plan your trip and reduce the risks to a managable level.

Why the plug?

We have just finished reading Aaron White's blog Aaron's Assonant Advertures In Australia and want to share some of his posts with potential Overland Track hikers. We highly recommend reading Aaron's Overland Track posts to get the full story.

We really enjoyed Aaron's writing style and story telling ability - it is great read.

This first post : Overland Track Chronicles - Rugging up sets the scene for his recent winter trip.
Sue and Frank - hiking in Tasmania - winter - can't be too bad, we are smiling!

As reasonably experienced Tasmania hikers, reading his story immediately created warning bells in our minds, so we decided to post some snippets of his experiences and make a few comments about them so others who attempt the Overland Track in winter can be better prepared.

So read on, snippets from Aarons posts about a "hearty native Minnesotan" hiking the Overland Track in early winter. (with our comments below):

Buying Gear:
Without hesitation, he led me to a corner that was a forest of hangers with only rainjackets. "It rains a lot in Tasmania, so you'll need a good shell layer. This jacket here is 100% rain and wind proof. Feel it. Real gortex."
Mmmm gortex. I felt the smooth, yet rubbery sleeve and subtley turned the affixed price tag to my direction. $800.
"So will this keep me warm as well?" I asked.
"Oh no, sir!" The definity of his answer jabbed a hole right through what was left of my not-ignorant face. "This is just a shell layer. You'll need a good fleece jacket, coat, and of course (chuckle) thermals. I mean you at least have thermals right?"

Read this post: Best Hiking Clothes for a multiday hike in Tasmania - the layering principal

I found a cheap rain jacket for sale at a random Sydney shop for $40. In Launceston, I bought my stove, fleece coat, fleece gloves, tent and some wool socks at the local K-mart. I wasn't a Super Backpacker Man, but I think I was alright.

In the Overland Track eBook we go into detail about gear selection, what you need to take and what is not required.

Planning:
That night though, I didn't sleep, not even for a minute. I tossed, turned and froze to death under my pile of blankets in the heated Tasmanian room. Launceston isn't even in the mountains. I already knew my light summer sleeping bag would not be enough, even when fully clothed. I thought of my gear, my garbage bag gaiters, my lack of sleeping mat. Why did I buy potatoes?

I rolled out of bed at 5:59, yelling at my 6:00 alarm to wake up. I saw that it was the morning of May 13th (duhn duhn duh!!!!). I repacked my bag, cut back on some of the food, tossed out my potatoes. I removed the one pair of comfort clothing I saved for my first night off the mountain and cut back on a few other odds and ends. The bag was still too heavy, but it was at least manageable.

Read this post: Hiking gear what are the basics to get started

I still wasn't content. I threw on my hiking boots and headed to the 24hour Kmart for a camping mat. Freezing to death from no ground insulation was not the way I wanted to kick it. I walked a half block before I hit another obstacle to my coming hike: my ankles were in intense pain.

Three hours later, I arrived and Cradle Mountain National Park, ready to go, pain or not. I caved in a bought some actual rain pants at the inflated middle-of-nowhere price of $60

Many hikers leave on a sunny day, unprepared, without raingear or warm clothing and die when trapped in a snowstorm. I was undertaking it in mid-May, when you don't have to pay the $150 fee, but have to deal with less desirable weather and very short days.

Hiking during the non fee paying season is Ok if you are experienced and prepared. There is minimal support from Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and less people around to help get you out of trouble.

Sue, heading off into the Walls of Jerusalum in December (the first month of the Australian summer)

The Overland Track:

"Continue on? Isn't this the hut?"
Kitchen Hut in better weather - May 08- note the second level door and shovel for access during heavy snow and also leon in jean shorts - they got wet the first 10 minutes and stayed wet for the rest of the trip (wrapped up in the bottom of his pack)

"Oh no, this is just Kitchen Hut, an emergency shelter. The first overnight hut is another two hours further on."
That put me at just more than halfway done with the day. I was already exhausted: my back hurt, my ankles hurt, and one layer of face had been not so carefully removed by unhindered, blowing precipitation. There was thankfully only 30 minutes left on the open mountain face.

I collapsed upon opening the door. I just wasn't in enough shape for this first day of climbing, but a good nights sleep would hopefully give me the strength for the next. The hut was quite nice, with wooden bunks to sleep 25 and a gas heater to dry off all of our gear.

Even with a rain jacket, rain pants, fleece coat, hooded sweatshirt, t-shirt, and jeans, I was soaked all the way down to my thermals. I had a backpack cover over my water resistant backpack, but this proved useless: everything in my pack was wet. That day, even the super backpackers, with their $1000 dollar backpacks and special waterproof covers learned the lesson that "waterproof" is a myth.

Read this post by Matthias at Matt Worldwide: Preparing for a 10 day hike in South West Tasmania

Do not take cotton clothes such as jeans or track pants, once wet they will NOT DRY .

The second morning - leaving Waterfall Valley Hut
I jumped out of the creek, gave it the finger, and stomped through the pouring rain back to the hut and threw my fifty pound pack in the corner.

"I'm done! It's cold, rainy, everything is wet, it's too f**king foggy to see anything, and there is a f**king knee deep creek right at the start of this horrible day. Now, I'm going to have to walk with wet feet for the next 25km. I paid $1000 to do this piece of s#$t walk and it has been nothing but one... big...f**king...disappointment. I'm not putting up with this. I'm going back. That's it. F%$k this s*&t!"

The others at the hut were not really expecting such a tirade, especially minutes into the second day of the hike. Everyone, just kept on eating the breakfast in uncomfortable silence, until a young German woman finally asked the one question on everyones' mind. "Is there any way around this knee deep creek?"

"No!"
Five minutes later, I had my socks wrung out, I had my clothes put back on and was ready to move on.

Arriving Windemere Hut
I removed my completely wet gear and went into my backpack for my dry change of clothing. Even after repacking everything in garbage bags, my clothes were still damp. The left me with no dry clothes and the temperature was quickly dropping.

Within minutes, I was shivering uncontrollably and started feeling a bit faint. I could tell I was showing the early symptoms of hypothermia. I threw on my fleece coat even though it was wet. That is one thing I love about polar fleece, it is the amazing fabric that maintains warmth, even when wet.

Lightweight plastic garbage bags are not waterproof - they perforate easily and you gear will get wet. You need to double bag critical gear inside a pack liner (pack covers will not keep your pack contents dry!)

The previous night, Brian (a guy Aaron met on the Track) had slept in a tent in the rain, instead of the hut. Everything he owned, including sleeping back was soaked. His body was not forgiving him for the prior two days' punishment. He was cramping, worn-down, cold. Instead of pushing on that day, he decided to rest another day. This was an option I chose to wave, despite the inconceivably worse weather that day.

Since I was not going forward, I wanted to head back and see all the various side trails along the way I had passed up. - At this point Aaron decided to return to the Cradle Mountain end of the walk and not risk worse weather conditions that were forecast - a wise move.

I awoke in the middle of the night with the startling discovery that the Socks Paradox was in fact a myth. Once I donned my fifth pair of socks, wrapped my feet in a sweater, put the bottom of my sleeping bag in a canvas shopping bag, I was able to make my feet merely cold. It was a long, blustery night. The wind tested the structural integrity of the cabin.

I wasn't the only person who had a cold night. A young British bloke spent the night with merely a blanket. His one pair of socks was soaked from the previous day's walk. The sneakers he brought were still wet and he had no rain coat. The temperature was below freezing that day. Despite this, he pushed on. This is how people die.

The End- back at the Cradle Mountain Area
I was in my element, until I reached the top of the mountain.
Suddenly, I found myself in North Dakota mid-blizzard or maybe on top of mountain mid-blizzard, same difference. I pushed forward through knee-deep snow, which was good, because it stabilized me from being toppled by the wind. I was glad it was only a couple of miles back to Kitchen Hut.

Inside the Kitchen Hut, I found an Aussie family from Brisbane, with a twelve year old child. They started the previous day, but got trapped from the excessive winds. I was actually quite glad to see them safe and alive; other hikers the previous night had told me of this family.
They decided to head back to the park with me, so we headed out into the blizzard. At first it wasn't too bad, but after fifteen meters, the wind came back with a vengeance, the strongest I've faced on the trail. Being from Queensland, the boy had never seen snow before, now he was stuck in Antartica. They wisely turned back.

Many thanks to Aaron White for his great insights and honest appraisal of his Overland Track experience. Remember, you can read Aaron's eight posts on his blog, Aaron's Assonant Adventures in Australia.

Related Posts
The Overland Track eBook - information post
Overland Track eBook reviews
The Overland Track solo - Sue's trip report

Additional Information
Overland Track 2008 - Great trip report by Matthias
Bushwalk Tasmania - the resource for Tasmanian Bushwalking

Tasmanian Winter Images - Introducing Tasadam

2009-06-11T14:20:00.037+10:00

Tasmania, Australia, is a photographers dream.

Wilderness, huge vistas, interesting elements and unspoilt scenery.

Taking a good picture is not hard but getting a fantastic photograph takes talent, time, effort and perseverance.

In this post, we invited Tasadam to share some of his spectacular wilderness photographs that focus on winter in Tasmania. Winter has just arrived in Australia and these shots are part of Tasadam's beautiful portfolio . In the future, as the seasons change, more of Tasadam's work will be featured here.

Water in Three Forms

About the Artist

My name is Adam and I live in Tasmania, Australia, so I call myself Tasadam.

I have been taking photographs for many years. I started when I was young – I don’t really remember when. I do remember when I was 11 years old, I went on a school camp for 6 days and had a 110 Instamatic film camera. My spending money went on film, and I remember my parents weren’t too impressed when I returned home with all those photographs that needed developing…

I studied Photography as an extra subject at Technical College in 1981 where I first picked up an SLR camera. By this time I had developed an eye for subject and composition detail. The honing of my current skills along with the training in technique I received was excellent and opened me towards a new level.

Winter Cradle Plateau

Not long after, I had a few SLR cameras and various lenses of my own and my style and skills flourished.

Beyond film, I introduced myself into the digital photography era and have subsequently upgraded my equipment several times.

I have taken modelling and portraiture photography in the past along with weddings, and though I find them enjoyable (although stressful), I prefer to do my photography in conjunction with another passion – bushwalking.

When my wife and I go bushwalking in Tasmania, we typically carry around 10 kilograms of camera gear – two bodies, two tripods, five lenses, and various accessories – batteries, memory cards, cleaning apparatus and the like.

Winter Summit Mt Ossa

I prefer to portray images as I saw them, rather than overdo the post processing with HDR and over-saturation etc. It takes time to process, adjust levels and sharpness to create the best image possible.

I trust you enjoy the results of my efforts.

Check out Tasadam's art here and enjoy more of his wonderful Tasmanian photographs. You can access his full winter gallery "Cold Tasmania" here.

Related Posts
Outdoor Photography - Six great links to help make your pictures brilliant
The Overland Track - Track Images

Win a free trip to Tasmania and hike the Overland Track

2009-06-11T08:36:00.009+10:00

Hike the Overland Track free?
Win a trip to Australia and a free trip on the Overland Track with Cradle Mountain Huts?

We stumbled across this opportunity today for anyone who owns a pair of Blundstone Boots (an Aussie icon in work footwear)

Towards Barn Bluff - Overland Track- Tasmania

Head off to the Blundstone Canada web site and check out the competition they are running to win a FREE trip from Canada to Tasmania. Included is a guided walk across the Overland Track with Cradle Huts. (worth around $A2500)

This is the blurb off the website:

The Cradle Mountain Huts Walk an all inclusive experience for two people 5 nights - 6 days

The Cradle Mountain Huts six-day walk follows the iconic Overland Track through Tasmania's World Heritage Area. This 40 mile journey offers a rare privilege - one of the world's great walks through an ancient and richly varied landscape is normally accessible only to the hardy - for at the end of each day hikers sleep in private, environmentally-sensitive cabins.
There are hot showers.
Food and wine can feature almost as much as the mountains, rainforests and indigenous wildlife. The huts have been designed to complement their sensitive surroundings. Each hut contains twin share accommodation, toilets, heating, full kitchen facilities and a living/dining area. The guides on this unhurried journey share their knowledge of the landscape, the flora and the fauna, to ensure a rich and informative journey.

The competition runs until the 30th June, so get in quick.

We love our Blundstone boots and had a pair each for years. They are are great Aussie icon...

Related Posts:

Hiking the Overland Track e-Book

Release of the Overland Track book

Various Overland Track posts

Outdoor Station Podcasts - Great listening

2009-05-17T20:28:00.003+10:00

Frank does a lot of commuting by train and car each week. The ONLY advantage of this is the time it allows to listen to some great podcasts on a huge range of interesting topics.

One of his favourites is The Outdoor Station from the UK. They have some great topics related to the "Outdoors" - duh! hence the name....

Topics covered range from gear reviews, trip reports, interviews and as they say, much much more!

We highly recommend you drop by and subscribe to the audio and video podcasts, Professionally produced, they are very relaxed, informative and present some great information.

Click on the sample below, "Get out there" to down load or you can listen directly from here. This podcast, as described by Outdoor Station is:

A rich and varied podcast for you this time, as I catch up with the Ramblers Association to hear how there’s a new influx of members in these credit crunched times, Andy continues his love affair with everything French by finding out how inexpensive it is to travel on the canals of mainland Europe, plus I discover how, if you can’t get to the Desert, you can bring the Desert home to you with Harem Nights! Recorded at the NEC early 2009

Get Out There!

Download
MP3 File

Do you have any favourite outdoor podcasts you can recommend? We would love to hear your suggestions and fill the iPod with some great stories about the outdoors.

Bibbulman Track - Southern Section - Trip Report - Part Two

2009-05-15T04:42:00.006+10:00

The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world's great long distance walk trails, stretching nearly 1000kms (620 miles) from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills to Albany on the south coast of Western Australia. It goes through the heart of the scenic South West and traverses some of the most beautiful bush, forests and beaches that Australia can offer.

In this second guest post, Dave Tomlinson shares with us Part Two of his experience of walking the Bibbulmun Track, end to end, in 2007. In doing this he became one of around 500 people who have achieved this feat.

This track is one of the epic bushwalks in Australia (and most likely) the world.

Karri Tree - beautiful and straight

As I progressed south the scenery began to change more dramatically, especially as I got into the karri forests. The karri are the very tall trees and one of the icons of southwest Australia. They actually shed their lower limbs as they grow so a mature tree will have a huge single trunk supporting branches high above the forest floor. Walking beneath these majestic trees was a great experience. I also loved the tingle trees which were also very tall but seemed to have more character with knobs on their trunks and twisted branches. Many of them had the bases of their trunks hollowed by fire but continue to grow.

Before reaching the coast, the track comes south through an area called the Pingerup Plains. It was a section that I particularly enjoyed and not just because the terrain was as flat as a chessboard. The plains are characterised by large flat areas of low bush and pockets of forest. Red bottle-brush flowers added a nice touch of colour along the way.
Red Bottle Brush on Pingerup Plains

Old Tingle Tree - burnt out many years ago

This is the area that can be very wet and swampy in the spring. While I was walking though the reeds and scrub I could see the dry cracked mud where water had once been. Two shelters in this section are located beside granite domes that offered panoramic views in all directions including my first glimpse of the Southern Ocean.

Mandalay Beach - first view of the Ocean

Finally, after 730km of hiking through forests, bush, mountains and valleys I arrived at the coast. It was an amazing feeling to see the ocean and it certainly added another dimension to my hiking experience.

Mandalay Beach is the first beach I arrived at and was named after a shipwreck early last century. Tides and shifting sands mean the wreck is sometimes uncovered but I didn't see anything. The coastal views were great but I really had to earn them, especially in the softer sand dunes.
Salmon netting - an interesting diversion on Mazeotti Beach - great fish!

