Overland Track - Day 1

Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion.
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Overland Track - Day 1

Postby bhogan » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 9:56 am

Hi all,

I plan on walking the Overland track with my eight year old son in early April.

I've walked the South Coast Track and the Western Arthurs (A to K) with my wife previously and we used up most of the daylight hours to reach the designated campsites on both occasions (we walked in Late December both times)

The problem is now I can't be sure if it was my wife slowing me down or just our heavy packs and I was using her as the excuse!

I'm planning to fly into Launceston and use Overland Track Transport to get us to the trail head which means we probably won't set-off until 11AM or so.

What are your thoughts on making it to Scott-Kilvert Hut leaving at that time? I don't plan to summit Cradle Mountain as I'm certain we won't have time (I've done it before and will save my energy for Mt Ossa - weather permitting)

Obviously I plan to give my son as little to carry as possible and I'm confident he will be fine. I hope to be around the 20KG mark with everything that's needed (that's less than I usually carry so hopefully i'm getting smarter!)

If I could get from Launceston to Cradle Mountain in the afternoon I would certainly look at that option so I could start day 1 as early as possible. Flights from Queensland seem to land at midday being the earliest option.

All tips, advice and constructive criticism welcome. Thanks in advance!
bhogan
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Re: Overland Track - Day 1

Postby Nuts » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 12:37 pm

Some people are using the tracks east of Dove Lake to get to SKH, this is the quickest option.
That said, I'm a fan of a night at Waldheim (or CM accom generally over a late start) and while pretty, the tracks east aren't The Overland Track.
Transport isn't an issue, it may just cost more for a less rigid departure from Launceston/AP, but there are options.
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Re: Overland Track - Day 1

Postby Somerfly » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 12:47 pm

Hi bh
The overland track will be much easier than the south west tracks. You can expect the light to last until 6 to 6.30 at that time of year. If you are carrying a tent then its possible to find a pitch place on the way if time is short. White gravel mostly behind Cradle so even possible to walk in the dark down to Scott kilvert but probably best avoided with an eight year old in tow. Presumably you are walking up the eastern side of Dove Lake and over Hansons Peak which will be much shorter than the traditional start points.
Good luck Wayne
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Re: Overland Track - Day 1

Postby Nuts » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 1:35 pm

1st day is in a designated day-walk area; 'No camping unless in an emergency; wet weather, fell asleep after a long lunch, went for a swim in Crater Lk, a late start/cheap bus tickets, an eight y.o, are not an emergency'

It's only 10klm or so the long way, 2klm/h and some rest breaks is a dawdle.
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Re: Overland Track - Day 1

Postby bhogan » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 6:56 pm

Thanks Wayne and Nuts.

I wasn't planning on the east side of dove lake to be honest.

I had planned to stick to the well beaten path (at least initially) to give my son some confidence, seeing some other people on a graded track would certainly ease him into it, particularly if the weather is feral.

It would also give him some confidence in me and hopefully set him up well for the next few days - this will be his first multi day walk and (to be honest) the most time he has spent with me one-on-one.

That being said I'm not opposed to it - unfortunately I'm looking at the best of the low resolution map images I can find on the web.

I'm pretty sure I've walked some of those tracks skirting dove lake, I can't remember which. From memory they weren't great but pretty straight forward to follow.

Just for context, this isn't about me, it's about my son and some needed father-son time (he's the youngest of two) ... It's about a challenge but more about how to deal with different obstacles in life.

The time together hopefully allows me to teach him some of what I know and give him some guidance when the "chips are down" and also a level of optimism whatever the scenario.

If he can "bag" a peak (I'm not really into that but if he is) brilliant! We'll do it!

I'm coming from Queensland and the best flights seem to land around 1PM in Launceston.

It would be great to be able to get to Cradle Mountain that same day and start the hike pretty early the following day so we're not stressed on making our destination on day 1.

Overland Track Transport seem to leave Launceston around 7AM and take you to the visitor centre and Ronny Creek trail head. Are there any other options without stating the obvious, leave a day early, hire a car etc?
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Re: Overland Track - Day 1

Postby Joynz » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 8:29 pm

There are also private buses/vans that will quote on a tailored trip. E.g. https://www.outdoortasmania.com.au/page ... ervice.php

We drove to Lake St Clair, parked the car then got a private bus to cradle mountain the same day to start the walk. Was $300 for the trip (3.5 hours) divided by the number of passengers (3 of us as another walker joined the bus at the last minute). But doing it that way (in order to have a car for the rest of our trip) meant that we didn’t get onto the track until 2pm by the time we registered and got the shuttle to Rony Creek.

The 7am bus from Launceston with Overland Track Transport sounds good - though you’d need to stay in Launceston overnight.

I recommend you do the normal Overland Track walk - less room for error.
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Re: Overland Track - Day 1

Postby Nuts » Sun 19 Jan, 2020 9:11 pm

All the regular operators were listed on the parks OT site but I can't seem to find it anymore, it was an easy list to link.There are other regular services, they'll cost either much more or not a lot more depending on who they are already taking that day and when and from where may matter (LST or LST Airport).

edit:

Overland Track Transport
​McDermotts Coaches
Cradle Mountain Coaches​
Outdoor Recreational Transport
Wilderness Expeditions Pty Ltd
Tasmanian Wilderness Experiences
Island Adventure Shuttles​

Worth asking around for the date/s you have in mind.
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