tasmanian hiker story

Contributed by Hamish & Nancy McLean from Sydney

Here we are again on our travels… off to another location in this great southern land...

Tasmania is the most southerly state of Australia and as such gets the coldest weather and also the wettest. It has a mountainous region in the centre with coastal plains. Timber, dairy farming and wine production play their part in its economy, not forgetting Boag’s famous beer.  Convict labour built many of the buildings in its towns; examples of these can still be seen as most have been heritage listed.

We started our trek in the north, at Launceston, Australia’s third oldest city, after Sydney and Hobart. Launceston is situated at the junction of the North and South Esk rivers; sounded familiar to us Scots but we gradually discovered that the whole of the island had numerous Scottish place names originating from convict times. Tasmania is famous for its many walking trails and mountains that are a magnet to climbers. One of the hotel owners referred to the island as the “last wilderness” and we discovered on our walk around the island that this was an accurate description of the part of Tasmania we walked.

As the flight was an hour and a half to Launceston, we decided it would be too early a start on Saturday morning so we travelled on the Friday and explored the city; not a par on the other two. No high rise office blocks, no marina full of yachts, no harbour bridge etc. but a city none the less, even if rather parochial. This became apparent as we waited for our luggage arriving off the plane; an announcement was made to come forward and pick up your own luggage from the ‘trolley’.  No ‘carousel’ for Launceston – back to basics.  This is how we found life on the island as we travelled around.  It was as if you were back in the ‘fifties’.  Quite refreshing! 

We met our group next morning; two New Zealanders whom we knew from the last walk, five Poms, two from USA, four from OZ, and ourselves making up the fifteen. The leader was Monica of Auswalk whom we know well!

To start us off we went for a stroll up Cataract Gorge, just out of town. The walk climbs up gently to an old hydro power station then onto a ridge and finally back round to complete the circuit. The only problem was the river; it had swollen from the torrential rain over the previous two days; this closed the suspension bridge forcing us to take the tourist route back… on the chairlift! What a breathtaking view, made even more so with the flood water which rose three and a half meters during the short time we were en route. The sight of the water thundering down the narrow gorge was a must for the would-be photographers.  

On our return, having completed our first walk of the trek, everyone was beginning to feel part of the group that gelled even more as the week progressed.

After lunch we all piled into our bus for the three hour drive through the middle of the island to the east coast. Luckily the roads were now open, the floods of the previous two days having subsided. The journey took us through farming country with fields of cows and sheep, lakes and rivers, making the scenery very picturesque.  In the background were the peaks of the Ben Lomond National Park, covered with light clouds scuttering across the sky. This is the ski area of Tassie! On reaching the coast we had a pleasant drive down to Bicheno; a small village where we would stay for the night.

An early start was necessary next morning; a long day of walking and climbing ahead. After a short drive down the coast we were in the Freycinet National Park, where a circuit walk was planned; along a beach, over a saddle then up a steep incline to the lookout above picturesque Wineglass Bay. The weather was excellent - blue sky, cool breeze and sunshine. The terrain was firm and the track well defined; what more could one ask for? We ate our packed lunch sitting in the sun on an isolated beach, gathering our strength before attempting the strenuous part of the day. The waves must have been very inviting as one of the group ventured in for a swim! Too cool for us but OK if you come from England.  Once we got to the lookout, after a very steep rocky climb, the view was breathtaking. You could see the whole peninsula, overlooking the bay all the way out sea; the peaks of red granite glowed in the sun with the blue sea framing everything. What a beautiful sight!

Later that day, an hour’s drive found us in Swansea; this gave us excellent views of the peninsula where we had been walking. The area is the major wine producing part of the state, specialising in mainly Sauvignon Blanc. Swansea is again just a little coastal village on Oyster Bay, but well worth a visit.  We stayed in the Guesthouse listed as ‘home style heritage’, the original coaching inn. We commandeered all of their accommodation and most of the dining room. How the chef managed to produce such a variety of meals in such a short space of time was a miracle. The quality was also excellent!

So far the weather had been kind to us with only a few clouds about - this was to change! The rain started soon after we boarded the bus next morning, heading for Lake St Claire, but abated each time we stopped to have a look at points of interest on the way. We didn’t manage to stop at Ross to see the ‘Female Factory’ but there were many comments as to why it was so named. It was actually a prison facility for female convicts who were employed in the manufacture of goods and chattels for households.

Ross, Oatlands, and Bothwell (villages passed en route) had fine examples of sandstone buildings erected by the convicts; well worth a look. Somewhere today we passed a field of poppies growing in among some thickets of low bushes, well hidden, for good reasons - they are used to produce opiate drugs for pharmaceutical products. The field was on a back track miles from anywhere with only one minor road near it, very secure!

By the time Derwent Bridge was reached the rain had settled into a drizzle. The drizzle persisted while we walked along flat tracks to see the myrtle rainforest, fern gullies, and wattle groves. This turned out to be the only rain we would walk in all week! 