Sand dunes can be hard work and sometimes it feels like taking two steps forward and one back. In my first day along the coast, I also had a stiff head wind, the track was overgrown in sections and I was doing 29km which ended in a steady climb up a mountain. So, although I was very tired when I arrived I could reflect on one of my best days. The scenery went from the rugged plains to coastal heathland, to the beach, sand dunes, lovely forest and finally the mountain...all in a day!

During my journey east towards Albany I had to walk a number of beaches and cross a number of inlets. Fortunately at this time of year there are seasonal sandbars at the mouth of the inlets so I had no problems. At other times of the year hikers have to wade across or in one case follow the track around to a canoe shed and paddle across to the other side. That would have been fun but on a day where the distance was 23km over sand I was quite happy to save walking a couple of kilometres!

I think the longest 20km I've walked in my life was one day between Walpole and Denmark. It was a hot and started with 11km over some big sand dunes. Nice views but hard work. My reward for all that was a walk along Mazolleti Beach that went for 7km. A long drag but fortunately most of the sand was reasonably firm around the high water line. My final reward for all that was a 2km slog straight uphill to the campsite! I saved that till after I'd enjoyed a swim in the translucent waters of the Southern Ocean.
William Bay campsite - great facilites

The entire track is marked by yellow triangles with a black mythical waugal snake printed on it. (According to the original south-west Aboriginal people, the waugal or rainbow serpent is an all-powerful creator who created and maintained the natural and cultural law. It is believed to inhabit special areas and remains sacred to them.) On average, there are about four of these markers per kilometre generally nailed to trees but also on posts, logs, signs and rocks. Altogether there would be about 5000 of them.

So I didn't think navigation would be a problem but it's actually very easy to lose the track. I think virtually everyone does it at some point. The reason is that the Bibbulmun Track merges and intersects with various other tracks, paths and roads. So, if you have a moment of inattention at a vital time you'll walk past a marker indicating a left or right turn and continue on what you think is the correct route. Suddenly it'll occur to you that you haven't seen a marker for a while and it becomes a choice between continuing in the hope you'll find one or return to where you saw the last one. After having to backtrack a couple of times I quickly became a lot more alert for markers!
Picture of the last Waugal Snake marker at the end of the Bibbulman Track - Albany

Fortunately I didn't have the same problems as some people. I read about a few who got lost for up to three hours coming down one of the mountains. They claimed the cairns were poorly aligned but I didn't have any problems. Then there was this quote in one of the hut log books: "Got lost in the swamp but didn't realise it. Saw waugal and headed back down the real track. Realised I was going the wrong way, turned around and got lost again!" Amusing…but only in hindsight!

Although I only met a handful of people along the route I never felt lonely out in the bush. Through the northern half of the track I had every shelter (21 consecutive nights) to myself. It was an odd feeling when another hiker arrived and I had to share one. The main reason I never felt lonely was because of the log books at every shelter. There were always two - one to record basic details and another to write your thoughts, comments, philosophy, complaints and memories. As I progressed along the track, I started to recognise various names and got to know them through their comments in these books.
Even though you may be walking alone, there is alwats nature to keep you company - Black Cockatoos ready to fly.

So, I would hike alone through the first part of the day and then 'catch up' with people later in the afternoon. The date of their entries didn't seem to matter because apart from small diversions and realignments, we all basically followed the same route. So I enjoyed reading what they thought about the day and often found their comments very amusing, especially if there were hills, sand dunes, swamp mud or adverse weather involved. I was also interested in reading comments from hikers going in the opposite direction because they offered valuable information on track conditions, accommodation and where to buy supplies.

One of the hikers who did the track in summer wasn't quite so content with her own company. One of her entries read: "After three and a half weeks, one finds oneself to be quite the bore." There were some genuinely funny things written and I copied them into the back of my journal. This is an entry from one of the first shelters: "First night on the track and a wet day made my backpack 20kg heavier. Sleeping on a bed of nails would be luxury compared to the hard wood floor. Oh, the peace and tranquility! Only 16 in the shelter tonight, including 6 ten year old boys. I'll be back - this is addictive stuff!"

Aside from all the amusing quotes, thoughts and poems there were also some inspirational comments. The one that really stood out to me was this: "If there were no difficulties in the track it would let in a poorer class of walker and reduce the status of the end-to-enders." That really inspired me if the track was overgrown, the weather was bad, my pack felt unusually heavy, I was tired or if the terrain was challenging. I simply repeated that quote to myself, reminded myself what I was doing and that it wasn't meant to be easy.

Overall though, I did it much easier than many others. Amazingly, I completed the whole distance without even a blister. Apart from some general soreness when I first started, I didn't have any problems at all. There wasn't a single day when I didn't wake up and feel excited by what I was doing. Even on the most physically demanding days I embraced the challenge and never felt any doubt about reaching Albany in good health. The weather was generally very good and my Goretex jacket was often nothing more than my pillow at night. I only had rain on four days in the entire seven weeks.
The Windfarm at Albany - spectacular coastal views

The huge distance of the track was sometimes more of a challenge mentally, especially through the first week or two. After slogging through the heat and hills of the first couple of days I remember thinking that I'd only completed about 4% of the journey! So I tried to focus only on what I'd completed, not what I still had to do. When I passed the halfway mark I was happy to think about both. In my mind I treated leaving a town the beginning of a new hike and it often felt that way. I had fresh supplies, clean clothing and in one place I even washed my backpack and I started again feeling great.

A great aspect of this hike was that it offered seven weeks in a beautifully peaceful environment to contemplate, reflect and dream. Life becomes wonderfully simple because the path is laid out for you and all you need to do is follow it. The Bibbulmun Track is like a well cut jewel that shines whichever way it is approached. A special thanks to all the park rangers and especially track volunteers who keep it this way. It's been a privilege to walk its entire length and I'd recommend the experience to anyone.
Dave Tomlinson reaches the end (and planning his next trip no doubt!)

Dave

The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
And I must follow it if I can

'Hobbitt' - J R Tolkein

Information:
The Bibbulmun Track Foundation has the best website we have ever come across that supports a multi day hiking adventure.

There is a massive amount of information regarding:

Planning
Gear and equipment
Friends of the Bibbulmun Track
Track Information, conditions and closures
News
Maps and resources
And so much more we don't have room.

Please check out their site - The Bibbulman Track

Related Posts:
The Bibbulman Track - a very long hike - Part one
Great South West Walk - Dave at it again with a 200km (125 miles) walk over 2 weeks
Hiking Food for a multi-day walk
Hiking Gear - What are the basics to get started?
Best clothing for a multi day hike

Do you know Tasmania? No? then find out!

2009-05-08T20:37:00.011+10:00

Want to get to know Tasmania?
Would you like to walk in a beautiful rainforest?
Stroll along a deserted ocean beach?
Climb a rugged mountain peak?
Camp beside a hidden tarn?
Ski across a drift of newly fallen snow?
Follow a meandering river through a misty gorge?

Then the Launceston Walking Club could be for you and their 44th Spectacular Wilderness show is definitely worth attending.

(Click on poster to get a full size view)

The show, on late this month, is a great way to see why we all love bushwalking in Tasmania.

The main feature this year will be the official launch, by Senator Bob Brown (one of Our Hiking Blog's national treasures) , of the first two DVD's of the clubs 16mm movie collection. One movie from each DVD will be featured in the show.

We can't make it, but maybe you live in Tasmania or will be visiting Launceston between the 25th and 29th May. Feedback from this spectacular event has always been wonderful so please try and support the Club and enjoy their Multi Media Wilderness Extravaganza!

Ian, from the Launceston Walking Club, is keen to present to show "on the mainland" in (possibly) November and we hope to arrange one in Geelong. Anyone who lives in the southern States and is keen to attend, or discuss with Ian the possibility of a show near you can contact us here by email. and we will forward your email.

Related Posts:
Joining the Greens
The River Runs Free - book review

Other Links:
Launceston Walking Club
Bushwalk Tasmania Forum

Waterproof gear for C2C - Irish Sea to North Sea - what is best?

2009-05-04T07:13:00.004+10:00

What are the best waterproof gear options for hiking in Northern England for the C2C walk?

How do you choose the best clothing to keep warm and dry?

We received an email from Joan seeking advice on what are her best options for rain protection when she undertakes the Coast To Coast Walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea .

Because we are in Australia, and have no idea what the conditions are like, we decided to post the question here.

So, calling all "Our Hiking Blog" readers, please leave a comment with your opinion so Joan can get as much advice as possible regarding her waterproof clothing choice for this 12 day hiking journey.

Leon, Alan and Frank - Overland Track May 08 - ready for the rain that lasted 4 days! Frank and Leon in Gortex, Alan in more lightweight gear - we all eventually got slightly wet....

Here is Joan's question:

Hi,

I am planning to hike the C2C (Irish Sea to the North Sea - 190 miles) in England, have gortex boots, gaiters and a pack cover. I am trying to decide what the best, light raingear will be and would appreciate your advise.

I have some older (heavy) gortex gear, i.e., pants & jacket, and I have some lightweight "waterproof" gear (marmot precip jacket and pants). I am leaning toward going with the lighter gear and carrying a poncho to add another layer if the rain gets heavy. What do you think?

Thanks for the great website/blog!

Joan M.

Related Post
Best Hiking Clothes for a Multiday walk

Please drop us a comment so that others, especially Joan, can share in your wisdom.

Outdoor Photography - 6 great links to help make your pictures brilliant!

2009-04-23T11:07:00.047+10:00

Having trouble taking fantastic outdoors photographs?

Need some advice on how to take great photos when hiking, bushwalking or backpacking?

Don't understand how your digital camera works or how to get the best out of it?

Always wanted to know how to take a perfect photo of a waterfall, rainbow, sunrise, sunset or beautiful scene?

One of the great things about getting out into the outdoors is the spectacular scenery, or that magic moment you just have to record for ever. We have taken hundreds (probably thousands) of digital photographs on our various hiking trips. Occasionally they have been really fantastic, other times very disappointing.

We needed to learn how to take a great digital photograph.

Walking in a row along the Long Sea by eirsi

We stumbled across a fantastic site that has heaps of ideas, tips and tricks and advice about taking digital photographs. The site Digital Photography School is a terrific resource for anyone from beginner to expert who wants to improve their digital photos.

We love it, it has a great community (over 200,000 email subscribers , including us), offers excellent advice (with a very active forum) and allows you to view photo's posted by members that make us green with envy.

We recommend you check out the following topics at Digital Photography School. There is heaps to learn and this is a great place to get excellent information.

12 tips for photographing stunning sunsets or sunrises

Sunset at Blackhead Beach by Setev

Waterfall digital photography

Lumsdale Waterfall by Tone

11 surefire landscape photography tips

No turning back by mischiru

How to photograph mushrooms, toad stools and fungi

Color Among the Forest Floor by Brian Hathcock

How to shoot in direct sunlight

Pacific Sun by mischiru

How to photograph a rainbow

Fire Rainbow by Colin Campbell

Further Information / Links
Bushwalk Tasmania has a great monthly photographic competition - it is well worth visiting (and joining) as some wonderful wilderness photographers lurk there.

Tasadam has some excellent Tasmanian wilderness photographs on his site, beautiful images - and available to purchase

All the beautiful photographs on this post are from Flickr using a Creative Commons licence. You can get lost there for hours.

Related Posts
Happy snaps on the Overland Track
Overland Track images by Rick McCharles from Besthike.com

Have you got any favourite photographic sites with either great pictures or tips and tricks about digital photography? If so, leave a comment and we can check them out.

The Bibbulmun Track - a long distance hike

2009-04-22T15:20:00.022+10:00

The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world's great long distance walk trails, stretching nearly 1000kms (620 miles) from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills to Albany on the south coast of Western Australia. It goes through the heart of the scenic South West and traverses some of the most beautiful bush, forests and beaches that Australia can offer.

In this guest post, Dave Tomlinson shares with us his experience of walking the Bibbulmun Track, end to end, in 2007. In doing this he became one of around 500 people who have achieved this feat.

This track is one of the epic bushwalks in Australia (and most likely) the world.

Map - The Bibbulmun TRACK Foundation

Dave commences Part One of his story with some reflections and background on the walk:

It's difficult to know where to start in describing such an epic hike but at the beginning seems the most logical place. The Bibbulmun Track was an idea originally conceived in the 1970's and finally became a reality in 1998. Since then, approximately 500 people have completed the entire distance and been inducted into the 'End 2 End' club. There's no doubt it's a long way to walk. Although it only covers a small corner of Australia, if it was in Europe it would stretch from Paris to Rome! So, it was with that rather daunting knowledge that I tentatively set out on a hot day in early February, 2007.
Waugal Track marker - Dave thinks there are 5000 of them

When I reflect on the entire time I spent hiking the track, I think the first few days were the toughest of all. There is nothing quite like the challenge of carrying a heavy pack over difficult terrain in 40 degree heat. Although the track goes through eight towns, the first one is ten days from Perth. So, my pack was very heavy with supplies and I was stiff and sore during those initial stages. But as I progressed, my muscles began to get attuned to what was expected, my pack gradually lightened and things became easier.

The facilities along the way are truly world class. I spent seven weeks walking and averaged about 20km per day. I wasn't carrying a tent so had to rely on the track campsites. These are basically three-sided structures that offered hardboard platforms for sleeping and a couple of picnic tables for eating etc. Most of them are in beautiful locations that have been pleasantly landscaped with a bush toilet and flat areas for pitching tents if required. They all have a large rainwater tank so, although I was hiking in a relatively dry period, I always had plenty of water available.
Waalegh campsite from a distance

Waalegh shelter

During the first four days the campsites were only about 10km apart so I 'double-hutted' through that section. After that, they were anywhere from 13km to 24km apart. I did a few more double hut days later in the hike where I totaled about 30km for the day. The shelters in the northern half of the track all had fireplaces but I couldn't use them because of a total fire ban. Sadly, I did come through a couple of areas that were affected by bushfires but in all honesty the damage wasn't as bad as I expected. I'd describe it as 'superficial' with blackened tree trunks and burnt leaves but still a lot of green foliage.

Initially, the scenery didn't change greatly from day to day. It was characterised by forests of jarrah and marri trees, granite outcrops and various native bushes. February is a hot, dry month in Western Australia and most days were spent under blue skies and sun. The trees offered some protection from the sun as I walked and I always appreciated any shade I could get.

A lot of the first half hiking was like this country

After a couple of weeks I started to follow a river for the first time. Unfortunately at this time of year the water levels were very low and barely flowing in most places. This was the same for other rivers along the track but it was pleasant hiking though the valleys anyway. There were variations in the flora around this area as one day I enjoyed the sight of paperbark trees, gum trees and swamp vegetation. A couple of days later the track climbed across private farm land and offered great pastoral views.

The scenery in this whole northern area would have been greatly enhanced if the Western Australian wildflowers were in bloom. Unfortunately, spring is the season for these displays so I missed this aspect of the hike. However, doing the track at this time means plodding (and wading at times) though water and swamp mud. It also means sharing the track with many more people and not experiencing the same tranquility I enjoyed. So, with all are pros and cons, I certainly have no regrets about my timing.

Aside from the diverse scenery, I also enjoyed seeing a range of Australian wildlife. I saw or heard kangaroos most days, with some large ones in the south. At various times I also saw emus, feral cats, pigs, quokkas, a bobtail lizard, skinks, bandicoots and of course snakes. While I was disappointed only seeing one snake in the northern half, my count quickly increased along the southern coast. There were a number of the relatively harmless dugites but also the larger and more dangerous tiger snakes. I spent a lot of my time watching for them on the track in front of me, especially if it was sunny. A venomous snake bite out in the wilderness would mean a lot of trouble so I decided that prevention was by far the best cure!

Bandicoot

There were also many different types of birds to admire along the way. I didn't have a book to identify many of them but I did get to see the mighty wedge-tailed eagle and the protected red-tailed black cockatoos. Some of the smaller birds such as the blue and fairy wrens were very friendly around the campsites. They would often come within a few feet of where I was sitting, especially if it happened to be lunch time. I didn't actually see one but I often heard kookaburras calling out from the trees somewhere.

