The Overland Track really needs no introduction. This 65-kilometre trail from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair is one of Australia’s premier multi-day walks and an unforgettable experience for three generations.
From the glacial cirques and valleys in the north and across the buttongrass of the Pelion Plains to the dolerite peaks of the Du Cane Range in the south, The Overland is an ever-changing landscape of exquisite vistas. And across five nights it’s the perfect opportunity for three generations to bond and accomplish something quite memorable.
Rainforest below Mount Pelion West.
Coffee and porridge to start the day at New Pelion Hut.
It’s mid-summer on our day of departure and, when we meet at the visitor centre, the apparent temperature is below zero. Dylan, the 16 year old, now shares that, being summer, he hasn’t packed a beanie but thankfully we’re able to grab one before our mandatory safety briefing. Soon the four of us join the day-trippers on the bus to Ronny Creek where polar fleeces are zipped up, heavy packs put on and laces tightened before we set off on the trail.
About an hour into the hike lies Marions Lookout, the steepest climb of the whole week – thankfully chains are installed to help with progress. Marions is home to some of the best views in the park, but today we’re lucky to see 100 metres as clouds swallow the landscape around us. On track we quickly find out the fitmess of the three generation as my sons Levi, 17, and Dylan, leave my dad Ricky, 61, and I in the dust. We watch as they disappear through the mist towards Waterfall Valley Hut to end day one.
The opposite of overland is underwater and our forecast suggested 10 to 20 millimetres of rain for the first half of our January trip. We’d have taken that in a heartbeat over the 70 millimetres that falls over the next 48 hours.
Dylan with what should be Cradle Mountain immediately behind.
Looking over Kia Ora Creek toward Mount Pelion East.
Day two and in no rush to get wet we are the last to leave the hut, eventually prying ourselves away from hot chocolates and competitive games of crib. We skip the side trips and rush along to our next stop. Windermere Hut, like Waterfall Valley and Kia Ora, is a relatively new build with comforts such as lighting that seem out of place to traditionalists but we’re more than okay with. It’s late afternoon and now that the sun is beaming, Levi pesters us about going back five minutes to swim in Lake Windermere. It seems like a decent idea. We make it to the lake in time for another heavy shower, not that this stops Levi or half a dozen other hikers who brave the chilly water before they retreat back to the warmth of the hut. We spend the afternoon working our way through snacks.
The upcoming leg from Windermere to New Pelion is the longest section of the Overland and we get away early; yet another rain front is forecast for the evening.
In bleak weather we cross Pine Forest Moor and slide around Mount Pelion West where the track has more water running along it than some of the waterways. We stop, somewhat sheltered, at Pelion Creek for lunch, where salami sticks and peanut butter wraps keep everyone in good spirits.
Although the evening’s stop, New Pelion Hut, which is 20 years old, it remains my favourite thanks to the wrap-around veranda and amazing views out to the dolerite spires of Mount Oakleigh.
We manage to get a room to ourselves, giving us a little extra space to spread out our gear and make ourselves at home. The conversations with Levi and Dylan have always been ‘When we summit Mount Ossa’ never ‘If’. But managing expectations and realities of two teenagers with boundless energy and enthusiasm, and a retiree who has gotten into bushwalking at 60, is something of a juggle. And despite all the planning and anticipation, we’re reminded that there’s one thing we can’t control and that’s an alpine summer in Tasmania.
We set off on day four, climbing towards Pelion Gap, where we make out the silhouette of Tasmania’s tallest peak towering 500metres above us, albeit through thick cloud. Inevitably there’s more lessons to be learnt when things don’t go our way. How to structure a day where the main objective is lost to the weather gods, how to fill in lazy afternoons at the huts and how to win that next hand of crib.
We press on, pledging that one day we will return to Ossa in better weather. Beyond Kia Ora we embrace the rain that has fallen by visiting every waterfall and stopping at every creek we cross. The guidebook is right … The Overland Track is one walk with many journeys, and although our walk is a wet one, it’s a journey each of us will remember fondly. Definitely an experience best shared.