Ian Ferrier from Mountain Bike Tasmania contacted us recently to share information about his new transport service for bushwalkers. We have dealt with Ian for several years. He is an experienced “local” who knows his way around the walking tracks of Tassie and we congratulate him on his new endeavour.

Over to Ian:
Mountain Bike Tasmania are now able to offer transport options to the start of the major bushwalking areas in Tasmania. This can also include pickup from the end of your walk with return transport to either Launceston or Hobart.

While  we have been offering a hire gear service for some time it became obvious that a total package would give  customers more options rather than being locked into a set timetable from the major transport providers.

This flexibility means Mountain Bike Tasmania  can meet you at the airport for transport direct to the start of you walk on the same day, or to accommodation at Cradle Mountain so you can get an early start the following morning.   Drivers are all former or current Overland Track guides so can provide plenty of track info while you travel to the start of the walk and obviously,  if you don’t need to hire gear,   the transport service is still available and you can add in the option of organising your stove fuel in advance so there is no need to stop in a major town between when you arrive and your walk starts.

A Storage service is available for  any spare equipment and  it can be  ready for you at the end of the walk prior to travelling back to either Launceston or Hobart.

Pricing is dependent on numbers  so for more info  email to the address below with details of how many passengers, the walk you are planning, dates of flights, walk start/finish etc

You can contact Ian via the Mountain Bike Tasmania contact page.

On this trip, out back of Cradle Mountain to celebrate New Year, it was HOT! We struggled with the heat and reflections off the hot track.

Looking back at Lake Rodway after the climb out from Scott Kilvett Hut

It was fun, of course, great fun!

We headed into a Lake not too far from the Overland Track and set up camp. Being a bit circumspect here as the area is delicate and there are no toilets so it is not a campsite we would want to see overrun.

Camping on the beach

It was late afternoon by the time we had set up and the sun was starting to drop thankfully.

The start of our New Years sunset fireworks

We had carried in plenty of nibbles, some wine and a small bottle of Coke (to mix with the bourbon of course)

The sunset started to change

Alone on the beach, it was calm and warm. The mosquitoes decided it was time to wake up.

The cloud patterns were amazing

As the evening progressed we enjoyed a chicken curry and rice for dinner. Nice and simple for a quick bushwalking meal.

The show started to include reds and oranges

The red wine was tasting quite good but our friends, the mozzies, were very hungry. This was made worse by our small supply of bug repellent.

Sunset hit its peak, this is one of about 30 images

It was an early night with us, well asleep before midnight. We stayed for two nights at this spot, enjoying a relaxed New Years Day. The trip out to our hire car at Cradle Mountain was broken up by a night at Waterfall Valley. We met lots of great people heading off to walk the Overland Track. It was fun to watch them set up on their first night out.

All in all, a terrific way to spend New Years Eve as part of a short Tasmanian holiday.

What did you get up to on New Years Eve this year? Were you out and about with friends, camping, bushwalking or working?

Shoot us a comment below, we would love to hear what you got up to.

Oh, if you want to check out more photos of our Tasmanian holiday, Sue put up an album over at Our Hiking Blog facebook page. They include Maria Island, Hobart, camping and eating!

We were fully aware the weather forecast was bad but had good gear and equipment, a flexible plan and some experience bushwalking in Tasmania.

This video (hopefully) tells the story of the journey. We made a few mistakes, lost a bit of gear and suffered a couple of injuries. We will deal with these in a seperate article maybe titled “Lesson Learnt” or 25 things not to do in the Western Arthurs…….

Due to a severe cold front and low pressure system we ended up staying at Lake Cygnus for two nights. The snow and wind conditions would have been too tough (let’s say dangerous) for us to walk from Lake Cygnus to Lake Oberon. We have saved that for another day.

Grant was a terrific companion, so many thanks to him for his patience and the joy he shared for life.

We have both returned invigorated and refreshed from this trip. Highly recommended, but only for those with experience, good gear, solid equipment, excellent planning and good weather.

If you are a backpacker visiting Australia this walk is not for you unless are experienced in Tasmanian conditions. The weather can be like we enjoyed any time of the year, not just Winter.

Have you ever hiked or bushwalked in conditions like this?
Have you walked in the Western Arthurs? Been into Lake Oberon?

Shoot us a reply below, we would love to hear about it.

We are (in reality) pretty pathetic adventurers and like flattish tracks and not too much effort when we head out on a trip. Mud, cold and isolation are all ok. In fact, the more isolated the better…….

What can pull us up are steep climbs, steep descents and drop offs. Sue is not really keen on them. She get a “bit worried” about falling.  This is creating some serious reservation in her mind, plus July is in the middle of winter….