Then there was the wildlife that I didn't enjoy or appreciate. March flies must surely be at the top of this particular list. These are large flies with a nasty bite that will even go through clothing. Fortunately though they are relatively docile and you can kill them with a reasonable success rate. The best thing after you've hit them is to watch the ants attacking it. It's a fearsome struggle that can go either way but generally the ants overpower the stricken fly. I felt no compassion because they often made me feel like the only whale in a Japanese fishing contest.

Dookanelly Campsite - One of Dave's favourites - set up like a lounge room

A close second to the flies were the mosquitoes. They seemed to be worst along the southern coast and I had one particularly bad night where they were constantly buzzing around my head. One shelter seemed to have a problem with ticks but I quickly removed them before they could do anything. And finally...leeches. After swimming in one of the lakes I found a couple on my feet and pulled them off just in time. Nasty!

The half way mark? "You are exactly half way between here and there"

This is the end of the first part of Dave's trip report. The second half where he continues his wonderful tale and reaches the end of this epic journey will be available on Our Hiking Blog soon.

Dave was also kind enough to write up a planning and gear sheet that will be added soon.

Don't forget, if you want to receive updates of any new topics (and Dave's next instalment)subscribe and

get an email when we update Our Hiking Blog

Further Information:
The Bibbulmun Track Foundation has the best website we have ever come across that supports a multi day hiking adventure.

There is a massive amount of information regarding:

Planning
Gear and equipment
Friends of the Bibbulmun Track
Track Information, conditions and closures
News
Maps and resources
And so much more we don't have room.

Please check out their site - The Bibbulman Track

Related Posts:
Great South West Walk - Dave at it again with a 200km (125 miles) walk over 2 weeks
Hiking Food for a multi-day walk
Hiking Gear - What are the basics to get started?
Best clothing for a multi day hike

Trail mix, Gorp or Scroggin - hiking snack food by any other name!

2009-04-14T09:27:00.020+10:00

What is the best snack food when hiking?
Yummy nibbles to keep up your energy?
Easy food to eat while hiking, bushwalking, mountain climbing or treking?

No matter where you live or what you call trail mix you probably have a favourite "snack" food you take hiking.

Wikipedia describes trail mix as the ideal snack food for hikes, because it is lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, providing a quick boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit and/or granola, and sustained energy from the mono- and polyunsaturated fats in nuts

We have been modifying our scroggin over several years and in this post describe how we put it all together and prepare our scroggin for each hiking trip.

The "rules":
- cut up your treats into small pieces for different taste sensations
- avoid anything that melts or goes too soggy
- avoid anything too sticky (makes big chunks) or soft (breaks up into small pieces that are hard to grab)
- there are no real rules - just add what you like to eat

The recipe:
This is just a sample of the type of snacks we use in our scroggin, mix and match it to your taste.
- Liquorice all sorts cut into quarters
- Liquorice twists or straps cut into 2-3 cm (1") lengths
- jelly beans
- snakes - cut up
- jelly babies
- dried fruit such as apricot, pear, sultanas, raisins, currents etc
- chocos
- Liquorice chocolate coated bullets
- yogurt balls
- M&M's
- smarties
- Nuts - peanuts (we use unsalted or EVERYTHING gets salty), cashews, almonds etc BUT nothing with shells

Our scroggin, mixed and ready to bag

The amount:
- We take 100grams (about 3.5 ounces) or a small ziploc bag per person per day (this has gradually been reduced from about 200g as we now tend to eat less).
- We count the first and last day in the trail as one bag
- On a 5 night hike we take 5 bags (half for first and last day)

How we buy it all:
- We work out how many nights we are hiking - for example, 4 nights, 400gms each, two of us, total required 800gms! Our last trip we needed 1.6kg or 3.5 pounds!
- off to the supermarket and head to the confectionary / health food/ nut / dried fruit sections
- graze around for 30 min or so deciding what looks good (best to eat BEFORE you go there)
- start adding bags of goodies to our basket, writing down the net weight of each bag
- once we reach the required amount / weight we usually throw in an extra bag or two to get some more variety
- head off to the checkout and nearly faint at the cost..... junk food is expensive.

The packaging process:
- get a large bowl or container
- open packets, cut up large pieces and add to bowl
- beat off the children and hungry animals
- mix together by hand taking care not to eat too much
- depending on the amount you have decided for each day, weigh or fill bag with required amount
- share the leftovers with the kids

Seven days of scroggin for three people - bagged and ready to go

Advantages:
- we love the convenience of a pre-measured amount each day
- you don't eat all your scroggin in the first few days
- your get a real energy boost nibbling on high sugar food each hour or so

Disadvantages:
- You can add some serious weight to your pack if you are hiking for a few days, for example, seven nights, 700grams (1.5 pounds) of trail mix.
- you can get sick of the same tastes each day - think about putting a mix of different items in for different days if you are out for more than a couple of days e.g. nuts and jellybeans or bullets, snakes and yogurt balls in one bag. Experiment.

We would love to hear what you take as trail mix or scroggin or gorp. Leave us a comment so others can read them and use your ideas on their next trip.

Other ideas:
The Food Network - Trail Mix
Skipper's Scroggin recipe

Hiking gear - learning from your mistakes and fixing them

2009-04-12T16:20:00.000+10:00

Have you ever returned from a hiking trip and thought?

- never again, it is all too hard, too heavy and too difficult
- my pack was loaded badly
- my tent was too heavy
- my food was awful

Matthias, a fellow blogger and mate at Matt Worldwide posted a fantastic , detailed analysis recently on the lessons he has learnt from his first two Australian bushwalks.

A very thoughtful and thorough blogger, Matthias has put together a long post about his preparations to undertake the South Coast Track in Tasmania over Easter. We highly recommend you read his full post Preparing for a 10 day hike in South West Tasmania

Here are a few of the key points he has identified and tried to fix. We will look forward to his post trip report to determine if he has been successful!!

Mark at Louisa Bay - strapping on his gear - he carried around 30kg and regretted it!

- My backpack was badly set up and caused me pain in back and shoulders.

- My backpack was too heavy, I carried too much stuff

- I carried too much food, and what I carried was too heavy (e.g. cans or fruit cake).

- I didn’t carry mosquito repellent.

- Cotton clothing, not really suitable for hiking.

- I had blisters on my feet all the time.

- With only a 1 litre bottle I ran out of water sometimes.

- No real rain protection (it was summer so a light poncho-like jacket did the trick).

- Food planning and the positioning of stuff in my backpack in general was too complicated. On most days I didn’t have lunch because I didn’t want to unpack everything. I didn’t carry real lunch food anyway, only snacks, so I simply walked on to the next camp and had early dinner. It didn’t bother me much, once I start walking I can walk the whole day without eating much, but I think it would be beneficial to have a lunch break.

- My tent was too heavy and took up lots of space.

Read Matthias's full post Preparing for a 10 day hike in South West Tasmania, it is great information.

Does all or some of this sound familiar? It does to us, so we will be keen to read how Matthias' improvements to his hiking gear set up works after he completes the South Coast Track.

We would love your comments about how you have modified your gear over time and what you would change if you could.

Related Posts
Best hiking clothes for a multi day trip
Hiking gear - what are the basics?
John Chapman's advice for beginners

Great South West Walk - The Capes and Bays

2009-04-10T13:08:00.004+10:00

Penguins?
Enchanted Forest?
Blowholes?
Seals?
Petrified Forest?
and The End....

The final section of the Great South West Walk is described as "The Capes and Bays" and in his fourth guest post, Dave Tomlinson shares his trip report of this popular and beautiful area.

Petrified Forest

The 27km from Tarragal Camp around Cape Bridgewater to Trewalla Camp was my longest day but also one of the most enjoyable. Initially I had to traverse some pastoral land which offered beautiful views of Bridgewater Lakes. After enjoying some native bush around the lakes the track pushed its way out onto the rugged and windswept headland. As I progressed down the western side the vegetation became sparser until it became barren with a moonlike appearance. I took a break at The Springs camp, which was surprisingly well presented and so named for the freshwater spring nearby.

Bridgewater Lakes

At various points there was evidence of the ancient lava flow that created the Cape. Unfortunately there wasn't much action at the blowholes when I was there but it wasn't much further to see the Petrified Forest. There are a number of theories about how this surreal landscape of calcified sediment was formed. One of these is that a forest was smothered by a large sand dune and water seeping down through the sand formed a crust of sandstone on the outside of the tree trunks. This process decayed the organic matter, leaving behind the "petrified trunks".

Cape Bridgewater in the distance

After rounding the southern tip of Cape Bridgewater the track passes high above a colony of Australian fur seals, over the highest sea cliff in Victoria (130m above sea level) and descends to the tranquil community of Bridgewater. This eastern flank of the cape is sheltered from the prevailing wind and is noticeably greener. I had the recommended fish and chips for lunch before following the gentle curve of Bridgewater Bay around to Trewalla camp. This site offered good views looking back to the cape I'd just walked from. The only worry I had that night was the dark clouds that rolled in from the sea during the evening because my tent is not entirely waterproof.

Although I woke the next day to a heavy looking sky it remained dry and reasonably warm. In fact I never had more than a few light spots of rain the entire hike. The next headland I had to round was that of Cape Nelson.

Cape Nelson

After a few kilometres along the beach the track climbs (which the help of some wooden steps) up the dune and onto the cape itself. Although smaller, the scenery is similar to Cape Bridgewater with the landscape becoming very rugged and barren toward the end. At the southernmost point is the distinctive red and white Cape Nelson lighthouse built in 1884.

Great coastal scenery

It was noticeable that extra resources have been allocated to the track and campsites around the headlands. This is clearly the most popular section and many people do the 'Three Bays in Three Days' walk from Portland to Bridgewater Lakes. I stayed at Mallee Camp on the eastern side of the Cape Nelson. This was a lovely campsite apart from one thing: it's located close to a large wind turbine. The sound of the huge blades cutting the air disturbs both the ambience and even your sleep if they continue turning into the night. Fortunately for me the wind ceased soon after dark so the turbines fell still and silent.

Mallee Camp - nice and close to the wind turbine...

The track passes through the Enchanted Forest on Cape Nelson. This is where the twisted branches of Moonah trees, draped by vines and surrounded my lichen covered rocks combine to form a slightly haunting and fairytale like setting. Yellow Rock is a popular surfing and picnic spot but deserted as I passed by. The final cape of Sir William Grant is the smallest of the three and leads onto the aptly named Point Danger. There is a large Australasian gannet colony in this area.

Trewella camp with morning light over Cape Bridgewater

The final few kilometres into Portland is a much better walk than the track leading out the other side. The local aluminium smelter provided funds for a smooth 2km pathway suitable for the disabled. There are nice views of Portland Bay and it passes historic sites such as a sealing station and bay used for quarantine purposes in the 1800's. Part of this section is dedicated to one of the locals who volunteered much of his time over the years to develop and maintain the track. It's these people that make the track what it is today and I owe a special thanks to.

Returning to Portland completed the Great South West Walk and I took a moment to reflect on the experience. I'd hiked 13 days through wonderfully diverse scenery, observed fascinating wildlife and enjoyed good weather. I'd recommend this walk to anyone because of its variety. From a vision conceived nearly 30 years ago, it became a beautifully planned and well constructed hiking track. Through the years it's received various upgrades and extensions to become the world-class walk it is today. It truly is a symphony in four movements; each of them unique and offering something different to the others. The brochure for the walk asks the question "When will you do it?" I'm now very happy to be able to answer "I already have."

"The End" picture - Dave reaches Portland

Related Posts:
GSWW - Section 1 - The Cobboboonee Forest
GSWW - Section 2 - Glenelg River - Nelson
GSWW - Section 3 - Discovery Bay to Trewalla Camp

Many thanks to Dave Tomlinson for his wonderful trip report and photographs. The Great South West Walk looks like a fantastic trip and is now on our "to do" list. You can check out all of Dave's photo's here

Hiking with Bathmophobia - 7 hiking trips that won't scare you to death (too much) !

2009-04-08T18:19:00.015+10:00

Australia has some wonderful multiday hiking trips but your choice can be limited if you, or your companion, are scared of heights (Acrophobia) or falling down (Bathmophobia) .

Tasmania, for example, has some fantastic wilderness trips into areas such as the Western Arthurs, Frenchmans Cap and Federation Peak.

The problem with all of these wonderful bushwalking journeys is they involve heights, some serious rock scrambling and steep "drop offs"

But what if you are afraid of heights or don't need to be challenged to within an inch of your life?

Dead Horse Point in Moab, Utah by Ivan Makarov

What more moderate hiking trips are out there that are great fun and challenging enough to leave you satisfied having explored some beautiful country and fantastic scenery?

Where can you hike and not stress yourself too much with your phobia?

We have come up with a short list that meets the following criteria:

- No death defying stunts required to complete the trip
- Relatively mountain / drop off free
- Challenging enough to make you feel a sense of accomplishment
- Multi day with at least 3 nights camping required
- Generally isolated and away from too much infrastructure

The walks, in no particular order, are:

Great South West Walk - Victoria
This multi sectioned walk traverses 250km of diverse environment in South Western Victoria. Dave Tomlinson guest posted on this 14 day (you can do shorter sections) hike for us recently, it is a great read.

Wilsons Promontory Circuit Walk
Beautiful coastal walk that we have done several times but not blogged about yet. It is great for an introduction walk and has excellent facilities and picturesque campsites.

Overland Track - Tasmania
One of the worlds "Great Walks" according to many travel writers. We have enjoyed this walk many times and there are references all over "Our Hiking Blog" including links to our EBook - Hiking the Overland Track

Australian Alps Walking Track
Travels through three Australian States over 650km. Many people do the walk in sections as the total walk usually takes around 2 months. There ARE some hilly (all right, mountainous) sections but these can be avoided if you "section hike". Both Clare and Hannah, our daughters, have walked long sections. Hannah's trip report with Wollangarra can be read here.

Thorsborne Trail - Hinchinbrook Island - Queensland
We loved this trip a couple of years ago as it was totally different to hiking in Tasmania, our usual haunt. Swimming and beach walking were highlights, the sand flies the low light. There are several posts on the blog about walking the Thorsborne Trail.

Bibbulmun Track - Western Australia
This massive, almost 1000km track from Perth to Albany is an iconic Australian walk. There are 48 bushwalker campsites, each with a three-sided timber sleeping shelter, pit toilet, rainwater tank, tent areas and picnic tables. Dave Tomlinson, out interpid guest poster, has completed the whole walk and we will post his story soon.

Great Ocean Walk - Victoria
100 km of spectacular coastal walking along Victorias shipwreck coast. We have walked this a couple of times and really love the western section which is nicely isolated with terrific views. The write up of this trip can be found here.

Now we know this is a very limited list as there must be many walks that meet our "no scary bits" criteria, so leave us a comment with your ideas.

We would love to hear your ideas and so that others can get out into the bush and enjoy themselves, even if they have Acrophobia or Bathmophobia!

Great South West Walk - Discovery Bay and Mount Richmond

2009-03-24T13:08:00.012+11:00

The Great South West Walk third section is from Discovery Bay to Mount Richmond and Tarragal Camp.

If you like beach walking, sand and sand dunes this section is for you!

If you hate march flies, be prepared.....

In his third guest post, Dave Tomlinson shares some great information about this section of the GSWW. You can check out the map here

Dave's footprints, Discovery Bay - soft sand makes for hard walking

The Discovery Bay Coastal Park begins at Nelson and extends virtually all the way along the coast to Portland. It is recommended to walk the direction I did because the sun and prevailing wind is generally behind you. However when I came through the dunes at Ocean Beach the sun was high overhead and there was a strong wind right in my face. I had 7km of walking on sand with a heavy pack to reach White Sands camp. Fortunately I found that the high tide mark offered a reasonably firm surface to walk on and I got the job done okay.

