Overland Track adventure

I must have been crazy last July when I registered Nathan and I for the Overland Track in Tasmania. Our last hike in Minnesota was, um, "eventful." I badly sprained an ankle, Nathan got heat stroke (2x) and there were ticks, lots and lots of ticks. But hiking is like marathons, some endorphin-related amnesia kicks in and despite all practical experiences which tells you hiking is going to be hard and dirty, you dream of savouring a hot cup of coffee before an open fire, then ambling through pristine wilderness listening to birdcalls and babbling brooks. When in reality, there is a lot more sweat, dirt, and not enough hot coffee.

So, in July, I proposed a "cheap vacation" to Tasmania to hike the 80km Overland Track from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Claire. Nathan didn't argue, he's just happy for me to do the vacation planning for a change. I booked a hiking permit for the 29th December which only allows 60 people on the trail on our start date for a $250, plus a parks pass ($120). Then the plane fare, ($2400), then bus transfers ($240) then a hotel with a spa bath for the last 3 days ($450 ). Our cheap holiday--$3500, we could have gone to Bali for 3 weeks! but still not enough money for 2 plane tickets back to the US at Christmas.

You will notice the phrase mountain in the title, it didn't strike me at the time, but later planning the journey it caught my eye. What do they mean Mountain? Well, the tallest Mountain in Tasmania is Mt Ossa at 1600 m. (5300 ft) So, its not going to break any records in Alaska (but maybe in MN). The whole place is forested, hills and valleys sprinkled with highland lakes, and really ROCKY granite peaks. Sounds lovely, right?

On boxing day (26 Dec), we spent the bulk of the day packing our back packs, weighing them, taking out some clothes, weighing them again, taking out some food, weighing again, taking out mroe clothes, and weighing again. Without water or fuel, Nathan's pack weighed 22kg and mine was 20 kg. That night, we grabbed the red-eye to Launceston. We headed to our B&B, before explore the 3rd oldest city in Australia. The historic buildings have mostly been preserved the occasional modern or art deco building popping up. With a pop of 120,000 Launceston is the 2nd largest city in Tasmania (500,000), with 1/4 of the state a National Park.

After dropping our packs and catching a quick nap, we went out for a 5 hour walk, including Launceston's famous Cataract Gorge. We chose the steep zig-zag trail which provides beautiful views of the river. In the gorge, they have a chairlift over the lake. On the chairlift, Nathan spotted 2 seals. He just couldn't believe that they would swim up river to frolic in some Australian's swimming hole.
At the end of the day, we walked back to town looking for a nice pub for dinner.
As we headed to Launceston's downtown, we stumbled upon Launcheston's annual cycling race. From our vantage point in the pub, we were able to see Lycra-clad speedsters racing around our city block. We didn't understand the rules or who won, but it was entertaining to watch them cycling in circles to the applause of an enthusiastic crowd.

The next morning, we caught a bus to Cradle Mountain National Park. After dropping our packs at the Caravan Park, we went for a hike around Dove Lake and Wombat Pool, another 5 hour hike. (I don't know we kept walking, what did we think we would be doing for the next week?!?!?) On the way back from our hike, we had our first Aussie Wildlife encounter a Wombat.

Tomorrow, we head off for the first day of the Overland Track (Day 1--Cradle Mountain!).