The plan is very weather dependent but is loosely as follows:

Junction Creek for the first night.

Lake Cygnus – night two

Lake Oberon – night three

The trip back will be a basic retracing (6 days total), or do 2 days’ walking in 1 day, either Oberon to Junction or Cygnus to car park (5 days total)

The fall back position is to just stay at Lake Cygnus.

As part of her research Sue has been trolling YouTube to get a feel for the place as it is our first trip in there……..

Here are some of the video’s that have amused here (watch the swearing)

1. Highreed who spent a week in the fog:

2. Conrad interviewed in tent by Rob Zielinski after being stuck there for 2 days

3. Walking through the South West Tasmania. A three week walk starting from Farmhouse creak, through the Eastern and Western Arthurs, the Port Davey track and the South Coast track by blu112233 (a terrific, well produced series)

A few quick facts:
Lake Oberon is in the Arthur Range  in the South West Wilderness, Tasmania, Australia.

Access is via Scott’s Peak Road and the start of the Port Davey Track.

Conditions can be tough with where variable weather is often experienced. It should only be attempted by walkers experienced in Tasmanian conditions.

More reading?

Our hiking buddy Grant has written a couple of articles previously for Our Hiking Blog that may be of interest:

Wilmot – Frankland Range – Tasmania -Trip report

Spirituality of bushwalking – one man’s reflection

Grant writes interesting pieces and is a great bloke to have a chat with so we are looking forward to a bit of time together, hopefully not stuck in a tent due to ‘difficult” conditions……

Have you walked into Lake Oberon or the whole of the Western Arthurs?
Do you like hiking in cold weather?
Any advice?

Shoot us a comment below!

In this article we welcome Greg,  who has been kind enough to share his recent Tasmanian bushwalking experience on a trip from the Walls of Jerusalem via the Never Never to the Overland Track in Tasmania.

We have done this trip twice. Our article  Lake Meston Hut to Kia Ora Hut via the Never Never has a small map of the area and documents our experiences.   It might be an interesting background to Greg and his son’s story.

So, over to Greg who reflects on the trip by email to Frank,  often referring back to the GPS waypoints we sent him a couple of months ago to help navigate through this area:

My 15 year old son and I aimed to replicate the walk you gave me on the GPS. It seemed the most logical thing to do regarding distances covered in one day etc. We even started out the same with a trip with Simon from Tasmania Tour Company to the beginning of Walls of Jerusalem! Simon asked me my walking intentions and when I said I was going across the Never Never to the Overland Track he kind of paused and then said, “Take it easy through there. There has been a lot of rain down that way.” I replied, “Yeah, no worries!”, sounding confident but not really sure of what his definition of ‘a lot of rain’ was! He did remind us though that we would see ‘no one’ through there in winter.

The first day was spent walking to Dixons Kingdom Hut and we had an evening of wind, heavy rain and then a decent blanket of snow. Surprisingly there was already another couple in the hut. My son joined them for the night and me being conscious of the fact I snore like a Yeti with a stubbed toe meant I slept outside in a bivy bag. I don’t mind the bivy and have used it a few times.

The next morning was a combination of low cloud and falling snow. We waited for it to lift so we spend the day climbing some peaks. Unfortunately it looked set for the day so I gave the mountain climbing a miss. We had a casual walk in the afternoon down to Lake Ball Hut. No problems getting down there all any tracks or pads were covered in snow.

Hope their boots were waterproof!

The next day was to walk from Lake Ball Hut to Lake Meston Hut at least and possibly to Junction Lake Hut if we were going well. It was slow walking though due to ice on rocks and the path. Being insanely clumsy doesn’t help but even my son with good knees was falling now and again. Lake Meston Hut was reached and any thought of trying to go further were scotched by the early evening of winter. I was annoyed to lose a great pair of gloves though. I fell for the, ‘just hang them on the side of the pack trick, they will be fine’. Well, they weren’t! When I realised I’d lost them I didn’t contemplate back tracking. If someone finds them can they look after them? They’re good! Lake Meston Hut is great though and we really found ourselves getting comfortable! This was the problem as we got up for the next day way too late!

My concept of the Never Never is what’s written in John Chapman’s notes. I was thinking, “Hey, it’s only 6 kms and all we have to do is keep the river on the left. How hard can that be?!”

We found the walking quite comfortable early but lost time trying to find Junction Lake Hut. The GPS reading of where we were walking would be quite embarrassing as it appeared we were doing circles. Paths and pads seemed to go nowhere and it was a mistake to rely on them. In the end we found the hut for a quick snack. By now it was afternoon and I checked the intentions book within the hut. I was a little disturbed to read that someone only a few days earlier had tried to walk across the Never Never but had to turn back as the Mersey River was too swollen and too hard to cross. I was hoping he didn’t know where the magic log across the river was. I was relying on your GPS reading for that!