White Sands shelter

White Sands is probably the most rustic campsite on the route but it was very welcome after 1½ hours of battling into the wind. Set in the shelter of the sand dunes, it offered a comfortable place to spend a night.
White Sands from above - it lives up to it"s name

Every day I appreciated the long twilights which offered daylight until about 9pm. By this time in the evening the wind had dropped so I went back to the beach and enjoyed watching the sun set over Discovery Bay.

Lake Monibeong is a fresh water lagoon which is popular for trout fishing and bird-watching. There is something exhilarating about walking beside a wild ocean on an isolated shore but from White Sands I took the inland route because I knew I had 17km down the beach the following day. The campsite was excellent (with the luxury of flush toilets!) and lake itself was absolutely beautiful.

Lake Monibeong - great spot for a swim

The water was crystal clear and I enjoyed a couple of swims during the afternoon. The kangaroos at this site seemed relatively tame and weren't in a hurry to disappear into the bush at first sight.

The third day along the beach dawned to a cloudless sky and promised plenty of sun. I tried to leave a bit earlier but it was impossible to do all I needed to in the morning in less than 1½ hours. So it was the usual 9am departure as I hit the beach. It was a beautiful morning – warm with gentle sea breezes. I found some firm sand underfoot and all seemed perfect…except for the flies. I could hardly believe the number of March flies that were following and attempting to land on me at any given opportunity. For those unfamiliar, these are the large flies that bite, even through clothing sometimes.

Initially I simply tried to keep legs and arms moving to avoid them. Then I began to lose patience and decided they had to die. It was war and I left a trail of bodies along the sand. I had the sounds of Culture Club's War Song stuck in my head as the sun climbed higher and it grew hotter. There was no shelter from the elements anywhere and I ran out of water. The worst part was the final couple of kilometres through the sand dunes to the Swan Lake campsite. I felt like I was trudging though a desert in search of the oasis and prayed I wouldn't miss any track markers.

All my romantic notions of swimming in Swan Lake were destroyed when I arrived. This was the worst campsite of the entire track. It was little more than a dusty carpark with a toilet and tap offering underground bore water. The only reasonable place I could find to pitch my tent was actually on the track itself. I had trouble even finding the lake and when I did it was anything but appealing. The black mud and dirty water meant I happily settled for a bath from the tap. Very disappointing…

Swan Lake - NOT Dave's favourite spot

It's at this point where the track either continues down the beach again or deviates up into the Mount Richmond National Park. I thought the latter option was preferable and took the appropriate track the following morning. The initial gradual uphill offered a nice view looking back but the section of track between the two national parks will remain my least favourite memory of the hike.

Just a view of Discovery Bay from track to Mt Richmond

It involved walking on soft, sandy forestry roads and 4WD tracks through pine plantations that had been scarred from recent logging. It was in this unattractive landscape that I missed a track marker and became lost.

I thought at the time it was unusual to come to an intersection devoid of any track markers and if I was thinking clearly I would have turned back right there. Instead, I assumed that walking straight ahead would be the correct course. And we all know what assumption is right? Arriving at a second corner without any markers was an obvious reminder of what assumption is! After a few muttered expletives I had no choice but to turn around and slog back to where I'd seen the last marker. The one I missed was only about 100 metres from where I'd last taken a break!

It was getting hot as I made the gentle but unrelenting ascent to the top of Mount Richmond (229m). I was hoping for a view from the top of this extinct volcano but there were too many trees to see anything. Even the panorama once offered from the lookout tower is now obscured by the surrounding vegetation. I was happy however that there was a rainwater tank in the picnic area because I still had 1½ hours hiking to get to camp.

Many thanks to Dave for his great trip report. Click on the links below to read about the other legs of the Great South West Walk.

GSWW - Section 2 - Glenelg River - Nelson

GSWW - Section 4 - The Capes and Bays

South Coast Track solo - by a VERY fit woman

2009-03-20T18:31:00.022+11:00

The South Coast Track in Tasmania's South West National Park can be a challenging bushwalk. It is generally undertaken over six nights with most people walking from Melaleuca to Cockle Creek, in Tasmania's South East corner.

We did the hike three years ago and struggled with the long days, mud and more mud. We spent so much time trying to work out where to walk we never took the time to take in much of the spectacular scenery. Frank talked Sue (and a couple of mates) in, to do the walk again in February 2009, with the plan to take 8 nights and enjoy shorter hiking days. This time the mates finished the whole walk and we ended up exploring the area before the Ironbound Ranges and around Melaleuca.

Sue is writing a blog post that will be posted soon on our adventures - We already have one post up about our experience with the flooded Louisa and Faraway Creek.

In this post we have the words and images of Anne Stockley, from San Diego in the USA. She was on the South Coast Track just days after us. We all remember seeing each other at Melaleuca before she set off.

We were very impressed by Anne's obvious level of fitness and light weight hiking kit so have posted some of her thoughts and images on Our Hiking Blog. You can see Anne's complete South Coast Track album here.

Anne, a lean mean hiking machine.

Anne has obviously honed her kit really well and carried 11kg, including food, on this trip. That is a significantly light weight pack and we could all learn a lot from her.

11kg including food - this is what I took minus the food:

Gear: Tent, Fuel bottle, MSR stove, 2 x 32oz water bottles, mug, titanium pan, spoon, aluminum foil wind shield, aluminum foil pan lid, 2 x lighter, map, compass, whistle, loo roll, suntan lotion, lip goop, ear plugs, blister kit, safety pins, netting headnet, rucksack, rucksack cover, camp towel, anti inflamatories, pain killers, antibiotics, sleeping bag, 2 compactor liners to keep sleeping bag dry, zip locks for all night wear clothing, sleeping mat, sleeping mat compression strap, head torch.

Daily wear: trousers, sleeveless vest, shirt, jog bra, cagoule (aka rain jacket), 2 pairs of socks, boots, gaiters, gloves, woolly hat, sun hat with neck cape, over trousers, fleece, sun glasses

Night wear: lyra shorts, long johns, two shirts, 2 pairs of socks

Anne's Report:
In late February 2009, I did a solo backpack of the South Coast Track in Tasmania in 5 days and 5 nights. Highlights for me included the campsite at Point Eric and the calm seas and sunny afternoon I enjoyed while there, the straightforward New River Lagoon crossing (I had been anxious about being able to drag the boats across the sand), the fact that I didn't have to swim the South Cape Rivulet as others recently had to, Prion Beach and Prion East which few people rave over, the bird life on the beach, the awesome views on the flight to Melaleuca, and the friendly Hills family group and Eric.

Things I didn't expect were how much of the trail was in light Eucalypt Forest and rain forest giving no views of the ocean, beaches, or anything. When looking at other people's photographs on the web beforehand, I got a distorted impression of how much of the walk was on beaches. With hindsight, an additional night at Surprise Beach or Osmiridium Beach would have been nice
After arriving at Melaleuca, I walked to Point Eric in changeable conditions. After I had put up the tent the ocean and weather became calm and I was treated to a starlit night. There was lots of interest on the beach including oyster catchers, plover, starfish, interesting seaweed, a red tide, and signs of flash flooding after the storm 4 days prior.

Campsite at Point Eric (above) and the toilet (below)

I woke up early and was walking east on Cox Bight by 7am. By 8am I had fallen in a watery bog over my knees and my feet weren't dry for the rest of the day.

My anxiety about the three river crossings for the day (Faraway Creek, Louisa Creek and Louisa River) was unnecessary as they were all very straight forward below knee crossings.

Louisa Creek Crossing - check this link to see it in flood

A classic driech day climb over the Ironbounds with no view from the top. Fortunately the wind was only a gentle 15mph or so. The descent was a sopping wet scramble and lower off branches over slippery roots, showered by every touch of the wet rainforest vegetation. Arriving at Deadman's beach at 11:30am I realised that I could make the 1:30pm high tide at Prion Boat crossing and so I carried on.

Ed: Note the times here - Anne "did the Ironbounds" from Louisa River to Deadman's Bay in 5 hours (we took at least 10!)

I set out from Prion Boat crossing camp after a lie in and with no particular plans as to were I would stop.
Anne's tent at Prion Beach

I ended up spending part of the morning walking with Eric and then continuing on to Granite Beach for a shower.

Pictures below are a couple of examples of the muddy conditions on this track....

The weather seemed to be changing with high cirrus clouds coming in from the west the afternoon before, so I got an early start over the South Cape. High tide was about 2pm so I wanted to cross South Cape Rivulet before then. It was raining when I got there and so I carried on to Lion Rock. I was not inspired by the campsite there and walked out to Cockle Creek.

Many thanks to Anne for agreeing to have her pictures and words reproduced here.

Great South West Walk - Glenelg River to Nelson

2009-03-18T18:28:00.005+11:00

The Lower Glenelg National Park, in Victoria's south western corner, is a wonderful place for a camping, hiking or canoeing holiday.
We had a terrific holiday camping at Pritchards Landing a few years ago. The swimming, boating and fishing made for a fantastic family holiday with something for everyone.

Dave, our guest poster, continues with his trip report on the Great South West Walk.

In this post he covers the Glenelg River section of the walk which is from the Moleside Camp to Nelson.

Nelson is the mid point of the walk. It has a couple of general stores for resupply.

Map of the Glenelg River section - Moleside Camp to Nelson

The Glenelg River
After 80km the track emerges at Moleside Camp to follow the mighty Glenelg River out to the coast. (Notice how you can spell 'Glenelg' backwards and it's still correct?) This was one of my favourite camps and I enjoyed a swim soon after I arrived. It was here that I realised that the river is tidal and the water has a slightly saline taste to it, even some 50km from the ocean. It is a magnificent river though and for the length that I walked it always spanned about 50 metres across to the other bank. Views of the water would come and go as the track pushed through bush on the south side of the gorge.

View of the Glenelg River from Moleside camp

Moleside Camp

I stayed at Murrell's Camp(pic below) which was a lovely spot beside the river where I had a well earned swim and even did some laundry.

The only problem I had was there was hardly any level ground to pitch a tent. I chose what I thought was the best place but still felt like I was sliding down to the far corner all night! After the company of only birds and animals for three days, it was nice to meet a few groups of day walkers and fishermen in this section of the walk. I never met anyone doing more than this and had every single campsite to myself.
Murrell's Camp - Great South West Walk

I decided to throw in a long day and miss the picturesque Patterson's Camp in favour of getting to Simson's Camp. It meant completing 24km on a hot day but it was one of the best sections of the whole track. In the lower reaches of the Glenelg River the gorge becomes much deeper and the track offers some spectacular views from on top of the limestone cliffs. It goes past a number of popular picnic and camping areas, some of which were being well used. At its most westerly point the track follows the curve of the river into South Australia. I had lunch at the lovely little picnic area of Hirth's Landing.

The South Australian section

Simson's was a pleasant campsite but I was disappointed there was no river access. After a hot sunny day I was eager for a swim but had to settle for my daily rainwater bath instead. It was here that I was woken in the middle of the night by something scratching around beside my tent. I got a fright and unzipping my tent door revealed a possum. This was Australian wildlife I could happily do without! They don't have much fear but I scared it as much as possible and fortunately that's the only one I saw in the two weeks.

The Glenelg River - great swimming

The small township of Nelson represents the halfway point of the Great South West Walk. It's a place to restock with food for the journey back along the coast to Portland. There are a few historic buildings which now serve as the local pub and a guesthouse. It has a petrol station, food kiosk, boat hire, church, information office, several houses and not a lot more. The kiosk had limited and very expensive supplies but I managed to accumulate what I needed before heading south to begin the trek along the beach.

Hire Boats at Nelson

Related Posts
Great South West Walk - Section 1 - Portland to Glenelg River
Great South West Walk - Section Three - Discovery Bay

South Coast Track - Louisa and Faraway Creek flood

2009-03-13T16:59:00.022+11:00

Trapped between two flooded creeks?

Worried we would miss our flight out of Tasmania and home?

Wondering if we had enough food to eat until the rivers subside?

Sudden thunderstorms in Tasmania can make even small creeks flood quickly and to high levels.

On a recent trip into the South Coast of Tasmania we experienced the effects of a heavy thunderstorm and rain on two "small" creeks. It left us stranded between the two flooded creeks, that were 700 metres apart, for 10 hours. Luckily the rain stopped and we were able to cross or we may have been there for several days.

The full story continues below.

We had spent a fantastic three nights at Louisa Bay and on the way back to Melaleuca we camped at Louisa Creek. The plan was to head out early the next morning to Buoy Creek at Cox's Bight for another day exploring this beautiful area.

About 7pm on Monday 23rd we were cooking dinner and a bit of thunder and lightening started around us. We were well set up and as the rain started we retreated to the tent and tried to get some sleep. The rain continued all night and Sue was getting increasingly concerned as first her "Crocs" and then boots started to float in the vestibule of the tent. Frank was getting "a bit cross" with her as she was constantly unzipping the tent and checking on the water level (about 3" deep on her side while dry on mine). FINALLY we got some sleep as we (she) got used to the heavy rain and what sounded like wind in the trees.

We woke early, keen to head off as the rain had stopped. Upon arising we worked out what the "wind" sound was, it was the Louisa Creek in ?full flood. Boy that little, foot deep stream had risen overnight. It was now a 2.5 - 3 m torrent.....

Early morning at Louisa Creek- the river ended up running though our site,about one foot deep, an hour later

We wacked a marker stick in to gauge if the river was rising and within a couple of minutes the water had risen beyond the stick and was heading to our tent. Discretion being the better part of valor and finally agreeing that Sue was right- "yes dear, the river could flood our tent", we moved to higher ground and checked out the crossing.

This picture is downstream from our old site to the new river crossing steps and rope

The picture below shows the top step of the new river crossing at Louisa Creek about 7am. There are about 10 steps down to the "usual" crossing depth. Within the next hour the water was about a foot above the top step and running through our original camp site. We decided to retire for breakfast......

Over the next 4 hours we watched the level gradually retreat until 7 steps were visible. Below is Sue, checking out the steps on the Louisa River side of the "creek" and the rope. The water would have still been well over a metre deep (and running "rather quickly")

As the river level at Louisa Creek has fallen a lot, we decided at about 1200 to walk the 700 m over to Faraway Creek and check out if it was possible to get across that day. When we arrived we were STUNNED, we thought the level would have dropped at around the same rate as Louisa Creek but this one was even higher.

We were so stunned we forgot to take a picture but the water was a foot above the flood warning sign and RISING rapidly. Faraway Creek was running even faster and stronger than Louisa Creek.

We retreated to Louisa Creek and lunch (well a modified lunch, we were thinking if the rain kept up we might need to stretch our food out for a few days.....) It was again raining heavily. On our return, Louise Creek had risen to the top of the steps again. Boy these rivers are responsive to rain!

We waited until about 4pm and Louisa Creek had fallen again so we walked over to Faraway Creek again and discovered it had fallen DRAMATICALLY AND there were about 20 South Coast Track hikers on the other side........

After about an hour the level had dropped enough to warrant an attempt to cross and Frank ended up getting 3 of the more adventurous across (including a non swimmer). We made a snap decision to head back to our gear, pack up and get across.

By now, 6 people in total had crossed and the rest had decided to camp on the Melaleuca side of the river until morning. (There are no designated campsites on that side of the river) We crossed pretty easily (about a metre of very fast water)

Looking back after getting across. The water was about 2 feet above the top piece of step you can see on the far side.

We headed through the temporary village that had been created at about 7pm and walked on for about 2km in our Crocs , finding a great spot next to the track and set up for the night, VERY happy to have the last major river crossing behind us.

