Category: Overland Track

So… where we left off…
With the lake in sight!

We say hello to this rock every time we do the Overland now…

Hello Rock!
And hello to Lichen too…

And I also greeted this dead tree which has the coolest twisty form

Back to walking the track now that I am done being sociable with inanimate objects…

We always meet a bunch of really nice people while on the track – this trip was no different!
A Mother and Daughter team (Hi Beck and Ciara if you’re reading this) – They were really friendly chatty people (oh apart from early morning… most of us were taking a while to wake up properly haha) We had some excellent chats when we caught up at the huts or on the track (As they would usually overtake us)

Another friendly group was a family of five – actually from a town close to where I grew up! (Hello to Louise and Geoff if you are also reading this!)
The Dad worked at the university I had attended many years ago and it was fun recalling some of the names.
The Mum was amazing – you should have seen the food! She had spent months prepping meals. Even desserts!!
Their children were all young adults and really lovely people.

I went swimming in the lake with another group of younger hikers after we had reached camp and set up our tent.
Despite the cooler day, I was really surprised at the water temperature up there. I expected I’d dip in, get snap frozen and need to hop straight out.
I watched Steph go in first and when she didn’t turn blue – I decided to get brave and follow.
It was gorgeous! We spent about half an hour out there swimming about.
Was nice to wash the salty sweat off too!!

Windermere is the next location to get a new hut (Along with Kia Ora)
It was kind of weird listening to building noises way out there.
We walked past the site – I am sure it will be amazing when done but of course looks a bit ‘not wilderness’ at the moment

We set up our tent and sorted things out.
Dinner was the veggie mix and noodles – I partook in a greater amount that night.

Jeff had brought his tablet along and we listened to an audio book before bed each night (Lighter than us both bringing books… plus I read too quickly so I’d be carrying about dead weight before long!)

Nice to get a new pass and add to our Overland Pass Tag Collection!

DAY THREE!!
Awesome! It was cold, rainy and foggy! Bring out the gaiters – my kind of hiking weather!!

Hilariously there were only two other groups left when we got up!
Everyone panics about the 17km day ahead and scarpers early!

Beck and Ciara were still getting sorted and another couple hadn’t even woken up yet.
By the time we got on the track, the early risers from the previous hut had already got to Windermere and were pushing on to Pelion in a ‘double’
I think 17km in one go is enough.

Day three – Hi Jeff!!
The track gets nice and rugged

All the colours in the rain and mist look much richer than in the hot sun

I think eventually we were just walking through rolling clouds

Definitely gave the hike a bit of atmosphere!

I honestly love the track between Windermere and Pelion! Its like you really get your money’s worth that day!
The track changes so much along the way, in and out of forests, out on plains.
Its just so enjoyable!

The track does pose footing challenges but again we got through without falling over anything…

The greenery in these sections is so pretty!
Very tangled

Anyway, I’ll continue the trek to Pelion soon… thats all the photos I have sorted thus far!
Will be back in a day or two to continue
Hope you are all having a lovely week!
Cheers!

Today (day two) couldn’t have been more different.
We were told the forecast was to be hot like the first day (yipes) so it was a lovely surprise to wake to the misty skies.

Today is a short trekking day – only 7.8kms and none of that straight up a mountainside nonsense. (Yesterday was 10.7km)
We left Waterfall Valley and were headed to Windermere

We rested quite well the night before, grabbed brekkie and headed off on the wrong track haha. The lovely hut volunteer called us back and redirected us. (The track out was different now that they upgraded the hut)

Hi Jeff…

Today I had more time to appreciate the abundance of pretty little wildflowers everywhere

A lot of this section of track is boardwalk so a lot less fatiguing than the rocks of yesterday

Not saying I was much faster though… just a whole lot more relaxed!

I love seeing the path disappearing… makes me feel the need to see what is around the corner or over the hill

So pretty too!

I remember going down this path with Fiona a few years back in a blizzard! All the bushes and trees covered in snow!

Loving the flowers

So tiny too

Little skinks like to sit on the boardwalk. Must be nice and warm

I always worry about accidentally stepping on one! Mostly they fling themselves off the boards when you get close though

I stop a lot…

But its worth stopping and looking

Despite the cooler day, I was pretty keen to go for a swim somewhere…

It would get coldish and a bit windy and I would be like… nah. No swim.