We found the Parks intention box okay and filled it in noting that the book looked pretty new and there was only one other entry in it. It did look like a rarely walked area in winter! The same thing applied which you would have experienced. It was hard to find the easiest spot to walk in. We were never lost and knew exactly where we were but we didn’t know the best way to go. Too near the river was a mistake at one point. I belted my way through some tea tree and ended up leading us into a lot of water! The river was swollen and at one point it was way over the spot it should have been! Hemmed in by bush we elected just to get wet and ended up walking in water that reached knee deep. This was part of the ‘track’ you had walked so assumed it hard broken it’s banks a bit and this led me to be worried about the crossing.

Wet walking the Never Never

On we went with boots full of water and found the trees insanely difficult to casually walk through. A few times I was on my knees as it was the easiest way with a pack on. I have never fallen over so much in one day. Ever! At my last count it was 10 times. My son was happy to correct me and say it was 13 times! At one point we were both on the ground lying in trees wondering exactly who’s idea it was to walk here in winter! If it wasn’t trees snagging us it was the soft ground where a foot would vanish in perfectly solid looking ground up to the knee! We were laughing initially but as the day was getting longer and we seemed to be going painfully slow the worry of early darkness became an issue!

In the end we found the log across the river as per your reading! It was still there and a relief as the water was flowing pretty quick.

The "famous" log to cross the Mersey River

I didn’t fancy getting even wetter. The log was mega slippery though and due to my clumsiness I did not even consider walking across with a pack on. I went for the straddle approach that was made trickier by branches still on the log. After some wild looking gymnast moves I managed to get across with my son following. We were thinking the rest should be a stroll now to the Hartnett Falls track. Umm…wrong!

I found the track/pad vanished and light was fading fast. It was hard to pick anything out once the light really dimmed. On went the headlamps but they’re no substitute for natural light when looking for a track. Again we were belting our way through tea tree. Going in the right direction but just finding no opening whatsoever to get moving properly. I have no idea where the ruins of McCoy’s Hut is?! We didn’t see that! I was lucky that I also had the GPS reading from my walk on the Overland last year. It had the track to Hartnett Falls on it and not knowing anywhere where a track was in the dark we elected to go straight for it.

At one point we were only 100 metres away from the track but standing in scrub all around us in the dark and barely able to move! I gave up after exactly 3 metres when it appeared that a tea tree I was going to just bash through grabbed me and threw me back out! It was telling me, “No short cuts for you!” So, we headed back towards the river and found absolutely nowhere easier to walk. We must have sounded like two wild animals cursing and groaning with trees shaking all around us as we stumbled on. In the end we reached a point where it said the Hartnett Falls track was only 8 metres away. Still it seemed like total scrub with no sight of a track until suddenly I came to it by practically falling out of a tree and landing on an opening. I was almost on my knees with my hands pointed at the sky saying, “I’ve found the bloody track. Thank you!”

Greg in the scrub, on his back after a fall - the Never Never

Pitch black for the previous hour and we stumbled on up to the Overland Track. I’ve never been so happy to see the signs on the Overland! We walked on slowly until we reached DuCaine Hut. At this time it was 8.00 pm and any idea of making it to Kia Ora Hut were gone. We were both spent and elected to stay at DuCaine. We were both a little strange mentally and started to babble about what a wacky day it was! I don’t think I’ve had a harder days walk over such a short distance as that one.

There aren’t many photos taken that day but I’ve included a few. The couple where we are standing in water show the flooded section we had to walk through. There is a photo of the trusty log! The last one is a bit deceptive. No, I’m not walking through a tree. I’m actually lying on my back after falling over and wondering how I’m going to get up with the pack on!

I won’t go into detail with the rest of the trip unless you want the info. It was a straight forward walk north to Cradle Mountain. Quite relaxing after the Never Never!

So, there you go. Wet feet, bushbashing in the dark, unable to find the track and falling over a lot!   Does it get any better (or worse) than that?

Have you had an adventure under similar conditions?

What is your story?

What kept you going?

Thanks very much to Greg and his son for sharing this trip report. If you want to read about more of Greg’s adventures, head over to his site Hiking Fiasco, it’s a lot of fun.

Bushwalking in Tasmania can be a wet experience. In this post we share a short video of some of the track conditions you can encounter after a lot of rain. Wet feet are part of any backpacking journey and this video was shot near Cradle Mountain and Lake Rodway. We hope it demonstrates how wet the tracks can be after a good lot of rain.

Do you accept wet feet while hiking?
What do you wear to try and keep your feet dry?
How beautiful and clear is that water?

