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Great Hike |
| Start: | Mountain Design Equipment Store, 120 Charles St, Launceston, between 12:00 and 1:00pm |
| Finish: | Launceston, approx. 6:00pm |
| Length: | 8 days |
| Grade: | D (Alpine hiking and uneven terrain. Moderately strenuous.) |
| Price: | AU$1850 |
| Extra Costs: | Car storage, alcohol, personal items. |
| Departs: | Saturdays October to May (occasional alternate day starts) - see Departures |
Highlights: The Overland track is Australia’s premier extended bushwalk. The Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park is renowned for its beauty, featuring abundant wildlife, rare and unusual vegetation and dramatic scenery.
Day 1: Drive to Cradle Mt Lake St Clair National Park via Sheffield. Trip briefing and relaxing afternoon at Cradle Mountain base, exploring the area around your cabin.
Day 2: Drive to Dove Lake. Begin the long climb onto the Cradle Plateau. Spectacular views of Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff, then onto Waterfall Valley.
Day 3: Continue south from Waterfall Valley to Lake Windermere. A more leisurely day, making your way to camp for the night amongst Richea pandanifolia, eucalypts and flowering endemic plants.
Day 4: The morning takes you across Pine Forest Moore offering stark landscape and views east across the Forth River Valley to the heights of Mount Oakleigh and to the day’s destination, Pelion Plains at its base. You will arrive at Pelion Plains camp site near Douglas Creek.
Day 5: A spectacular day in the mountains. Climb off Pelion Plains through forest, revealing Cathedral Mountain, Pelion East and Mount Ossa. Continue south into beautiful Pinestone Valley.
Day 6: A day of towering rainforests of Leatherwood and Sassafras trees, heading towards Tasmania's largest and most spectacular waterfalls. Head for Du Cane Gap and down into rich Myrtle forests. Make camp around Windy Ridge, a great example of a glacial U-shaped valley.
Day 7: Leisurely departure, leaving the Overland Track for the night to visit Pine Valley, passing Mount Acropolis. Camp next to the Cephissus Creek.
Day 8: The final day takes you through dry sclerophyll forest toward the shores of Lake St Clair. Gaze up to the peaks of the Labyrinth and look to Mount Olympus. From Narcissus catch the ferry service for a 20-minute trip down Lake St Clair. Return by bus across Tasmania's Central Plateau to Launceston.
Click here for the detailed trip dossier
This trip goes well with the following tours:
"Australia's premier bushwalking track through Tasmanian wilderness"
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