Then we’d be all hot and muggy and I was all in for a swim again…
It was the raging debate in my head for most of the way

There is a small side trip to Lake Wills where you can swim. We encouraged some other walkers to go… then we decided not to ourselves!
Luckily later on I heard they really enjoyed their swim and the side trip

And a snap of my beloved Pin Cushion Plant…

Such an amazing plant

Everything gets a bit wide open for a while! Such vast views!

Back to a bit of a rocky path

Not sure if you can see from this but some fairly steep down bits!

No-one fell down…

And there is the lake which is near the huts! We don’t have far to go.
(I went swimming in that lake despite the cooler weather and so glad I did! Stayed in the water for about half an hour! Wasn’t cold, just beautifully refreshing!)

Anyway, will finish this tomorrow or the next day!
Cheers!

Hi Again!
Back with the remaining photos from our first day on the Overland Track.
I don’t think I have a lot of commentary…

Just a bunch of track photos… So easy just to drink in the beautiful views that surround us

I think this next photo was a mistake… I don’t remember taking it, but it does show the challenges of the track at times. It gets a bit harder to navigate the rocks when you get tired. But at this point we were not doing too badly overall – no-one fell down anyway!

Oh… Ok.. I do remember kind of falling down, but a sturdy bush stopped me from hitting the deck fully!

Back out of the trees

Looking back

The afternoon sun with the puffy clouds made for pretty light for landscape photos!

A good excuse to stop frequently… take a drink and a photo!

Is Barn Bluff getting any closer?

Emergency shelter… looks a bit space -like doesn’t it?
This is an extremely exposed stretch of the walk, so they installed this pod a few years back.

Bits of boardwalk again… a bit of leg relief

The views along this stretch are so good… seem to go forever

Hi Jeff!

Getting him to turn and pose (photo for the folks back in Canada!!)

Not long now to the descent into Waterfall Valley

(above) Looking back

Down into the vegetation

Nice to go down and annoy a different set of muscles

And here we are! Waterfall Valley Hut!
I am miffed now that I didn’t take time to photograph the new hut properly
But at the time I really didn’t care haha… so sorry!!
The structure at the front is not the hut, but the one in the distance.
Its amazing. Big eating area, three bunk rooms.
Nice new loos around the back.
And new camping platforms

After sitting down here I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to get up again.
Ever

(Next morning view from platform below)

I am also annoyed with myself for not getting decent photos in the hut… the big windows are amazing and show the view of Barn Bluff beautifully…
I was waiting for the morning light as it was meant to be another hot sunny day but of course… not to be!

Thats the best I’ve got sorry!

We had a bit of dinner and headed to our tent after a sponge bath and a change of clothes (I can’t even begin to describe how amazing THAT feels!)
I brought along some PJ pants to wear post hiking.
My Mum gets me cool PJs and these were perfect for the hike

I admit we felt a bit pleased with ourselves for actually making it to the first hut after agonising so much about the whole endeavor at the start of the day.
Pretty sure we slept well that first night!!

zzzz
Cheers!

Hi there!! Finally – rounding off the last day of our Overland Track hike!
You might want to put the kettle on and make a cuppa for this one…
Last Day:
Despite the desperate “Mouse-Watch” of the previous evening, the enterprising little rodent managed to get into some food and kept people awake with its marauding ways! (Lets not dob in the snorer that night huh?)

People were up early as a couple of groups had pick-up deadlines to be back at Lake St Clair by. Fiona and I stayed put in our sleeping bags until they were mostly sorted out so we wouldn’t be in the way.
We were bidding farewell to Angela, Martin & Paul who had a 3pm bus to catch, and even earlier, Mark and Adam had to be back at 2pm for their ride.

Since Fiona and I didn’t have a deadline and the rest of the hikers were catching the ferry later, we got to have a leisurely breakfast and soak up the absolutely dazzling morning! Can’t quite equate this to 6 days ago, slogging through blizzards in knee high snow!!

We had a short moment of excitement when the helicopter flew in on its start of hauling track equipment back over the lake. Its amazing how out of place the sound of a motor is after 6 days in the wilderness!

Each hut has a helipad – can be for emergencies, bringing in supplies or taking out the composting toilet waste. Personally I think the helipads are best used at night to get a brilliant view of the stars on clear nights!

This was the first of many trips this pretty red machine did that day. We heard it coming and going during most of our hike.

We eventually got our gear together (I pretty much hiked in my nightwear that day… since I didn’t need to keep my hut clothes clean anymore!)
Ahead of us today was 17km around the lake – no mountains… lots of undulating tracks, streams and mudholes!