Frank shot one of his abysmal, amateurish video’s of the Hut and surrounds but thought anyone who was planning to stay at the Hut would like an idea of how it looks and the beautiful surrounds it is nestled in are like.

Many apologies for it’s quality, he still has a lot to learn!

For anyone interested in checking out a (pretty poor) image of inside the hut, there is one here where we wrote an article on a trip we did a couple of years ago: Cradle Mountain Local walk and the “Lodge”.

We did not get any internal shots on this trip as it is quite dark inside the hut and mixing up an  over AND under exposed video into one may have been going just too far!

Have you stayed at Scott Kilvert Hut?

What is your favourite hut from a hiking track around the world?

What do you do if you’re lost while hiking?

Should you turn off your beacon once you are “not lost”?

In this post, Talie, a wonderfully adventurous lady we have been communicating with for a while,  tells us about the time she was “lost” in the Frenchman’s Cap area in Tasmania.

Talie generally bushwalks solo and,  from reading her different hiking trip reports from around the world, is very safety conscious and careful.  In this trip last year, she became “geographically challenged” and spent a night out in the bush.

Here is her story:

I was hiking the Frenchman’s Cap track.  I had camped by the second bridge next to the Loddon River.  I put most of my gear in the bottom of my pack, having removed the top and the hip belt, and hung it in a tree (along with my food bag).  The “day pack” that I took the next morning (which was made up from the backpack top and the hip belt) had in it:  Rain jacket, dry shirt, lunch food, water, bug repellent, map, and sun screen.

Later I was very upset with myself for omitting what I call my “emergency bag”.  It was still in my pack at the campsite! What  I had left behind was a compass, candle,  lighter,  small torch (headlamp) and basic first aid.  Bummer!

Lake Vera

Somewhere my watch got pulled off my arm, and I didn’t even realize it.  And then at one point I slipped at the edge of the river and there went my reading glasses (things were going from bad to worse!).  Finally I realized that I was going to be there overnight – so I got up out of the river bed (unfortunately my feet were still very wet) onto the side of a hill where there was a little less brush.

As it got dark, I put on my dry shirt (I had a light weight fleece and my rain gear on my top) and placed my damp shirt around my legs, which actually did keep them a bit warmer.  I was very glad of the bug repellant since the mosquitos were hungry!  It was a long night and very dark!  A possum came by, I could hear him moving in the bush, and scolded me for about 20 minutes (I guess).  There wasn’t much I could do – since I couldn’t see him.

The next morning, when it got light – I followed the creek a little while longer, and then realized that that was fruitless.  So I came out of the woods, to realize that I had really gone in a circle – classic lost person stuff!  I wandered out into the button grass (my legs wouldn’t take any more bush-bashing).  I knew that the weather was supposed to change the next day, and the clouds were coming in pretty fast.

Scratches on Talie"s leg

That was when I decided that I needed to “pull the plug” and activated the EPRB/ PLB  (I really wish I had given it another hour!).  After staying in one spot for about 2 hours – I was going slightly hypothermic, I knew I needed to move.  So I headed out following the button grass – figuring that between me and the far ridge, the trail had to be there.  Sure enough, after about 1/2 hour, I saw some heads bobbing on the track – and was happy to become “unlost”.

I decided to de-activate the beacon hoping that the “troups” weren’t on their way.  I got to my camp in about an hour and a half, gathered up my gear, and started heading out.  I was partway up the hill when I heard the helicopter come into the valley.  Bummer!  I didn’t know how to contact him (they told me later that I should have left the beacon on) – so I continued to hike out, planning on contacting them when I reached the trailhead.

As I came up into the carpark, the helicopter landed right there and we had a long discussion about how the whole experience had unfolded.  There were very professional, caring and efficient – and I have since sent a donation to the Tasmanian Air Rescue Service!

The "Rescue" chopper

Many thanks to Talie for sharing her story. Talie is very much a “died in the wool” solo backpacker.  Three days after her Frenchman’s Cap adventure, she soloed the Overland Track (and loved it!).  (And the week before she soloed the Walls of Jerusalem.)  She then headed off to New Zealand, still soloing and getting off the beaten track here (but not too far off the “track”!

You can read all of Talie’s adventures at her blog: TalieM’s Weblog..  She is a very busy woman!

This is the link to her Tasmanian hikes

Have you ever been “geographically challenged” while hiking?

Have you had to set of a PLB / EPIRB?

We would love to read about your experiences.  Leave us a comment below if you would like to share.

If you are planning a long backpacking trip (into really wild country) what gear would you need?

