Our Hiking Blog: South Coast Track Tasmania

Showing posts with label South Coast Track Tasmania. Show all posts

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

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.

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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

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)

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

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

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

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

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)

South Coast Track solo - by a VERY fit woman

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.

South Coast Track - Louisa and Faraway Creek flood

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.

South Coast Track Tasmania- planning the walk

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"?