Before we set out on this hike, Fiona dashed off to K-Mart to buy the cheapest and most inappropriate footwear for the huts in the evenings!!! The unicorn was a nice touch!! Too funny. Mind you, she had to borrow my more sensible crocs to go out to the loo in the snow!!

We started out on the Hamilton Plains – lovely and open before diving into the darker tangled forests.

Signs are few and far between on the track. I do like the moss covered rustic look though!
The track was quite hard to follow at times – the only markers were those little orange triangles every so often – we strayed off the ‘path’ at least three times that day!

No shortage of magnificent trees…

And why not a last chance to hug a few more of these beauties?

So many streams and tangled undergrowth… it was lovely to find a spot to get out on to the edge of the lake for a rest, drink and snack.

Of course there was no shortage of interesting fungi and I was regretting my lack of macro lens even more that last day!

I had an amusing moment or two watching Fiona sort out getting under this log… she was still at the stage of day of trying not to get feet wet and muddy, which made it pretty awkward right there. Was totally waiting for her to end up sitting in a mud puddle!!

Happily, no mishaps. (I had no trouble as I was quite content to slosh directly through the mud (poor boots))

The track was pretty boggy and some sections of boardwalk extremely slippery if you stepped off the chicken wire! (wasn’t it Fee??) 😀

Plenty of things to look at if you wanted to take the time to admire it all!

We’d occasionally catch glimpses of the lake

About two hours in, we reached Echo Point – where poor Jeff had camped his last night of the Overland in the pouring rain and cold while a mouse ate his last days rations!

Its a cute rustic little hut, but I am glad we stayed at Narcissus for our last night – more comfortable and a whole lot of fun!

Time for morning tea and a sit down in that divine sunshine!

I should have taken one more nibble out of that muesli bar so it matched the mountain better!

Fiona decided to eat half her lunch early!

All in all… a really nice little break!

Time to sling the packs back on and continue

I really liked sections of the track… twisty roots and leaf covered paths

How cool and weird is this fungi?

According to the drunk angle of this photo I suspect I might have been tiring!

Occasionally we would find substantial obstacles over the path!
There was a spot where you could see people having climbed over, but the drop on the other side was significant enough for us to have to take a wider detour around the tree.

The following tangled mess was what I had to crawl up through when avoiding another massive tree that had fallen across the path!

In other places, track workers had cut a path for us!

In case you hadn’t got the idea of the state of my boots yet… here’s another photo!

(I am not sure if its standard operating procedure, but when I got home I took them into the shower with me and soaped them up and rinsed them 100 times to get the dirt, leaves, mud & small marsupials out of them. It probably took them about three days by the fire to dry properly.)

Lunch time!! We found this lovely spot out on the lake where these behemoths of trees had fallen.

It was gorgeous out there – prime picnic spot!

The last part of the hike was probably the most frustrating. We really couldn’t get a sense of how far we had to go.
Also, until about an hour out from the visitors centre when we met an American fellow hiking towards us… we saw no-one at all that day! We were used to catching up to people or having people catching up to us and saying hi, with a bit of a chat. Day 7 was a bit more isolating, even though we were closer to the end!

Finally – we were within sight of the end…

Fancy bridges, roads and well dressed people who didn’t talk to you! (They probably (and rightly) thought we smelled funny)

And finally there we were!! 7 days and 85km’s later, through every bit of weather possible – we made it & still smiling!
(Mind you I was slightly disappointed there was no crowd at the visitors centre to see us walk in and give us a standing ovation, but I suppose you can’t have everything…)

We found Fiona’s husband Paul and his friend in the carpark (they’d just done quite a hike themselves). They had our pre packed bags of clean clothes and a towel and we proceeded to go and have the BEST 5 minute showers of our lives!
Bliss…

Well… hope you enjoyed it. We certainly had a blast.
I am all fired up to do it again next year… just see who I can convince to join in the next party… anyone out there keen??

Cheers!

 

 

Hi! Getting on to the last couple of days of our hike!
The night was spent in the rather large Bert Nichols Hut.

The eating area was huge – but no heating so everyone remained fairly rugged up for the nights feasting.

Fiona and I slept in the cave down the bottom!

This platform area is great for viewing the mountains… when its not clouded over like this morning!
Anyway… here’s a slightly dodgy photo of a few of us finally putting on those cold socks and boots and getting ready for the jaunt down to the final hut.

Day six is a much easier hike than the rest of the trek. 9km in a gradual descent to Narcissus.