Next day we did 23km into Melaleuca and had a couple of nights around there. We ran into a guy who had flown in to check out the area after we think, abandoning a walk at we THINK 5 mile creek in the Arthurs area. They woke to water filling their tent in the middle of the night and a VERY CLOSE NEAR DROWNING incident. He recalled standing with his pack on, water to his chest with no where to go. He thought he was going to die and the look in his eyes told us it was true. The party lost 3 cameras, multiple gear including boots etc. He was VERY happy to be out.

LESSONS:
1) Chapman is right, you must leave spare time in case you are held up by high rivers etc
2) Spare meals are very handy
3) It can be VERY boring watching a river drop, take some cards or a good book and chill.
4) It is TOTALLY out of your control, accept it (we talked to some very cross people who now had to flog themselves across the track to finish at a certain time) We had 2 spare days.

There is a great information sheet on techniques to cross a river at this site. It is produced Mountain Safety in New Zealand.

The Great South West Walk - a great walk? You bet!

2009-03-05T07:33:00.034+11:00

Want to spend 2 weeks hiking in Victoria in a variety of interesting scenery including sea, river and forest?

Love the beach and bush and want a bushwalking trip that takes you these environments and more?

Looking for a multi day hike that offers a lot of variety?

The Great South West Walk may be for you!

The 250km long Great South West Walk provides a fascinating variety of scenery and wildlife in the southwest of Victoria. The track winds inland from the town of Portland and reaches Nelson via the Cobboboonee Forest and Glenelg River. From there, it returns along the beaches and rugged capes to complete the loop. As it is cleverly promoted, it is a "Symphony in Four Movements"

Dave Tomlinson, our guest poster pictured below, started the Great South West Walk on the 7th February 2009. He stayed a night with us on his way through to Portland from Brisbane and has kindly agreed to allow us to reproduce his trip report here on "Our Hiking Blog".

But first, some background and references.

Parks Victoria have a great site with more detail Great South West Walk and the Great South West Walk site also has significant information about local resources, volunteer assistance, maps, accommodation and walking options.

Below is a map of the Great South West walk - for a bigger, scalable map click here

This walk has a fascinating history as is seems to be conceived and supported by the Portland and district community. The following information is taken from a great site maintained by NETS Victoria - called Walk

In 1980, Sam Bruton, the then Chief Ranger of National Parks in South West Victoria, dreamed of a massive walking track extending inland form Portland to Nelson and returning via the coast.

The Walk would feature four contrasting environments – the Cobboboonee Forest,the Glenelg River, the beach of Discovery Bay, and the cliffs and capes of Bridgewater and Nelson.

Portland High School accepted Sam’s invitation to construct the walk. With the support of government officers, the students, teachers and parents set about the task and the Walk was officially opened in November 1983. In April 1984, the newly formed Friends of the Great South West Walk accepted responsibility for it. Ever since then, with the support of the government, they have continuously maintained, upgraded and promoted this community asset.

Bill Golding Co-founder, Great South West Walk

Now onto Dave's trip report -

Part One: The Cobboboonee Forest

My hike of the Great South West Walk started in Portland on February 9th, just two days after the state of Victoria was devastated by the worst bushfires in history.As I stepped from the plane on the day which will be forever remembered as 'Black Saturday', I was greeted with a temperature of 47ºC and strong, hot winds.Never have the words 'stepping into an oven' been more appropriate!I had concerns about the fire situation, but the worst affected areas were in an area northeast of Melbourne. Apart from a fire which damaged the train line, the western part of the state appeared to be largely unaffected.

On the day I started the temperature was down to a very comfortable 21ºC.

To be quite honest, I didn't find the first day out of Portland very inspiring.The town itself is attractive and there were some nice views of the harbour and as the track passed the historic Whalers Bluff lighthouse built in 1859. I also took time to do an interesting little self-guided tour of the old cemetery.

I had some navigation problems though and a few more makers in these initial stages would have been appreciated.For most of the 20km I seemed to be walking on either residential streets, sealed or secondary unsealed roads and it was only in the last few kilometres that I felt I'd actually left civilization.

Starting mid-afternoon meant it was getting late by the time I arrived at the first camp.I was so happy to be there, pitch my tent, unroll my sleeping bag and hang up sweaty clothing.I was just imagining how good a cup of tea would be when I realized: there was no water! I was puzzled that there should be a toilet and fireplace but not the promised rainwater tank. It then occurred to me that I'd arrived at a disused campsite and the new one was a further 2km.There was no option but to pack everything up and ask my weary legs for another 25 minutes work.

In the fading light I nearly tangled with a snake on the track and the adrenalin from that had me surging into Cubby's Camp!

The three days through the forest offered relatively easy hiking.The track was wide and well maintained.There were very few undulations so it was very pleasant walking.The weather was generally overcast and temperatures through this entire section were unseasonably cool at only about 20ºC.So all those factors meant I was able to hike at 5 kilometres per hour and estimate my arrival time at the next camp accurately.

Cobboboonee is a native Australian eucalypt forest.The track explores the headwaters of two rivers and ferns seemed to flourish in these areas.It traverses heathland areas and Messmate trees.These are also known as Stringybark for the way bark can be easily peeled from the trunk. It also passes an unusual pond called The Inkpot.

The water is a distinctive black colour (caused by an accumulation of decayed vegetation) and forms an interesting contrast with the surrounding earth. At a couple of the forest campsites I was greeted in the morning by one or two grey kangaroos.After I emerged from my tent it usually didn't take them too long to disappear into the bush. I saw a couple of echidnas on the track but they were very shy and shuffled away as soon as they sensed the possible danger.

Unfortunately I didn't see any koalas but the forest is home to some beautiful birds. Occasionally I'd see the bright red and deep blue of Crimson Rosellas flicking through the trees and also several flocks of the white Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.

Related Posts:
Great South West Walk - Glenelg River to Nelson - Part 2

The Overland Track - advice from a first timer

2009-01-26T09:38:00.000+11:00

Planning to hike the Overland Track and not sure what gear you need?

You have read all the advice (including our Overland Track ebook) and STILL want more information?

Just love to read about other people's experiences to build up your knowledge base before you tackle one of the world's Best Hikes?

Want to hike the Overland Track solo but not sure if you can?

In this post we share some reflections of a recent solo Overland Track trip by Matthias, a young German guy who now lives in Hobart. He did the walk in late 2008.

Matthias has a fantastic blog called Mattworldwide that we have been following for the last few months as he documents his time in Australia, and in particular, Tasmania. He is a great bloke, who is a really interesting thinker and VERY organised. (maybe it is his German background)

We communicated a fair bit before his trip and he used our Walking the Overland Track ebook to help him plan the walk. .

Matt and his first mud on the Overland Track - to see all Matt's Track pictures click here

Matt kindly agreed to us reproducing some of his comments about the walk. We strongly encourage you to read the full story and his extensive notes on his blog post Overland Track 2008. We have added some comments in italics.

Matt's thoughts and recommendations:

This trip was my first long hiking trip and I knew that a lot of things would go wrong and that I would make mistakes. It was mostly about getting experience, and I got a lot of helpful experience. After all, here are some thoughts and recommendations from me based on my trip:

- A 1 litre water bottle is not enough, when it’s hot and sunny it can happen that you run out of water very quickly, like it happened to me on the first day. Whenever you find a good possibility to refill (like a creek) drink as much as you can and then fill up your bottle completely. It can be a long walk until you get another possibility to refill.

Agree in part, water is very heavy and there are many opportunities to refill on the track. Because we have walked the track so often, we know where the creeks so take some extra but not too much!

- Maybe don’t take bottles at all. Next time instead of a bottle I will carry a flexible water tank with about 2 litres that I can store in the top pocket of my backpack. I’ve seen a lot of people carrying these and they have a tube that goes to your mouth so you can drink easily anytime. I think that’s more convenient.

- If you’re camping with your tent, take some string with you. It can be a bit difficult to fix all sides of your tent on the tent platforms that are provided at most huts. The biggest problem is that they don’t have hooks in the middle of the platform and they are all different size, so it’s good to have some string so you can fix your tent if there are no hooks left on the platform.
Agree, or an alternate we use is large elastic bands (they stretch)

- It’s helpful to carry a tea towel to dry your dishes. You don’t need soap, just take a sponge with a rough surface on one side.

A large "Chux" works really well as a tea or body towel. They dry quickly as well.

- I didn’t have real hiking trousers and carried old cotton shorts and long replacement trousers. It’s definitely worth investing in good water-proof and dirt resistant hiking trousers. Take some with zip-off legs and you only need to take one pair of trousers with you.

Cotton is always a no no, once wet it will take a LONG time to dry.

- Only wear rain clothes when it actually rains. Most rain clothes are so wind resistant that you will sweat a lot more by wearing them. One day it looked like rain so I put on my rain over trousers. After a few minutes of walking I changed again, it was too hot.

- The quality of my sleep depends much on the quality of my pillow, I found out. It’s a good idea (thanks Frank) to carry an empty pillow case and fill it with clothes when you go to sleep. I didn’t take one with me (somehow forgot) and most nights I had very bad sleep.

- Take a light daypack with you, a small backpack for daytours or sidetrips. It doesn’t need to be ergonomic or expensive, a very cheap one that can be folded to small volume will do fine. It’s very good to have a daypack if you want to do some sidetrips like the climb to Mount Ossa or Cradle Mountain. You can leave your big pack at the junction (everyone does that, sometimes there are even platforms to store your backpack) and put lunch, water, first-aid, valuables etc. in your daypack. I didn’t carry one and made the mistake of taking my water bottle up to the summit of Cradle Mountain. What a mistake, you definitely need both your hands free to do all the dangerous rock climbing.

Matt on top of Mt Ossa - December 2008 - check out the snow in the background

- It’s worth doing a precise menu and food planning even if it doesn’t really sound necessary. I didn’t do much planning, I just took a lot more food than necessary to be able to extend my stay by several days in case I wanted to. In the end I didn’t extend much and brought a lot of food back home from my trip.

Agree, we have a large section of how to plan your menu in the Overland Track eBook

- Also it’s good to carry dry food and mostly things that only need added water, as water is supplied on the track. I carried some cans with tuna or soup with added bacon etc., but cans take up a lot of weight so next time I’ll leave them at home, except maybe tuna which is small and good.

- It worked very well for me to dry some food using a food dehydrator. While it didn’t really work drying fruit (was ugly and it’s cheap at Woolworths anyway) I was successful with drying spaghetti bolognese or sweet curry rice with banana. Next time I will prepare more dried food. A friend I met on the track carried 1kg of oats and a pack of milk powder, so every morning he was cooking oats for breakfast. Sounds nice and easy, but maybe it gets boring after some days.

Drying food is great - check out this post on how to dry spaghetti

- I probably wouldn’t carry a camera tripod anymore. While I got some really nice photos that wouldn’t have been possible without it, at 1.5kg it’s simply too much weight. Every kilo counts.

- My tent was way too heavy. It weights around 2.5kg, I will try to replace it with a 1kg one before I go hiking again.

- I always carry too many gas cans. Half of the trip I still used the almost empty can from my cycling trip earlier this year. With the right gas stove (I have a good one from Kovea) they almost last forever. One 230g gas can is definitely enough for a 8 day hiking trip, even if you use it twice a day or more to cook stuff. It’s good to go inside the hut for cooking, less wind saves you gas.

- Check your footwear before you leave!! In my ‘group’ there was a girl who had to fix their shoes with duct tape every day because they were falling to pieces after one or two days. Fortunately she found a ranger who could supply tape. It’s a long walk and it can kill your shoes, I’m surprised how worn my own (pretty good) shoes look after the Overland Track.

Yep, many people have this problem. This guy had a lot of trouble with his old boots and had to evacuate.

- Mosquitoes, there are so many of them!! If you don’t take any of the common sprays or cream you will get really annoyed by them. Especially if you wear shorts or t-shirts they will bite you everywhere!

- Don’t underestimate temperatures. Even if it’s very sunny and hot during the day, it can become surprisingly cold at night. If you’re camping in a tent, make sure you carry a warm sleeping bag or additional clothing for the night.

There was snow on the Overland Track in December and January this year. Conditions can change quickly at any time of the year.

Many thanks to Matthias for his great insights. Don't forget to check out all his Overland Track posts , they are excellent reading.

Related Posts
Hiking the Overland Track - the downloadable eBook
Hiking the Overland Track - eBook reviews

South Coast Track Tasmania- planning the walk

2009-01-21T20:40:00.004+11:00

Mid February will see us (Frank and Sue) tackle the South Coast Track for the second time. On this trip we are joined by John, who walked it with us four years ago and Mark who walked in the area extensively 20 plus years ago. We have started the planning phase of the walk and wanted to share a few of our ideas that will shape our planning.

Melaleuca Harbour on a beautiful still morning

The South Coast Track - our plans

The South Coast Track is a 85 km walk between Cockle Creek and Melaleuca in Tasmania's South West National Park. Our plans are to take eight nights and enjoy a few easy days and take time to check out the beaches and scenery. Last trip, we did it in six nights and did not have a lot of time to enjoy the whole experience.

We will be flying into Melaleuca and walking east to Cockle Creek. This is for the usual reason, if we are going to be delayed by bad weather, we would rather be delayed in Hobart than Melaleuca (potentially running low on food and missing our plane out)

Being Tourists

Last time we did the walk, once the plane landed we had a quick look around Melaleuca and then headed off to Point Eric to set up for the first night. This time we are flying into Melaleuca at about 2pm. We plan to stay there and really explore the area.

This has a couple of advantages:

Frank noticed that Par Avion , the company that flies into Melaleuca offers two different trips that are relevant to us.

PAR AVION WILDERNESS TOURS SOUTHWEST WORLD HERITAGE TOUR
Adult $200.00 Child $170.00
Come and explore one of the World's last wilderness frontiers, South West Tasmania. This World Heritage listed National Park has international significance, comprising of over 4500 sq kms of pristine wilderness, no roads , no civilisation, just pure wilderness. This tour includes a spectacular scenic flight and a boat trip to the Marine reserve of Bathurst Harbour. There is also an opportunity to see the rare and endangered Orange Bellied Parrot. Tour is approx 4 hours and includes refreshments. Departs 09:00 and 13:30 daily.
BUSHWALKERS FLIGHTS TO MELALEUCA
One way $195.00 p/p Return $370.00 p/p
Par Avion have been providing the bushwalking community with a reliable air service to Melaleuca for over twenty years. We can Drop off or pick up at Melaleuca which is located in the remote South West of Tasmania. Food drop service and fuel also available. Departs 09:00 and 13:30.

OK, noticing the price difference, and knowing we had time up our sleeve, we opted for the first option (but obviously not returning to Hobart) that gives us a boat trip on Bathurst AND refreshments (a cup of coffee we are told) for around the same price. It looks like a great option to us.

We save a nights accommodation in Hobart at the start of the walk. Last trip we flew in the afternoon before and then got a very early flight to Melaleuca.

This trip, we will arrive at Hobart around 9am and hire a car. This will enable us to hit a supermarket in Hobart, have a good lunch and leave our clean clothing at our accommodation before flying out at 1:30pm.

We can take a nice meal into Melaleuca and enjoy it at our leisure. If the weather is warm, cold meat and salad purchased in Hobart would be great, washed down with some wine. Another option would be a nice steak and fresh vegetables, weight will not be an issue.

With any luck we can convince the pilot to fly the rubbish out the following day!

Days out on the Track

The last time we hiked the South Coast Track it was early April. The days were very short and we seemed to walk from dawn to dusk (and beyond). We were out for six nights. This trip we are planning eight nights (excluding the night at Melaleuca). This will enable us to take a couple of very short days or have a full rest day.

Where we camp each night will depend on the weather and our feet!

One of the dunnys on the South Coast Track - great views of the surrounding bush

Gear / group organisation

We are putting together a list of all the gear we can share between the four of us. The purpose of this is to reduce our pack weight and enhance the trip by not lugging huge packs for 9 days.