Matthias Siegel, over at Matt Down Under,  has put together a terrific gear list for his trip to the South West Cape area of Tasmania (see map below)

He leaves on the weekend, and will fly into Melaleuca airstrip and then explore the South West Cape region, probably heading out the Port Davey Track to Lake Pedder.

Matthias is a great mate of Frank’s  (who taught him every thing he knows…..which is not a lot)  He writes up very concise posts about his bushwalking trips, gear, food and travel. They are recommended reading.

If you are after an excellent gear list and a few ideas about what to take on your next trip (and why) , Matthias’ information is well worth a read.  The full list and comments are here at:  My bushwalking checklist

Below is a more detailed Google map of the area with some of Matthias’ route plotted:

View South West Cape + Port Davey Track in a larger map

The “Track” extends from a place called Melaleuca to a tiny hamlet, Cockle Creek (the furthest point south you can drive in Tasmania).  It is 85km and can be very challenging with a lot of mud, river crossings and hard climbs.

From the Park’s Website:

The Tracks lies entirely within the Southwest National Park and take you through the heart of over 600,000 hectares of wild, inspiring country. It is more remote than some other walks in Tasmania, such as the Overland Track. It is recommended that you gain experience on other Tasmanian walking tracks before attempting them, as you will be a long way from help should you need it.

There are no roads to Melaleuca, so walkers must either fly, sail or walk in and out.

If you have just landed here, we suggest you read Part One of Mark’s story first.  Click  here to read South Coast Track – Trip report, Louisa Bay, Quolls and naked men.

Saturday 21st February

I surprised myself by getting up early for some photos of the sunrise over The Ironbounds ,from the beach at Louisa Bay. After brekkie we all went for a walk along the beautifully curved beach with me having to catch up to the others after taking more photos from the dunes. I was surprised at how much fitness I had gained in just two days as I barely felt any effect from this reasonably lengthy jaunt. Some low cloud moved in and as we started back to camp we copped a heavy shower of rain with jacketless Sue having to shelter under Franks jacket.

Tree roots - South Coast Track Tasmania

Sue and Frank had decided not to continue the walk due to Sue’s foot problems but generously gave John and myself the option to continue on to Cockle Creek. We left Louisa Bay with some regret and sadness but also with the knowledge that they would have the rare opportunity to experience what in my opinion is the most beautiful spot on the South Coast in depth and at their leisure.

We climbed steeply out of the bay again with the assistance of the invaluable ropes and then followed the moderately muddy track along the west bank of the Louisa River. After some minor scrub bashing through swampy ground we rejoined the South Coast Track (a better route than on the way in). The rest of the walk was fairly flat on double planked boardwalks with a couple of easy water crossings. John and I set up our tents on the east side of Louisa River which was nearing capacity.This was a delightful forested spot where we were able to do some minor washing of clothes and bodies before an early night so that we could get a dawn start the next day.

It was at this campsite that we first encountered the Essendon Bushwalking Club (E.B.C) a group of six very fit people in their early sixties who were retired and were doing an unofficial exploatory walk. There was also a young (26 year old) German bloke on his own who hailed from Hamburg, a city where I have many relatives. Two walkers sharing a tent next to ours kept us awake at first with their talking and laughing. Unbeknownst to me at the time one of them was John Hosford, my sister in laws brother, who now lives near Launceston and whom I had not seen for many years, and did not recognise (and vica versa). Fortunately we had no trouble at this campsite with any nocturnal visitors nor at any of the other campsites from here on in.

Sunday 22nd February

We awoke well before dawn and anybody else and I had my first experience with the pit toilets which we would encounter from now on. Given the amount of traffic which these campsites now have to deal with they are a very necessary innovation. We were the first out of camp and it took us about four hours to climb up the west side of the Ironbounds and reach the top. It was a good move to get this arduous part of the day finished in the cool of the morning and we took a well earned lunch break at the top and admired the magnificent vistas of the coast and also north to the Arthur Range and Federation Peak.

Ironbounds - South Coast Track Tasmania

The day was absolutely glorious and we were soon joined by a steady stream of walkers including the young German guy who promptly pulled a small guitar from his pack walked to the highest point he could find and bashed out some tunes. It had apparently taken him just two hours to reach the top with his fitness being attributable to his many months of continuous trekking. He really was a glowing example of the weird and wonderful individuals who are attracted to this sort of experience.

After our lengthy break we began the long and muddy descent through rainforest to the very attractive Lower Ironbounds camp which would be well worth considering as an overnight stop if you wanted to shorten the day. After crossing a small river we took a wrong turn upstream instead of down and ended up losing about an hour ,thanks to my mistake. We went back to basics and found our way back to the river crossing where a small piece of pink ribbon showed the correct route. Although fairly fatigued we pushed on through lots more mud and then a seemingly endless stretch of coastal scrub before reaching Deadmans Bay, just before dark.After setting up our tents we prepared and ate dinner in the dark and settled down for an early night.

