The Overland Track

You think I'm nuts?, the coachdriver answered when I asked him if he had done the Overland track. I might be lazy, but I'm not stupid, he continued. But it seems you got the best possible weather for your adventure, you know it changes rapidly here in Tasmania.

We were initially going to wait for a day or two in Launceston until the heavy snow covering the mountains had disappeared, But due to the fact that the buses only go twice a week from Launceston to Cradle valley, we had no choice but to get up there straight away. When we finally arrived around midday, the lady in the Visitors centre told us we shouldn't go out on the track today unless we were prepared for heavy snow. She said there had been more than one group turning back today already. I can't really say we were prepared for it, but we both thought that it can't possibly be worse than back home in Sweden. And to stay overnight in Cradle valley didn't sound very attractive at all.

Johan at the start of the Track

The Overland track is a 85 km long track, divided into seven daytrips with small basic huts at the end of every day.  We needed to walk 11 km to reach the first hut, Waterfall Valley. We had to climb the highest plateau on the whole track, trek through a snowcovered landscape, and then get down on the other side. In addition to that, the strong sun and the non-existing Tasmanian Ozonelayer had turned the tracks into rivers and waterfalls. When we after a few hours of climbing actually got up on the plateau and saw the Cradle mountain in the horizon, we felt very enthusiastic.

Me with the beautiful Cradle Mountain

 Once we got to the Waterfall valley Hut, we were greeted by 5 exhausted frenchmen. Placing our soaked shoes next to their boots under the heater, we realized that we should probably have bought boots ourselves because they weren't even wet.
 

During the night, the temperature had dropped down to far below zero and the paths that had turned into rivers yesterday, were now frozen. We had to be very cautious trying to make the steep descend down from Waterfall Valley. But taking our time we made it without falling even once. After a few hours though we were accompanied by the sun again, thawing the track for us. Once we got to the next hut, it was only around 11 o'clock. We realized we needed to make two daytrips in one day to make it to the bus to Hobart, since they also only depart twice a week.

We decided to stop for lunch and then proceed the next 15 km. The soup we were boiling attracted a whole family of kangaroos and they weren't the slightest frightened by us. They got so close we could almost pet them. Not like the mainland kangaroos that leap away at the very first sight of a human.

Skippy the kangaroo?

The rest of the day we walked through a muddy, dense, myrtle beech rainforest, with roots and rocks everywhere to remind you that you can't just put your feet everywhere. This was a very exhausting part of the track and we were very satisfied to reach the Pelion hut, for some pasta and a good nights sleep.

The summit of Mt Ossa just behind me

The third daytrip included our first sidetrack. The 5 km uphill path to Mt Ossa, which is Tasmanias highest peak with it's 1617 meters, included a 490 meter climb. We could however leave our backpacks at the junction, only bringing a daypack for the sidetrip. When we after maybe 2 hours of climbing the steep rocky path up to mt Ossa could finally see its summit, we realized we weren't going to be able to make it. There was a 1 meter thick snowlayer covering the treacherous path. In addition to this, the sun had started to melt it and you could actually hear the water running beneath us. It would almost be like passing a glacier so we decided to turn back. I felt a bit sad when we were walking down but Johan cheered me up when he told me Göran Kropp had to turn back 100 meters from the peak of Mt Everest.

The following day, the blue skies had been replaced by a massive snowstorm. It didn't really matter to us though, since the fascination of walking through a snow covered rainforest made us really enthusiastic. It felt almost prehistoric in a weird way and the only thing that seemed to be missing was dinosaurs.

Doing the Overland track was pretty much my first multi-day trek and I loved it. I would recommend it to everyone. It's not just the trek itself, with an astonishing view of the harsch prehistoric landscape. It's equally as much a pause from civilization, a chance to reflect over your life situation and a great opportunity to meet wonderful people along the way. When we finally got to Cynthia bay, which is the very end of the track, I felt amazing. Full of endorfines, we sat down and had the beer we had been imagining for so long. I felt proud of myself for completing the whole walk and also very calm about the upcoming challenge of cycling through New Zealand. I can't wait actually.