Next day we boarded the launch that took us to the top of Lake St Clair from where we would walk back along the shore. The trip on the launch was interesting; it was a motor boat with two big powerful outboard motors thumping along the waterway.  The hillsides were covered in forest and above them were the grey, craggy slopes leading to the peaks. Some of them have magnificent dolerite columns.  We were dropped off at Narcissus, near to one of the huts on the Overland Trail. This track traverses Lake St Clair National Park from north to south; we were to meet up with it again at Cradle Mountain later in the week. The rain had stopped but everywhere was soggy and dank. The path was initially a board walk and then a rough track of mud with tree roots zigzagging across it. The going was slow and care had to be taken to avoid slipping, but one member managed it; a slip, a slide, and a squelch up to her knees in slimy black muck!  Yes, yours truly! Halfway down the lake is a jetty where the launch can be requested to stop by raising a white marker. This is where we bailed out - you can only take so much of watching one’s feet!

Next morning was to be a short drive through wilderness country with the road going up and over ridges with wonderful views. We stopped off to see Nelson Falls, a magnificent waterfall surrounded by native rainforest. The on to Queenstown which, when viewed from a lookout on the road, showed up the damage which had been done to the countryside by opencast mining for copper. The hillsides were depleted of all trees and it would be a long time before they would re-establish themselves. It was a sorry sight!

On the corner of the main street of Queenstown there was on old fashioned draper’s shop, resplendent with old wooden counters, clothes on coat hangers, hats of all descriptions and haberdashery you would expect from this kind of establishment.  It was not a tourist gimmick but the genuine fifties type of shop. The other extraordinary occurrence was that all of the shops here and in the surrounding areas closed from Saturday noon until Monday morning (Hobart and Launceston being the exceptions).

We reached Strahan, a coastal town, at lunchtime; here we had a free afternoon to explore the area. The town sits on the Gordon River estuary providing a sheltered harbour for the small fishing fleet and the pleasure cruisers. On an island out in the bay one of the first convict settlements was established … seems like they were all over this state.

Our accommodation overlooked the one main street of the town, sitting high above the harbour with views out to sea. A pleasant stroll in the sunshine, a beer in the pub, and a visit to the Huon Pine Sawmill made a nice easy day.  We had dinner in the Hotel and were a little disappointed not to be seated at a table overlooking the Bay.  Later when the ‘Bride’ appeared and took her place at this table beside her new husband (as we thought), our feelings changed.  As we paid our bill the waitress informed us that they were not a newly wed couple but were celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary and the ‘Bride’ had arranged this as a surprise for her husband – how thoughtful!  Mind you she must have been on a strict diet to get into her dress after twenty years. (That is if it was the original one?)

From here to the last resting place of our trip, a morning’s drive up to the north of the Park, but as is usual on mountainous terrain the road was anything but direct.  It went across plains, along rough country and over saddles until we eventually reached Cradle Mountain. While the road was tortuous the view was fantastic with river, forest and mountain scenery. We were to stay two days here with a couple of different walks planned; one a flat walk to Dove Lake, the other a strenuous climb venturing high up to the plateau of Cradle Mountain.

Dove Lake is reached by walking along a boardwalk for a number of kilometres… these man-made walks ensure that the fragile environment is not damaged by the hoards of visitors to this area. The day was warm and sticky and the way long, so some of the group did not tackle the walk round the lake but remained at the visitor centre. The remainder were treated to a vista of Cradle Mountain sweeping down to the lakeside, reflected in the clear water of Dove Lake. On most of the walk the lake could be seen from the pathway with distant peaks appearing from time to time as we walked along.

The last day’s walking was la crème de la crème; the Overland Track, Crater Peak, Marion’s Lookout and Cradle Mountain in the background near enough to touch.  All of this and clear blue sky! A rare occurrence here! This area gets thirteen feet of rain a year! How lucky could we be! All these great names; viewing them was one thing but to actually climb them was hard work. Nothing in craggy, high-peak areas is an easy walk; you need to earn each one! And earn them we did! Heart pounding, trekking up and up, glad to stop for a rest to gain your breath then on again! Only some of the group ventured on this one! The others walked round the Lake that they had missed the day before.

Once on the plateau, much like ‘Cairngorm’ in Scotland. The vista in front of us was mind-boggling; peak after peak stretching into the distance, while the clarity of the air, after the rain, was superb. What a photo opportunity! We walked along the base of Cradle Mountain to have lunch over-looking the route up which we had struggled, realising now that the hard work had been well worth it! Unfortunately we missed out on a great opportunity to climb to the top of the peak, time ran out on us!

On the way back to Launceston we stopped off at Sheffield for morning tea; a busy little mining town in its day, but alas no more. To generate some tourist trade they adopted an idea seen in Canada.  On all the buildings murals are painted; they cover shop fronts, gable ends, house frontages… depicting local interests of yesteryear, a very colourful reminder of times gone by. A great idea and it seems to be working, if the number of tourists we met is anything to go by.

This was a tremendous end to a great week with Auswalk, well planned! We were sure they must have had some divine intervention as the weather had been well near perfect for all of the six days. This was their first walking venture in Tasmania and when we talked to Monica we realised how much planning and research goes into these Auswalk Trips. What seems like a series of basic walks becomes a really great trek with many interesting features!

The tourist brochure invites you to come for a Tasmanian experience. This was certainly more than just an experience, more like another adventure for us into this large continent – AUSTRALIA!

NOTE: There have been some minor changes to this itinerary since this story was written – please check with Auswalk for the current itinerary.

We currently operate two walking holidays in Tasmania:

Tasmanian Coastal Hiker (Bay of Fires, Freycinet, Tasman Peninsula)

Tasmanian Wilderness Hiker (Mt Field, Lake Pedder, Lake St Clair, Cradle Mountain)

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