Little Deadmans Camp - South Coast Track Tasmania

Monday 23rd February

I again managed to wake up early and capture the sunrise over the coast to the east. In the light of day I was better able to appreciate this idyllic campsite with its good water supply and fabulous ocean views. It would have been nice to stay another day and rest my weary bones but as John rightly pointed out we were on a tight schedule to reach Cockle Creek and after experiencing the steaming, near to brimming pit toilet (must be the effect that the Ironbounds has on people) the decision to push on seemed a wise one indeed. It was on with the damp socks and boots and we were off to Prion Beach.

This was our fifth straight day of walking so we set off at a fairly civilised hour and after the rigours of the Ironbounds we enjoyed the fairly easy, almost mud free, coastal clifftops of Menzies Bluff and then a gradual descent to Prion Beach. When we hit the sand at Grotto Creek the other groups who had all left before us were scrubbing down all of their footwear at the washdown station set up by the Parks people to stop the spread of the root rotting fungus Phytopthera cinnamomi.

We took the opportunity to have lunch and the E.B.C people filled up water bladders for the nights camping from the creek rather than risk the dodgy water at Prion boat crossing. (a good strategy if camping here). I took some snaps of the coastline before we headed down the nearly five kilometre stretch of sand to New River Lagoon. As we approached the lagoon we were hailed by Alan of the E.B.C. who was standing at the point where the sand dunes end. This is the location of the boats for the crossing but the rest of the E.B.C. had over shot the mark and went all the way to the river mouth. (When we caught up with the German bloke at Cockle Creek at the end of the walk he told me that he and two others with whom he had joined up had waded across New River Lagoon near the river mouth at East Prion – a substantial time saving if camping at East Prion or beyond). I had done this myself on a previous trip and had no problem although Chapman recommends against it due to quicksand.

Precipitous Bluff - South Coast Track Tasmania

The two of us together with Alan (thankfully a Cats supporter) and all our gear made it across in good time with myself given the rowing duties. We tried the water 200m upstream from a small creek but John did not trust the slightly sulphur aftertaste, especially after problems with the same source on his last trip here. We decided to push on to East Prion which involved a couple of hours of walking along a sandy track and then a steep descent on timber slats tied together with chain to Milford Creek.

It was fortunately low tide and we obtained good water from the creek which we carried another half a kilometre to an unofficial campsite at the top of the dunes at East Prion. I had noticed storm clouds building at Milford Creek and by the time we had set up our tents on the sphagnum moss covered ground it was raining lightly. We had a cold improvised meal in our tents and then settled in for an early bedtime until we received the deafening roar of a huge thunder clap echoing down the valley of New River Lagoon. I nearly jumped through the roof of the tent but soon got to sleep secure in the knowledge that no one has ever been flooded camping on top of a large sand dune.

Tuesday 24th February

We woke up to an overcast morning with some light rain.I walked down the steep timber steps to the beach hoping to get some good snaps of Precipitous Bluff but found it completely covered in low cloud.The soaks at the base of the sand dunes provide good water making this a good campsite for smaller groups due to the limited good tent sites.

John and I set off for Osmiridium Beach in overcast conditions with some light rain falling and reached our destination in about one and a half hours with the access track to the beach being quite muddy. When we reached Osmiridium the sun came out and we got the pick of the tent sites being an hour ahead of the E.B.W.C. With the sun shining we took the opportunity on our first real rest day to do some washing of clothes in the creek and managed to get this reasonably dry (hallelujah).

Mud on Gaiters - South Coast Track Tasmania

It was now time for lunch so I attempted to cook my first dehydrated meal (chicken satay) with many positive comments regarding the aroma coming from the the E.B.W.C people. Unfortunately I spilled half of the meal on to the ground at the last minute and as I scraped what I could rescue back in to the pot John mysteriously lost his appetite and I ate the lot myself. In the afternoon we spent some time exploring the wild beach and getting to know each other a little better as we soaked up the ongoing sunshine and enjoyed this much anticipated opportunity to do absolutely nothing. We discovered a common East Prussian heritage although Johns ancestors emigrated to South Australia some 100 years prior to my own parents post war exodus.

The beach itself was backed by what I consider to be very unattractive cliffs composed predominantly of a type of conglomerate rock. I thought it the least attractive beach on the walk and was quite bewildered why another walker had suggested it to Frank as a “must see”. Cooking dinner was a bit more successful so I let John have most of the lamb satay (with continental brand spanish roast vegetable rice). As usual we got to bed early for what we anticipated would be a muddy but straightforward walk to Granite Beach the next day (how wrong we were).