Obvious examples are:

cookers and pots
tents
maps
gas cylinders
first aid kit
EPIRB (PLB)

Less obvious ones we are thinking about (to reduce the total weight we are carrying) are items such as:

sunscreen
bug repellant
toothpaste
camera / batteries
dishwashing gear
more suggestions welcome

Food

Planning food for a long hike is always a bit tricky.

The principals we will be applying to menu planning for this trip will include the following:

we will cook and carry food as "couples".
- We have found cooking for four a bit more complicated - meals don't all fit in the pots, it takes longer to rehydrate, the menu has to be agreed by four rather than two so the variety can be reduced.
we will take two days fresh (such as steak and sausages)
we will be carefully weighing and calculating our nibbles and scroggin volumes as they can really add the weight to your pack.
we will make sure meal sizes are spot on rather than adding a "bit extra" in case we are really hungry. Often we have leftovers that need to need to be carried out

Training

This has been minimal but will crank up to four of five, five to ten km brisk walks a week. As Mark says, "You get fit in the track, don't you"?

Sue, heading up the Ironbounds, one reason to train.

The Overland Track

2008-12-31T09:24:00.024+11:00

Planning to hike the Overland Track in Tasmania?

Want to trek one of the Best Hikes in the World?

Need some help to work out transport, food and gear?

Confused about how to organise flights, Overland Track bookings, bus transfers, the ferry on Lake St Clair and getting your clean clothes to the end of the track?

Not sure what food to take or how to plan your hiking menu?

Worried about what gear you really need to carry for five or six days?

Steve, one of "Our Hiking Blog" readers, was a winner (and a great volunteer editor) of our recent Overland Track e-Book competition. He received a free copy of the downloadable book and has kindly written a review to share with our readers.

I came across this great resource during one my regular online visits to the bushwalking forums , Bushwalk Tasmania and Frank and Sue's own blog “Our Hiking Blog”.

I am from Queensland Australia , and am planning a return trip to do the Overland Track and I have been trying to plan my trip from afar.

The logistics of planning my first solo OT trip is rather daunting.

I am a fairly experienced through walker, but am still anxious about organising the fine details of such a trip from a long way away.

Frank and Sue's e-Book has been a “godsend”.

The fine detail of “how,when, where and why” are comprehensively covered and the links within to other associated walking resources are invaluable – something no other hard cover book could even attempt to cover.

This one resource will open up an information gateway to a safe and less complicated trip into some of the most spectacular areas in Australia. From which bus to catch there, to what food and gear to take and where to get it in Tassie, is covered.

There are many Overland Track resources available (and this e-Book refers you to these ). What is not covered in these other resources are the specific logistics of organising such a trip.

Frank also offers his opinion and give his wise advice about a range of OT specific areas and it has assisted me greatly in my planning.

Thanks for putting together such a valuable resource.

Steve C. 29/12/08

Many thanks to Steve for taking the time to review the book and we really hope it helps him have a great trip in May 09, where he plans to walk the Overland Track solo.

You may be interested in other reviews of the Overland Track e-Book - you can read them on the review page or check out more detail on the book on this post.

Related Posts
The Overland Track solo - Sue's trip report
The Overland Track - e-Book
Overland Track - track images
More pictures we really like of the trip

Our Hiking Blog- find information about food, gear, trip reports across Australia. We create a list of all posts on the blog

2008-12-28T11:28:00.003+11:00

There are over 100 posts on "Our Hiking Blog". They cover a huge range of hiking and bushwalking topics. Sometimes it can be difficult to find all the information you are looking for easily so we have created a summary page of all the great topics within the blog to make searching them easier.

Check out some of the older posts and hidden jewels within the blog, we are sure you will have a bit of fun.

The Overland Track e-Book

· Hiking the Overland Track – the book

· Overland Track book reviews

· The Overland Track – e-Book pre release notes

Trips – reports, notes, pictures

Tasmania

The Overland Track – walking and planning

· The Overland Track – what scenery – Frank hikes with an American (in the rain)

· Hiking the Overland Track – a view from the States

· The Overland Track solo – Sue’s trip report

· The Overland Track – Track Images

· Overland Track pictures

· The Overland Track – Planning the walk from overseas

The Overland Track – Hut by Hut

· Ronney Creek to Waterfall Valley

· Waterfall Valley to Windemere

· Windemere to Pelion Hut

· Pelion to Kia Ora

· Kia Ora to Windy Ridge Hut

· Windy Ridge (Bert Nicols) to Echo Point

· Echo Point to Cynthia Bay

Cradle Mountain – Walls of Jerusalem National Park

· Walls of Jerusalem to Overland Track – December 08

· Cradle Mountain local walk – Scott Kilvett Hut and Cradle Mountain Lodge

· Walls of Jerusalem - video

· Walls of Jerusalem – a short break in paradise

· Platypus on Cradle Mountain Plateau

Walls of Jerusalem to the Overland Track via the Never Never

· Living on the Edge – or was it cold? Pictures of Walls of Jerusalem to Overland Track via the Never Never

· Launceston to Dixon Kingdom Hut – Walls of Jerusalem – Winter

· Walls of Jerusalem – Mt Jerusalem – Winter

· Dixon Kingdom Hut to Meston Hut – Winter

· Meston Hut to Kia Ora Hut – via the Never Never – Winter

· Kia Ora Hut to Pelion Hut – Winter

· Pelion Hut to Windemere Hut – Winter

· Windemere Hut to Cradle Mountain Lodge - Winter

The South Coast Track

· South Coast Track Tasmania

· South Coast Track - Point Eric to Louisa River

· South Coast Track - Louisa River to Deadmans Bay

· South Coast Track - Deadmans Bay to New River Lagoon

· South Coast Track -New River Lagoon - Surprise Bay

· South Coast Track - Surprise Bay to South Cape Rivulet

· South Coast Track – South Coast Rivulet to Cockle Creek

Other

· Wilmont – Frankland Range Trip report – guest post by Grant

· Frenchman’s Cap and the Irenabyss – trip report

· Port Davey Track – Trip Report

Other Australia

Great Ocean Walk

Trip Report

· Great Ocean Walk - the start

· Marengo to Blanket Bay

· Blanket Bay to Cape Otway Lightstation

· Cape Otway Lightstation to Aire River

· Aire River to Joanna

· Joanna to Ryans Den

· Ryans Den to Devils Kitchen

· Devils Kitchen to The Gables

General Information

· Water on the Great Ocean Walk

· Cape Otway Lighthouse – discount entry for GOW walkers

· Blanket Bay base camping

· Blanket Bay shelter and wildlife

· Great Ocean Walk – trip report

· GOW – Should I wear gaiters?

Victoria

· The Fortress and Billywing – Southern Grampians

· Mt Howitt and the Cross Cut Saw – to Mt Speculation – Australian Alps

· Bogong High Plains and Australian Alps Walking Track

· Lake Elizabeth – Otway National Park - bonus platypus

Queensland

Hinchinbrook Island – Thorsborne Trail

· Thorsborne Trail – Hinchinbrook Island - prelude

· Thorsborne Trail – Hinchinbrook Island – Planning the hike

· Thorsborne Trail - Planning the walk

· Thorsborne Trail - George Point to Sunken Island Reef

· Thorsborne Trail - Sunken Island Reef - Zoe Bay

· Thorsborne Trail - Zoe Bay to Little Ramsay Bay

· Thorsborne Trail - Little Ramsay Bay - Nina Bay

· Thorsborne Trail - Nina Bay - Ferry

International

· Routeburn Track – New Zealand – Is it worth the cost?

Food

· Scroggin – hiking snacks

· Vegetarian Hiking Food ideas

· More vegetarian hiking food ideas

· Dehydrating Spaghetti

· Menu for a nine day hiking trip

· Drying a curry

· Food preparation for the Overland Track

· Food preparation for the Overland Track – Lunch & Dinner

· Food, glorious hiking food

GPS

· GPS Waypoints Overland Track, Thorsborne Trail, Great Ocean Walk and more

· GPS, which one for hiking?

Gear

· Gear ideas for a Tasmanian Wilderness hike

· Couple Hiking – Gear ideas to get off on the right foot together

· Starting off Hiking – John Chapman’s Gear advice

· Hiking Gear – What are the basics to get started?

· Hiking Gear – the basics

Feet and boots

· Hiking boot – near disaster story

· Blisters? Not this time, Sue tries Injinji socks

· Blisters? Sore feet? These socks really work – Sue reports on Injinji toe socks

· Injinji Socks and Toe Blisters – an independent review

· Is the GORE-TEX waterproof guarantee real? We test it out

Clothing

· Best hiking clothes for a multi day hike - including pictures

· Gear Test – Women’s jackets

Backpacks

· Best Hiking Backpack – the One Planet Strezlecki looks the goods

· 5 features I don’t want in a new hiking backpack

Tents

· Hiking Tents – how to chose

· Which one person hiking tent? A suggestion

· How to turn a tarp into a tent

· Turning a trap into a tent - more information

Other Gear

· Ultra light D ring for your pack

· Gas bottles or fuel for Tasmanian Hiking – How to source it

Posts on various topics

· The Rivers Run Free – (saving the Franklin River) book review

· Winter in Tasmania – Snow on the Arm River and Overland Track

· Cradle Mountain Shuttle bus – open all year

· Yabbie Straw – Emergency water when hiking in Tasmania

· Water, can you drink it in Tasmania’s National Parks?

· Spirituality of bushwalking – one man’s reflections

· Lightweight camping, we think not, Our Hiking Blog go camping

· Tiger Snake meets a frog, no conversation just a quick nibble – great video

· Tiger Snake meets a frog – Part 2

· 7 tips to make a good hiking trip great

· "Sex in a tent, a wild couples guide to getting naughty in nature” - interview with the author

· Bob Brown – Tasmanian Greens Senator - video

· Joining the Greens – putting our votes where our mouths are!

· Snakes in Tasmania

· Wollangarra - floods

· Mountain Bothies – a UK hiking hut?

The Overland Track e Book reviews

2008-12-22T17:47:00.003+11:00

We recently sent copies of the Overland Track downloadable book to a couple of great bushwalking and hiking sites for them to check out and possibly review.

Well, we are humbled by their responses, which were well beyond our expectations.

Pelion Hut - Overland Track Tasmania

Rick McCharles from besthike.com wrote a great review: eBook for the Overland Track

Some of the highlights from Rick's post are: (for us anyway!)

The best walk in Australia — our #10 best trek in the World — is Tasmania’s Overland Track.
John & Monica Chapman self-publish the best guidebook for the OT. (Chapman’s guidebooks are the best in the world, in fact.)
But personally I prefer the just released Overland Track eBook (PDF format) by Frank & Sue Wall.

Why is an eBook better than a hard copy guidebook?

easy for the authors to update
links to web pages and email addresses
downloads instantly
I can carry it on my iTouch

And DIRT CHEAP for 18,000+ words and heaps of photographs

Brilliant.

This is exactly the kind of information I need when planning a major hike.

besthike.com is a "must subscribe to" site that lists the best hikes in the world (as Rick notes, the Overland Track comes in at number 10) There are also lists and information on "best hikes" by continent. Good stuff for planning your next trip

Nik, the site founder and administrator of Bushwalk Tasmania kindly wrote a

review on the Overland Track book for the forum.

Here is a snapshot of his post:

frank_in_oz has just released his downloadable eBook, 'Hiking the Overland Track'. I've had a read through it and it is an excellent resource for people who are looking to walk the Overland Track, and I highly recommend it particularly for people who are not experienced bushwalkers, or who are not familiar with Tasmania.
It includes a wide variety of topics to help people get organised for their Overland Track walk, not just track notes for the walk itself. Some of the topics covered include:

Flights, bus trips and accommodation, park fees, track booking and track fees
Gear, food, brief track notes, and references to other sources of information (including Bushwalk Tasmania, of course)
Dealing with animals from possums to snakes, minimal impact walking, maps, etc

Bushwalk Tasmania forum is a fantastic spot to "hang out" and discuss all aspects of bushwalking in Tasmania. It is a really well moderated forum with many members who are willing to share their experience. As the site says: Information for bushwalkers from bushwalkers.

Related Posts:

Hiking the Overland Track e-Book

Release of the Overland Track book

Various Overland Track posts

Hiking the Overland Track - the downloadable book

2008-12-21T17:20:00.009+11:00

Searching for advice on hiking the Overland Track in Tasmania?

Want good, simple tips from experienced bushwalker's on how to plan your Overland Track hike?

Are you having trouble organising the walk from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair on the Overland Track?

Is coordinating the Overland Track booking, transport to Cradle Mountain, your flights and getting home again just too confusing and complicated?

Frank and Sue at Our Hiking Blog announce - "The Overland Track" e-Book updated for the 2009/10 season.

Yes, we walked the Track in September 09 and have updated the book for this hiking season.

Review: Frank & Sue have just released their downloadable eBook, 'Hiking the Overland Track'. I've had a read through it and it is an excellent resource for people who are looking to walk the Overland Track, and I highly recommend it particularly for people who are not experienced bushwalkers, or who are not familiar with Tasmania.
It includes a wide variety of topics to help people get organised for their Overland Track walk - Nik- Bushwalk Tasmania forum

Why write "the book"?

For several years we have been answering our readers questions about many aspects of "doing" the Overland Track. We felt there was a great opportunity to create a downloadable book covering all the different areas of planning and undertaking the walk that we have learnt on over the 12 Overland Tracks we have completed.

In addition to all the topics you can read on Our Hiking Blog, we have added several thousand more words, graphics, tables, links and ideas to the downloadable version and packaged it into one document.

By purchasing the downloadable book, you can either print it or read it online via Adobe with it's great search facility.

Review:
- The best walk in Australia — our #10 best trek in the World — is Tasmania’s Overland Track.
- John & Monica Chapman self-publish the best guidebook for the OT. (Chapman’s guidebooks are the best in the world, in fact.)

- But personally I prefer the just released Overland Track eBook (PDF format) by Frank & Sue Wall.
And DIRT CHEAP for 18,000+ words and heaps of photographs
Brilliant.
This is exactly the kind of information I need when planning a major hike.
Rick McCharles - besthike.com

Do you need to know:

What hiking gear you will need?
What food to take?
How to organise your meals?
How to get the start of the walk and home again?
What are the best transport options?
What first aid kit you need?
Can you walk the Overland Track solo?
How hard is the Overland Track?
What is the best way to get to Cradle Mountain?

This sixty + pages Adobe PDF file with 18,000+ words and heaps of photographs is now available to download for A$14.50

Download the FREE sample of the Overland Track book here and get a "feel" for the guide and format

The sample contains:

The full table of contents
Sample sections from the book
Some background on the book and us.

You are just required to provide your name and email address and the sample file will be emailed to you immediately.

The full Overland Track eBook contains several chapters such as:

Planning your walking dates - juggling flights, booking and transport (including a tool showing how we work out all the option)
What are the best transport options? Is the cheapest the best?
Best Overland Track walking resource
Menu and food planning (including a great tool to help make it easier)
Clothing - what will I wear?
How to save weight, your feet and your back OR what to chuck out before you leave.

In most sections of the eBook there are special tips that are highlighted, or bolded. These tips are drawn from our experience of many trips along the Overland Track and have made our life much easier and each trip a great success.

Here are a small sample:

Tip: If you are using public transport and want to complete the Overland Track in the cheapest and easiest manner – fly into Launceston and home from Hobart

TIP: We are prepared to pay the additional cost for this type of service. The Public transport option can be very time consuming

TIP: the trick we find here is to ensure you have measured portions for each day at probably 20% more than we would eat at home. Put them in a pile and count em off, 6 breakfasts, 6 bags.

TIP: Remember unless you plan to eat it, what you start with in your pack on the Overland Track, will still be on your back at the end

TIP: Even a cheap headlight is better than a torch. It leaves your hands free to cook or read or hike in the dark if you are really slow. You need something, there is no power or lighting on the Overland Track - yep - NONE (not even to charge your camera battery)

TIP: Take a waterproof jacket - No, NOT a poncho, no, not a spray jacket, a WATERPROOF coat - it rains (and snows, and sleets) a LOT in Tassie

Click here if you would like to purchase the Overland Track downloadable book.