Wednesday 25th February

We walked out of Osmiridium Beach on an overcast morning through the now familiar button grass peat with myself sinking up to my groin in one particularly deep hole (the effort required to extract my leg unfortunately strained my calf muscle reigniting an old skiing injury which bugged me for the rest of the walk). By the time we reached Surprise Bay the sun was out but what greeted us at the eastern end of the beach was the raging muddy torrent of Surprise Rivulet. We were stopped dead in our tracks and decided it was way too dangerous to cross so we had our lunch break and waited on the arrival of the E.B.W.C to seek their opinion.

When they arrived they made the decision to cross after much analysis and discussion. Alan and Gavin waded over solo first using their poles facing upstream and then putting their weight on the poles by leaning forward as they crossed. Rhonda kindly suggested that we join with them as John linked arms with three others, leaving his boots on due to the loose round stones on the sandy river bed. Everyone stayed tightly together and then slowly shuffled across in unison, with knees pointed upstream. I then followed with Brian and Gavin on either side of me and my pack waist and chest straps undone in case of mishap ,which Alan was eagerly anticipating as he took photos of us crossing.

Our safe crossing of this seemingly insurmountable obstacle was a great relief to both John and myself as any delay at this point would have made our chances of catching the bus at Cockle Creek highly unlikely. As it was we pushed on to Granite Beach where the tide was out and the stones which normally cover the beach were submerged under sand.The views of South Cape from the West end of the beach were indeed spectacular and we appreciated our change of fortune as we enjoyed the straightforward beach walk and an uneventful wade acoss Sandstone creek, which was running quite strongly.

Granite Beach - South Coast Track Tasmania

We scaled the cliff adjacent to the waterfall at the east end of the beach and then climbed another thirty metres to the campsite where we once again claimed the prime tent site which had a fabulous view of the beach. The E.B.W.C members arrived soon after and told us their tale of woe explaining that three of them had fallen in to a sand hole while attempting to cross Sandstone Creek at the surf line. One walking pole was lost and three digital cameras suffered salt water damage. John and I had fortunately crossed the creek close to the cliff face and armed with our new found knowledge avoided mishap. In the evening I returned to the beach to take some photos of South Cape at sunset and after crossing back over Sandstone Creek I had a severe attack of diahorrea (an inconvenient location to suffer this ailment but like Borat I improvised and lived to tell the tale.). Unfortunately the gastro stayed with me for the duration of the walk stretching my toilet paper supplies very thin indeed and contributing to my 4kg weight loss for the trip.

Toilet - South Coast Track Tasmania

Thursday 26th February

Day nine was a big day both mentally and physically as we as we climbed up the muddy South Cape Range for a fabulous clear view from the top and then down the other side through rainfoest with lots of polished, slippery tree roots being the main hazard. At the top of the range we encountered four young detectives from Woolongong (three chaps and a lady) who were walking in the opposite direction and stopping for lunch. They informed us that there was a one kilometre section of boardwalk after the descent which was much appreciated by us.

At the conclusion of this flat section we had a tiring and lengthy climb through sandy, coastal type forest to emerge at some high cliff tops which offered only limited views of the ocean. A long,slow descent to South Cape Rivulet then followed with the ever helpful E.B.W.C making the way to the easiest crossing point with arrows in the sand. The tannin coloured water made it impossible to gauge the water depth but as it so happened the crossing was comfortably below knee depth.

Later reports from people who had crossed the rivulet 24hrs earlier were of a perilous and deep crossing when in flood.What greeted us on the other side was an idyllic sun drenched sandy beach located between the river and the campsite so we took the opportunity to bathe and dry things off. A resident pademelon(a wallaby like marsupial) kept us company as it bounded in and out of our camp.

Tiger Snake - South Coast Track Tasmania

Friday 27th February

This was our earliest start of the trip as we breakfasted and packed by torchlight and then walked up the beach with head torches lighting our way to the headland crossing. It was really very beautiful with the stars still shining and a faint pink/purple hue glowing over the headland as the sunrise gathered some momentum (very reminiscent of the sunsets at Uluru).

Once over this headland it was another stretch of beach walking and then a forested and only mildly muddy climb over Coal Bluff to emerge at the beach and a nice view of Lion Rock bathed in the first rays of the morning sun. At the end of the beach a long climb up timber steps and then along the cliff tops lead us to a magnificent view back to Pindars Peak which was surrounded by pink cloud. I would have dearly loved to stop and take a photo of this scene framed by the sea cliffs but sensed that John could smell the curried scallop pies awaiting us in Dover and did not want to jeopardise our departure by bus from Cockle Creek.