NB: The Overland Track eBook is designed to use in conjunction with John Chapman's book Overland Track - which we believe is THE recommended guide for this fantastic world heritage hiking experience.

Yes, Chapman's book is THE one you should study from cover to cover BUT the Overland Track eBook adds value and is a bit of fun (we hope), for example.

What is the best way to get to Cradle Mountain?
A REALLY detailed gear list, including honest comments on why or why not you should take each piece of gear
What to do if you meet a naked German whilst swimming in Lake Windemere! (depending on if you are male or female, and the swimmer is male or female, the answer is open......to.... your.....interpretation (or mood)........)
What do you do if you see a tiger snake (hint, first step, stop walking)

Read the reviews of the book if you are still not sure - we think they are pretty good!

We are offering a 100% money back guarantee on the Overland Track eBook. Yes, if you don't find your A$14.50 was well spent, we will refund the whole amount. No hassles, just the cash back.

We are that confident it will help your planning and enhance your trip heaps! If you buy the Overland Track eBook and you think it is a heap of rubbish, immediately send us a grumpy or nice email and we refund the full amount into your account within 24 hours (unless we are away bushwalking, then we we do it on our return) Again, no hassles or question, just the cash back.

What is an eBook? Wikipedia have a definition of course: An e-book (for electronic book: also eBook) is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. In the case of the Overland Track eBook - the file is an Adobe PDF document with the advantages of being able to read it on your computer or other electronic device or printing it out to read at your leisure.

Walls of Jerusalem to the Overland Track and Cradle Mountain (via the Never Never)

2008-12-01T22:24:00.017+11:00

Get away from the crowds in the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park?

Enjoy a great 7 to 8 day hiking trip in some spectacular Tasmanian Wilderness with some luxury accommodation at the end?

We leave tomorrow to walk from the Walls of Jerusalem to Lake Adelaide, Junction Hut, across the Never Never and then onto the Overland Track. We join the Overland Track at Hartnett Falls and then head north to Pelion Hut, Windemere and Scott Kilvett Hut.

This walk is a great way to enjoy some time away from the sometimes busy Overland Track, get into some "off track" bushwalking and combine the beautiful Walls of Jerusalem area with , what we believe, is the best end of the Overland Track - the north to Cradle Mountain.

We did this same walk in July last year and really enjoyed the snow and fantastic scenery. This time, longer days and warmer weather, should also give us all a great experience.

Below is a screen shot of the whole track we have planned. It is displayed via Mapsource but overlayed on a Shonky map. Click on the map to enlarge it (and make it readable!!)

There will be six in the party Sue, Frank and Tom on his first Tassie hike. Colin, Alex and Paul make up the rest of the group. Paul and Alex have not hiked in Tasmania but have in New Zealand.

This trip is planned to be quite leisurely with the maximum day around 15km. The whole trip will be about 84 km and we plan to be out 7 nights.

The logistics are very similar to planning the Overland Track and many of the principals we applied to meal planning, transport, clothing and our gear list are straight out of our Planning the Overland Track downloadable eBook.

Remember, this trip is NOT a substitute for walking the whole Overland Track, end to end, and should only be completed by bushwalkers who are experienced in Tasmanian conditions.

Related Posts:
Living on the Edge – or was it cold? Pictures of Walls of Jerusalem to Overland Track via the Never Never
Launceston to Dixon Kingdom Hut – Walls of Jerusalem – Winter
Walls of Jerusalem – Mt Jerusalem – Winter
Dixon Kingdom Hut to Meston Hut – Winter
Meston Hut to Kia Ora Hut – via the Never Never – Winter
Kia Ora Hut to Pelion Hut – Winter
Pelion Hut to Windemere Hut – Winter
Windemere Hut to Cradle Mountain Lodge - Winter

Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair - Overland Track - eBook winners and our Scroggin

2008-11-28T20:24:00.006+11:00

Congratulations to Crystal, Erica, Philip, Ken and Rob who were the first five readers to register for a free copy of our downloadable book on tackling the Overland Track. They were all subscribers to Our Hiking Blog and were rewarded because they were notified when we put up the post announcing the offer. Subscription is easy and a great option to be kept updated with the new information we post here.

We are busy preparing for our hike in the Walls of Jerusalem - Cradle Mountain area next week and decided to photograph our Scroggin mixture to share with our readers.

Scroggin, snacks and other food you may take hiking are explained in detail in

Our Hiking Blog's Overland Track book.

Our Hiking Blog Scroggin - ready to package

The book also contains advice that includes:

how to lighten you pack - what to throw out before you go!

why it MIGHT be better to travel to Cradle Mountain by private charter rather than public transport

a menu planner with food suggestions including how to dry meals

what do I do with my non hiking clothes, carry them all the way to Lake St Clair?

At fourteen chapters, over 15,000 words with several tables, graphics and other resources to help you plan your walk we are very confident we have produced a great resource It is in "pre production" phase, being edit and content checked, and will be available for download in mid December.

You can PRE REGISTER by sending us an email. We will then let you know when the Overland Track eBook is ready for sale.

The picture below shows the bowl of scroggin now in twenty one bags for Sue, Frank and Tom next week. We are walking from the Walls of Jerusalem, across the "Never Never" to the Overland Track and then north. This is a summer version of the same walk we did last year in winter - we certainly hope it will be warmer.

We will then have a night or two at Cradle Mountain Lodge to "recover".

Scroggin ready to go

The Overland Track eBook will sell on Our Hiking Blog for A$14.50. You are invited to send us an an email to register your interest .

We are offering a 100% money back guarantee on the Overland Track eBook. Yes, if you don't find your A$14.50 was well spent, you be refunded the whole amount. No hassles, just the cash back. We are that confident it will help your planning and enhance your trip heaps! If you buy the Overland Track eBook and you think it is a heap of rubbish, immediately send us a grumpy or nice email and we will transfer full amount into your bank account within 24 hours (unless we are away bushwalking, then we we do it on our return) Again, no hassles or question, just the cash back.

What is an eBook? Wikipedia have a definition of course: An e-book (for electronic book: also eBook) is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. In the case of the Overland Track eBook - the file is an Adobe PDF document with the advantages of being able to read it on your computer or other electronic device or printing it out to read at your leisure.

Overland Track - Advice, help and planning - new e-Book release

2008-11-22T00:31:00.020+11:00

Do you need good, practical advice from experienced bushwalker's to plan your Overland Track hike?

Are you having trouble organising the walk from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair on the Overland Track?

Is coordinating the Overland Track booking, transport to Cradle Mountain, your flights and getting home again just too confusing and complicated?

Do you need to know:

What hiking gear you will need?
What food to take?
How to organise your meals?
How to get the start of the walk and home again?
What are the best transport options?
What first aid kit you need?
Can you walk the Overland Track solo?
How hard is the Overland Track?
What is the best way to get to Cradle Mountain?

Ok, so FINALLY, Frank and Sue at Our Hiking Blog have written an eBook that answers all these questions and , of course , more. Much more, in fact (to be really cliched!)

For several years we have been answering our readers questions regarding all of the different topics we listed above. Just the little annoying things that don't seem to be in any of the notes or books anywhere or are in so many different places they are very hard to find.

We have been planning a downloadable eBook for ages but have never really has the time until now. It has enabled us to consolidate all the information we have learned into a BOOK (well, 50 plus pages with HEAPS of VALUABLE information - if you want to call that a book....... ) and are NEARLY ready to publish the Overland Track eBook.

The Overland Track eBook includes updated versions of posts you can read on Our Hiking Blog, but in addition, we have added several thousand more words, graphics, tables, links and ideas to the downloadable version. It means you can print out all the great tips and ideas that have been posted here, as well as a whole lot more new "helpful hints" we know will REALLY help, in one, searchable and easy to read Adobe PDF document.

The Overland Track eBook is nearing completion and will be ready for publication in the next couple of weeks (we hope, as we are off to Tasmania hiking some of the Overland Track in a few days!)

UPDATE: The Overland Track book has been released and is ready for purchase - Read more information and download the free sample with all the chapters, sample pages and more using this link to the Overland Track e-Book.

Send us an email and we will notify you when the downloadable book is finished and available. It is currently with several experienced bushwalker's for proof reading and checking of detail.

We will email you when the book is released, just to let you know it is available. That will be it, one email, no spamming, mailing lists etc.

The eBook contains several chapters such as:

Planning your walking dates - juggling flights, booking and transport (including a tool showing how we work out all the option)
What are the best transport options? Is the cheapest the best?
Best Overland Track walking resource - Chapman is No1 , but what else will help?
Menu and food planning (including a great tool to help make it easier)
Clothing - what will I wear?
How to save weight, your feet and your back OR what to chuck out before you leave.

In most sections of the eBook there are special tips that are highlighted, or bolded. These tips are drawn from our experience of many trips along the Overland Track and have made our life much easier and the trip a great success.

Here are a small sample:

Tip: If you are using public transport and want to complete the Overland Track in the cheapest and easiest manner – fly into Launceston and home from Hobart.

TIP: We are prepared to pay the additional cost for this type of service. The Public transport option can be very time consuming

TIP: the trick we find here is to ensure you have measured portions for each day at probably 20% more than we would eat at home. Put them in a pile and count em off, 6 breakfasts, 6 bags.

TIP: Remember unless you plan to eat it, what you start with in your pack on the Overland Track, will still be on your back at the end.

TIP: Even a cheap headlight is better than a torch. It leaves your hands free to cook or read or hike in the dark if you are really slow. You need something, there is no power or lighting on the Overland Track - yep - NONE (not even to charge your camera battery)

TIP: Take a waterproof jacket - No, NOT a poncho, no, not a spray jacket, a WATERPROOF coat - it rains (and snows, and sleets) a LOT in Tassie

The Overland Track eBook is designed to use in conjunction with John Chapman's book Overland Track - which we believe is THE recommended guide for this fantastic world heritage hiking experience. (don't leave home without it)

Yes, Chapman's book is THE one you should study from cover to cover BUT the Overland Track eBook just adds a bit of value, like what is the best way to get to Cradle Mountain; a REALLY detailed gear list, including honest comments on why or why not you should take each piece of gear; and what to do if you meet a naked German whilst swimming in Lake Windemere! (depending on if you are male or female, and the swimmer is male or female, the answer is open......to.... your.....interpretation (or mood)........)

The Overland Track eBook will sell, on Our Hiking Blog, for A$7.00. Send us an an email to register your interest .

We are offering a 100% money back guarantee on the Overland Track eBook. Yes, if you don't find your A$7.00 was well spent, you be refunded the whole amount. No hassles, just the cash back. We are that confident it will help your planning and enhance your trip heaps! If you buy the Overland Track eBook and you think it is a heap of rubbish, immediately send us a grumpy or nice email and we refund the full amount into your account within 24 hours (unless we are away bushwalking, then we we do it on our return) Again, no hassles or question, just the cash back.

10% from each copy of the Overland Track eBook sold will be donated to the Tasmanian Wilderness Society.

Vegetarian Hiking food - 2 simple ideas

2008-11-07T14:21:00.002+11:00

Creating a vegetarian meal to take hiking or white water paddling is simple and easy. All you need is a fruit dryer and some imagination.

In this post, we share some ideas on how Clare , our daughter, prepares two simple base ingredients that are excellent to build a meal around, allowing some flexibility in what you cook once you are out in the bush.

Clare is heading off to paddle the Franklin River in Tasmania and she has prepared several vegetarian meals for this 10 day trip into some of Tasmania's most spectacular and remote environment. The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is in the mid northern area of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

The first recipe is Tomato and chilli sauce. It is a great base to add to several meals

Ingredients:

Large tin of peeled tomatoes (or around 800g to 1kg ripe tomatoes)

Handful of dried chilies

4- 5 cloves of garlic

Table spoon of brown vinegar

Blend all the ingredients together until it looks like the picture below.

Add one table spoon of oil to a fry pan and heat.

When pan is really hot add the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

Dry on a fruit leather tray until it looks like the pictures.

Store, refrigerated, in a zip loc bag until your trip.

To rehydrate, cover in boiling water and allow to slowly return to sauce status!.

Use to flavour any sort of meal such as pasta, Chilli Con Carne, stir fries , pasta sauce, wraps etc. Just add a few pieces and your taste buds will enjoy this great chilli dish!

The next idea is Dried assorted vegetables.

Cut up vegetables of choice into small pieces like in picture below.

Clare used beans, broccoli, potato, sweet potato, carrot. Pumpkin, cauliflower or anything else that takes your fancy would also be suitable.

Boil or steam your vegetables until just cooked.

Lay out in the fruit dryer and dry on a medium heat until they feel "not springy" i.e. dry but not like a rock!

Store refrigerated in a zip lock bag until you are off on your trip

To rehydrate, cover in boiling water and allow to slowly rehydrate. Allow an hour

Clare uses the vegetables for curry or pasta sauce. By drying the vegetables seperately, she has the option to use them any way she likes depending on her mood for food each night.

Above, a large saucepan of vegetables, dried into a medium zip loc bag.

Fantastic Tasmanian bushwalking images in a calendar

2008-11-03T20:53:00.004+11:00

The team over at Bushwalk Tasmania have put together a terrific calendar for 2009.

It features wonderful images of the Tasmanian wilderness.

The 2009 Bushwalk Tasmania Calendar features the winning photos from all the 2008 monthly photo competitions (up to September) as well as the top 3 photos from the 2007 photo of the year competition. The calendar is available from the Bushwalk Tasmania online shop now for USD$16.50 (plus shipping).

The Bushwalk Tasmania forum is a great way to meet other hikers, ask questions about Tasmanian walks and share information about gear, trips and bushwalking ideas. Excellent, well thought out and safe advice is freely given to all comers.

There is also a great "controversy corner" where juicy subjects like the Pulp Mill, logging and the quality of Tasmanian journalism are discussed.

NB - the only issue with the calendar, that you need to be aware of, is that due to various issues, the calendar has American public holidays etc. Looking past that, the fantastic photos far outweigh this small inconvenience.

Water - Great Ocean Walk

2008-09-24T17:21:00.004+10:00

Can you drink the water on the Great Ocean Walk?

Is the water safe to drink or do I need to sterilise it just to be safe?

Ensuring adequate drinking water supplies when planning a hike is always a high priority. This post attempts to analyse the availability and quality of drinking water on the Great Ocean Walk in the Otway National Park.

We have been moved to post this information because on our recent camping trip to Blanket Bay we were disturbed by the number of Great Ocean Walk hikers who were scared to drink the water that is provided at each campsite.

Photo by Span

It seems to us that it is risk management ,by Parks Victoria, gone mad and that they are unnecessarily cautious in warning hikers on the GOW. This especially relates to visitors from overseas who are unfamiliar with conditions in Australia. e.g a German person would find it incredibly difficult to ignore a sign, as on each tap along the walk, stating "DO NOT DRINK THE WATER - UNTREATED" (or some such statement)

The Great Ocean Walk website, managed by Parks Victoria, has the following information regarding drinking water:
Bring water
Please carry an adequate supply of drinking water with you. Drinking water is not available along the track. Tanks at campsites hold untreated rainwater. Use it wisely.

Is there water available along the walk?
Untreated rainwater is collected in tanks located in the Great Ocean Walk hike-in campsites and is available for hiker use. This water is not suitable for drinking unless treated. There are a number of different methods that hikers can use to treat rain water, such as filtering and boiling or adding sterilisation tablets. For further information, please refer to the Parks Victoria Park Note entitled ‘Water-make it safe to drink’ (see http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/).

At Blanket Bay, untreated rainwater is available for Great Ocean Walk hikers from a tap in the car-based campground. This water is not suitable to drink unless treated.Whilst the water level of each campsite tank is checked on a regular basis by Park Rangers,Parks Victoria cannot guarantee that rainwater will always be available at each campsite.