We continued on without a break predominantly through the flat featureless buttongrass vegetated valley to Cockle Creek.With plenty of time to spare we shook hands as we lay down and rested on a picnic table, and witnessed the arrival of the E.B.W.C members at 11.01 am only one minute later than their own predicted arrival time.

The bus was full of blow flies as we left Cockle Creek no doubt attracted by the putrid smell of the great unwashed but the taste of the pies at the Dover bakery certainly lived up to John’s effusive recommendation and lifted our spirits for the long stretch back to Hobart. I caught up with a bit of sleep on the bus and then it was a short taxi ride back to Shippies where we received a warm greeting from Frank hanging out of a first floor window. After a welcome shower we caught up with Frank and Sue’s many adventures over some bottles of wine and a sensational if somewhat delayed meal.The next day we cruised the Salamanca markets and walked down to Constitution Dock for a look at the Steve Irwin.

Sadly this was the end of our adventure but I was left with many fond memories of the amazing beauty as well as the many challenges of the South Coast Walk. Many things had changed in the intervening 25 years since I last did this walk. With the larger number of people now doing this walk every year the contruction of the many kilometres of timber boardwalks and the provision of pit toilets are positive improvements for the protection of the environment and peoples health. It was very noticeable that the average age of walkers has dramatically increased, as in the 80’s it was rare to see anybody over the age of 30. The many advances in equipment and dehydrated food have been a huge eye opener for myself and I am now well on the way to moving in to the 21^st century of bushwalking.

All images in this post are by “Vern & Skeet” via Flickr Creative Commons Licencing as Mark still takes “normal” photographs and John does not like to stop and take pictures! From Vern:

For 6 years I’ve wanted to walk this track. I finaly got there and had 7 great days in the South West Wilderness area of Tasmania. Me and my bro flew in to Maleluca and walked through huge amounts of mud and over mountains, past snakes, through streams and rivers across beaches past seals and eventually popped out into civilisation at the end.

Their gear is fascinating, their clothes look so different to what we wear today, equipment such as tents and backpacks look heavy and not too waterproof.  They were tough  trail blazers who could improvise and live off the land.

When we think about the adventures they had, and the untouched wilderness they explored, it is with a touch of envy and a huge amount of admiration.

Jack Thwaites on Mt Arrowsmith, 1928

In this post we share some of the terrific images from the Jack Thwaites Bush Diaries website.  We take a particular emphasis on his gear, clothing and tent.

Check out these great photographs and compare it to your gear. Think about the evolution of hiking gear over the last 70 years and wonder how tough it would be to tackle a long trip.  Think about your current gear that is  lightweight, weatherproof and quick dry.  We hope it gives you a great appreciation of the toughness of these pioneer bushwalkers.

Jack's pack - note the cane frame

So, who was Jack Thwaites?

From his Wikipedia entry:

Notable Achievements

• Founded Hobart Walking Club with E.T. Emmett in 1929.
• Undertook early journeys to the South Coast (1928), Du Cane Range (1931), Frenchmans Cap (1934) and Federation Peak (1948/49)
• Joined the party which made the first official crossing of the Overland Track in January, 1931
• Responsible for much of Tasmania’s National Park nomenclature, particularly in the Frenchmans Cap region and the Cradle Mt-Lake St Clair National Park.
• Pushed strongly for the conservation of Tasmania’s wilderness and historic areas through his work on National Park boards and the Scenery Preservation Board.
• Made valuable contributions to the Youth Hostels movement (YHA), both in Tasmania and nationally.

North Col, Tasmania 1936

That is a pretty impressive CV and one that many of today’s adventurers would be proud of.  To have trail blazed many areas in Tasmania is a huge feat. To us, he is an inspiration.

Jack's pack

We really encourage you to check out all the photographs and information on the Jack Thwaites Bush Diaries website.  Frank got lost there for hours. The site is  maintained by Simon Kleinig, an Australian writer presently living in London. He is the author of Jack Thwaites: Pioneer Tasmanian Bushwalker and Conservationist. The book is published by Forty Degrees South Pty Ltd and was short-listed for the 2009 Tasmanian Book Prize.

What is the oldest piece of hiking gear you still own?  Do you use it?  Why?  Drop us a comment below,  we would love to hear from you.

For our international readers, bushwalking means what it says, going for a walk in the bush! (or multi-day hiking, or treking, or tramping!)

A camp on the Arthur Plains, Tasmania

Many thanks to Anne Thwaites, Jack’s daughter,  for permission to reproduce the images here.  Anne tell us there are still some copies of the book available, the details are here.  Thanks also  to Simon Kleinig for his terrific assistance. It was fun reminding him of the great summer weather here while he is in snowy London.