Hikers are responsible for their own water requirements. In periods of warm weather,hikers will need to carry extra water. There are a number of potential water drop sites along the walk, where water containers can be dropped off by 2WD vehicle and discretely hidden in vegetation for intended use along the hike. All containers should be recovered and removed following the completion of your walk.

Ok, all good advice then. Yes, the water is untreated, yes it comes out of tanks following collection off the roof of the shelters along the walk, and yes it does not meet World Health Organisation guidelines (as it is untreated)

So the question remains, is rainwater from tanks unsafe to drink?

The following information is sourced from the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines published by the National Health and Medical Research Council and relates to the collection of rainwater for drinking.
Rainwater
Rainwater systems, particularly those involving storage in above-ground tanks, generally provide a safe supply of water. The principal sources of contamination are birds, small animals and debris collected on roofs. The impact of these sources can be minimised by a few simple measures: guttering should be cleared regularly; overhanging branches should be kept to a minimum, because they can be a source of debris and can increase access to roof catchment areas by birds and small animals; and inlet pipes to tanks should include leaf litter strainers. First flush diverters, which prevent the initial roof-cleaning wash of water (20-25 L) from entering tanks, are recommended. If first flush diverters are not available,
a detachable downpipe can be used to provide the same result.

The quality of water from rainwater tanks can be affected by roofing and tank materials, paints,atmospheric contaminants, leaves, dust, and animal and bird droppings. However, providing that the system is reasonably well maintained, rainwater can generally provide a safe supply of drinking water.

Finally, enjoy the walk and look forward to a beer at the end, at least you know you will only get a headache!

In conclusion

The shelters and rainwater collection systems in place at all the shelters on the Great Ocean walk meet many , if not all, of the criteria recommended by the NH&MRC.
We have been drinking the tank water at Blanket Bay for over 10 years ago with no ill effects.
We drank the water (without treatment) when we completed the walk in 2007 with no ill effects.
We would drink the water next time we do the walk.

Photo by by pepewk - Boracay Relax Time

Related Posts on the Great Ocean Walk
Blanket Bay hikers shelter
Our Hiking Blog goes "lightweight" at Blanket Bay
Great Ocean Walk - the start
Marengo to Blanket Bay
Blanket Bay to Cape Otway Lightstation
Lightstation to Aire River
Aire River to Joanna
Joanna to Ryans Den
Ryans Den to Devils Kitchen
Devils Kitchen to The Gables

Cape Otway Lightstation announce discounted entry for Great Ocean Walkers

2008-08-05T18:26:00.008+10:00

Picture: Cape Otway Lighthouse visitors gallery

The Cape Otway Lightstation has announced discount entry and other services for Great Ocean Walk hikers.

This is a very welcome initiative and suggested by Our Hiking Blog several months ago.

In a previous post, Ivor in his Great Ocean Walk trip report ,was very critical of the Lightstation for their entry fee policy.

This is a snippet of his post:
I HATED the fact that we couldn't have a cup of coffee at the lighthouse apart from paying $13 to go in. My mate and I had both been before so didn't want to pay but having walked the last 5k in pouring rain could have killed a coffee!

Well, Paul from the Lightstation, replied to our post and indicated they did have plans to improve their service for Great Ocean Walkers, so well done Paul and the Lightstation on this initiative.

The Cape Otway Lightstation have updated their website and they are offering the following services:

- Discounted entry to Great Ocean Walkers registered with Parks Victoria. (don't know what the discount is worth)

- access to the Lightstation Café for a snack or meal. Staff will also pack meals for those who are keen to get back on track.

- Car parking is available at the Lightstation for those who want to undertake a short or half-day hike east or west of the Cape. There is also more secure parking available within the Lightstation grounds (fees apply).

- Accommodation is available at the Lightstation. Our friendly staff can arrange transfers, food and guides. (Our Hiking Bloggers have stayed there twice in the past and it is a great experience and highly recommended - especially when all the day trippers leave and you have the whole station to yourselves)

- COMING SOON: Cape Otway Lightstation will launch tailor-made guided tours of the Great Ocean Walk. We'll plan a walk to match your schedule, fitness level and interests.

Related Posts on the Great Ocean Walk
Blanket Bay hikers shelter
Our Hiking Blog goes "lightweight" at Blanket Bay
Drinking water on the Great Ocean Walk
Great Ocean Walk - the start
Marengo to Blanket Bay
Blanket Bay to Cape Otway Lightstation
Lightstation to Aire River
Aire River to Joanna
Joanna to Ryans Den
Ryans Den to Devils Kitchen
Devils Kitchen to The Gables

Platypus on Cradle Plateau? - I'd like to see that

2008-08-04T19:22:00.005+10:00

Stumbled across this fantastic picture yesterday and had to share it.

The photograph, taken by Cain Doherty is a once in a lifetime shot.

Cain describes how he came across this hardy platypus that is swimming in a stream with pieces of snow:
Rebecca and I considered ourselves incredibly lucky to share a few minutes with this timid Australian mammal. We were high up on the Cradle Plateau, near Kitchen Hut, trudging a 6 hour hike that runs up and across the face of Cradle Mountain, when we saw some movement in a shallow pool. This was the first time either of us had seen a Platypus so close and it was owed to the fact that it was trying to hide from us under some snow.

The Platypus is classified as a monotreme and has the bizarre characteristics of egg-laying abilities, venomous spurs, a duck-billed snout, a beaver-like tail and otter-like feet. I think you can understand it is truly unique!

Cain has an excellent photographic galley and we highly recommend you drop by and have a look at his work. His photographs can also be purchased for very reasonable rates.

The picture below, is of Sue and Clare walking towards Cradle Mountain and Kitchen Hut. This is the sort of environment the Platypus would have been inhabiting when Cain took his photograph - cold and snow covered.
Related Post
Lake Elizabeth - Platypus in the Otways

The River Runs Free - a great read about saving a wild river and more.

2008-07-27T18:14:00.010+10:00

Tasmanian wilderness adventures?
Rafting the Franklin in a leaky boat?
Beating the government and saving a magnificant wild place?
The evolution of "the Greens" in Australia?

The River Runs Free has all this and more!

Sue has been immersed in a new book this weekend. Totally immersed. She read it from cover to cover in under 24 hrs.

She loved the stories of not only the battle to save the Frankin River from being dammed, but also of the author's adventures in the Tasmanian Wilderness.

The book, by Geoff Law, is The River Runs Free and it is published by Penguin.

'Law is one of Australia's great outdoor adventurers, authors and advocates.' - Bob Brown

Sue was so impressed by the stories in the book she immediately wrote to Geoff Law. As you can see from her story below, Tasmania and Wilderness have been a large part of our conciousness from the time Geoff started volunteering with The Wilderness Society right back in 1983.

Her email was as follows:

Dear Geoff,

After reading a review in The Age I bought a copy of your book The River Runs Free on Saturday afternoon and have just finished it at 11:40am Sunday morning. WOW!!!

In January 1983 my husband and I went to Tasmania for a two week holiday. We had been very aware of the campaign to stop the damming of the Franklin and joined the Wilderness Society in 1982. As mainlanders we had not been exposed to the negative sentiments toward those who were against the dam and were horrified when we spat on in Strahan and refused service in several business establishments. On returning from holidays we convinced family members to begin a letter writing campaign condemning the damming of the Franklin - arguing although they may never see the Franklin one day our children might want to, once convinced they became very committed.

We have always been enjoyed camping and have spent many hours under canvas. Our children joke frequently about their cheap holidays, but even now as adults the girls still find some time to join us briefly in the bush. Over the years our commitment to the environment has continued to grow as we realise the importance of wild places to our sense of well being.

In 1994 we returned to Tasmania with our children. We showed them places of incredible beauty and magnificence. We encountered animals so unafraid of humans they were almost tame. We watched enviously as bizarrely clothed people wondered off into the distance behind Cradle Mountain and emerged from the undergrowth around the edges of Lake St Clair. My third trip was very brief, accompanying an America student teacher to Hobart for a long weekend. We did manage a road trip to Cockle Creek, stopping at Dover for dinner. Even in that short amount of time she was able to appreciate Tasmania’s specialness. It wasn’t until 2002 I became initiated into the wilds of Tasmania and walked the Overland Track with my husband and our 17 year old daughter. It was quite bizarre to find a NO DAM triangle on a large tree at Frog Flats and to think it may have been there for 20 years. The triangle has since been removed. This is the link on “Our Hiking Blog” where she catches up with the tree again.

I/we have returned to Tassie many, many times since, to go walking in wild places and will continue to do so. Both of us chose to celebrate our 50th birthdays in Tasmania - my husband with a small group, walking the Overland. While I invited a group to walk the circuit around Cradle Mountain via Scott-Kilvert Hut. My brother-in-law at 52 had never seen snow until then. In December, we are planning to do the walk you describe in chapter 25 with our 17 yo son (having done it in June 2007 with our eldest daughter).

In November our eldest daughter will complete her studies in Outdoor Education and her final “trip” will be to raft down the Franklin. It is amazing to think without the dedication and hard work of so many, this wouldn’t be possible. How prophetic was the statement I made to my parents and siblings in 1983.

We take pride, that we in some very small way helped to make this possible and we would like to express our admiration and to say thank you to all who work so tirelessly to keep wild places wild.

Related Posts
Bob Brown Video- how he joined the environmental movement
"Our Hiking Blog" joins "The Greens"
The Spirituality of Bushwalking - one man's reflection

Gear ideas for a wilderness hiking trip

2008-07-25T12:01:00.014+10:00

What equipment do you need for a long hiking trip?

What is the best gear for a multiday hike in Tasmania?

What gear do you need for the South Coast or Port Davey Track in Tasmania?

This is a follow up by guest poster Larry, who recently completed the Port Davey Track walking from Scotts Peak Dam to Melaleuca in the South West National Park in Tasmania.

In this post Larry makes some great suggestions about his gear selection and what modifications he made to his standard gear list for this wilderness hiking trip. It is an excellent resource for anyone planning an extended bushwalk.

Equipment notes:
I used John Chapmans notes extensively and couldn’t recommend these more highly. I’d corresponded by e-mail with John before the walk and very much appreciated his generous advice and counsel. I used the internet extensively and everyone I contacted for information was very generous with their advice and time. The web is a tremendous resource.

GPS
I use Garmin GPS units and have discovered some free topographic maps (Shonky Maps) which give much more detail than any of the purchased map products I’ve seen. I’ve got these uploaded into the GPSmap 60Csx that I now use for walking. The Port Davey Track is shown on Shonky Maps and it is pretty close to the actual route. So I recommend Shonky Maps for Garmin users, not least because it is free.

The Garmin GPSmap 60Csx unit is relatively new as my Etrex Legend C stopped communicating with my PC and I didn’t trust it any more. I can’t speak highly enough of the GPSmap unit. All of these units are supposed to be able to deal with a dunking but I normally wouldn’t rely on this. On this trip the GPSmap went swimming several times inadvertently and was often very wet. It not only survived but seemed entirely unaffected by this treatment, for which I was fervently grateful. It is not a cheap unit but it has my endorsement and deservedly so.

Shelter
My solo walking is usually done with an old Wilderness Equipment gortex bivy bag and a tarp but for this walk I decided to invest in a single man tent. I ended up purchasing Vango Force Ten Helium 100 which appealed with its 1kg all-up weight. This performed extremely well and I can highly recommend it. I had some condensation issues but nothing that wouldn’t be expected in such conditions from any tent.

My only modification was to replace the (what I thought were undersized) pegs with some titanium pegs for about the same weight. The tent is a keeper for solo winter walks. It had to cope with some wild winds and did so without causing me any worry.
I paired the new tent with a new tarp to give me some protected storage and living space as the vestibule space in the Helium 100 is minimal.
I ended up replacing my old proofed nylon tarp with a spinnaker tarp with dyneema guys from a UK ebay store and was very impressed with the light weight. Even the reported issues with noise from the stiff and crackly material didn’t worry me at all.

Stove
In trying to minimise weight for this trip I decided to give my old MSR XGK stove a rest and after some internet research decided on metho as a fuel for this trip. I experimented extensively with what US hikers call soda can stoves which was heaps of fun and despite being impressed by their effectiveness, ended up buying a Vango titanium triad stove which has integral fold out stand and pot support. It is incredibly light but requires measuring fuel and some priming of the stove to avoid a slow start.

I’d perfected my ‘old bastard’™ priming system in practice which worked fine during the trip despite being fiddly. I wouldn’t go this route again for a winter trip as the fiddliness of the procedure tempted me too often not to bother with a hot drink at times when I would have really benefited from one. If anyone is interested in how I primed the stove I’d be happy to correspond with them.

Camera
I’m partial to wet darkrooms and film-based cameras but have started to use a Ricoh GR Digital Camera for snaps. I decided to take this camera with me on this trip. I prepared by purchasing an additional battery and an additional 2gb SD card. On day two of my walk it stopped powering up which annoyed me mightily. Not only was I carrying some dead weight but I was missing some really powerful shots. Things are never so impressive as when you don’t have a working camera to record them. Next time my Olympus XA and some film is going in my pack.

Headlight / lantern
For some time now I’ve had a Black Diamond LED headlamp (with the separate battery compartment) which I’ve used (and abused) quite extensively. This came with me and lasted and lasted and lasted. It was still going strong after 10+ days with some long nights in which it was used quite a bit. I’ve never really tested how long it lasts and have to confess that I still haven’t

I’m used to candle lanterns but for this trip decided to invest in an LED lantern. I got a cheap one on ebay labelled “Elemental” which is powered by 4 AA cells. I filled it with Duracell Ultras and used it extensively through the long nights. The ebay advertising indicated it would provide 40 hrs of light which I took with a grain of salt. It is still going though on the same set of batteries and after being inadvertently turned on in my pack and remaining on for who knows how long during one day illuminating the inside of my pack.

Entertainment and information
Long hours of darkness can’t all be spent sleeping. I took a small mp3 player (iRiver) which runs on one AA battery. This was used a lot and I appreciated being distracted from the rain on the tent by some Miles Davis.

On John Chapman’s advice I took a very small Sony walkman radio (runs on one AAA battery). As he indicated I was able to use it to pick up weather reports at dawn from 936 AM Hobart ABC. During the nights the reception from more distant stations was pretty impressive also.

Clothing / Waterproof gear
As shell gear I took my well used goretex jacket, less well used goretex overtrousers and some goretex overmits. I wouldn’t do that again. The OTs and overmits didn’t get used. They are good for rain but useless if you are wading through water which I was for lots of the time. I wouldn’t bother with them for walking in the South West of Tasmania.

I’d also replace my heavy goretex jacket with something that is windproof and lighter. I was generally very wet not from the rain but from creeks and mud holes which isn’t such a problem if the wind-chill is manageable. My goretex jacket was very much overkill in the weight department for something that was used predominantly to keep the wind off wet base layers.

As a winter walk this was a good one. It has provided me with some very memorable moments unfortunately unrecorded photographically. I’d happily do it again but probably won’t as I have some other walks that are still waiting to be done. Caveat pedis!

Many thanks to Larry for this detailed hiking gear analysis and list of "must haves" . He made some great suggestions and given us new ideas and concepts for gear selection when planning a multi day bushwalk. It has certainly made us have a rethink about what we will take to Tasmania later in the year.

Larry is very happy for "Our Hiking Blog" readers to contact him if they have any questions about the hiking gear he selected and where he sourced it. His email address is forbes at iinet dot net dot au (remember to remove the dots and replace with .'s etc)

Related topics:

Port Davey Track - Scotts Peak to Melaleuka - Larry's trip report
Hiking Gear - the basics
Starting off Hiking? John Chapman's advice for beginners
Hiking gear - what are the basics to get started?
Couple Hiking - getting the right gear
Best hiking clothes for a multi day hike - ideas, tips and suggestions