At this point, you can really feel you are on your way home.
There are still a few creeks to cross, but nothing so dramatic as we had previously encountered

We’d occasionally break out into the more open forests with the taller trees.

Then back into the darker moss covered bush

It was turning out to be a lovely day… no pack covers today!

Even after 6 days, I still can’t help stopping to snap a few more fungi photos

Yup… we are on day six!

Despite the great weather, there is always a good chance (or three) to muddy up the boots again

Crossroads

This is the part of the track where you now may meet walkers coming up from Lake St Clair. Beyond this point in the hiking season is a no go – the Overland is one way and you need a permit.
Often people will hike up to Pine Valley and over the Acropolis. This is actually where Fiona’s husband Paul was. He and a friend were doing a couple of days hike then the plan was they would meet us at the end so we had a ride home.

Martin, Angela and Paul caught up to us here and we all enjoyed a sit down and snack in the gorgeous sunshine.

Onward! (After yesterdays efforts I was quite nervous watching Fiona balance on anything!!)

Still a few wet paths to slosh through

So far so good… Fiona hasn’t fallen over today! 🙂

Finding good huggable trees

Its hard to believe that a few days ago we were fighting our way through severe wind, rain, snow and blizzards!

Such an awesome feeling!

When you reach the bridge you know you are getting close to the hut!

Not far from Narcissus we met our first deadly creature! A beautiful tiger snake who was enjoying the sunshine as much as we were! It was in no hurry to relinquish its spot in the sun either! Finally it slithered off and we continued on.

Narcissus was a quaint little hut – tiny compared to the hut the night before!

I dashed down to the jetty just in time to say goodbye to a good number of our hiking buddies who were taking the ferry across Lake St Clair and finishing up their Overland Adventure

It was a magical afternoon – we sat in the sun outside the hut and lunched with Angela (who shared some of her soup) Paul and Martin. It was blissful relaxing and chatting – nobody was in a hurry to do anything that afternoon!

Down on the jetty, Adam and Mark brought out the vodka – I tell you, that was warming all the way down!

Pretty sure Fiona is just relaxing and not passed out or anything…

As for me? I am all about style when it comes to evening wear on hiking trips!

It was so enjoyable watching the sun go down.

Our last night on the track!
It was probably one of the best nights! There was some funny conversation over dinner (confessions of how many pairs of undies everyone brought along and how much toilet paper people were left with!!!)
Many of us stayed up much later than normal (until 7.30pm!!!) out on the helipad watching for shooting stars! We finally saw a brilliant one scratch its way across the heavens. Feeling fulfilled, we were able to troop off to bed – but not before everyone went on a frantic food barricading mission as we read on the noticeboard there was a marauding mouse in that hut.
I think some of us were awake during the night on ‘mousewatch’ as the enterprising rodent managed to eat its way into a few things!
Ahhhh – the joys of bushwalking!
Finally to sleep and ready to tackle our final day!

Cheers

Hi there! Find a comfy chair and grab a cuppa. I failed to whittle the photos down very far. This might be quite the ramble!

Well… we made it to day five – and didn’t the morning start beautifully! Almost clear blue skies! The ranger came into the hut the night before to give us the updated weather reports and the fellow got a hearty round of applause and cheers as the bringer of good weather news!

Even though a number of the hikers had camped the night before, it was still chaotic in the small hut finding gear and getting ready to go… not to mention getting those wet socks and boots back on. Actually I treated myself to clean socks this day. I knew they’d be wet in no time, but the other ones were… well, I’ll let your imagination do the work.

It was always a good feeling to get the packs back on and be on our way each morning. And with the sun shining, today was no exception.

Of course, there were no shortages of mud puddles to navigate!

Some mudholes were still iced over too

Everywhere we looked the sun was streaming in. Put everyone in quite a good mood!

The first main stop (if you like to stop) was the Du Cane Hut.
Its the oldest remaining hut in the National Park, built in 1910 by a man named Patrick Hartnett, from split King Billy Pine shingles and was still used up into the 1970’s.

Its an interesting place to go into and see how spoiled we are with the new huts!! Loads of character though!

A different sort of visitors book I guess!

Inhabited by hairy multi-legged individuals (That’s an educated guess)

Conveniently, if a call of nature should arise… follow the sign.

Yup – thats a hand carved toilet lid over a hollowed out stump. And according to some of the more adventurous hikers in our group who bravely lifted the lid – still in use!!

We found Leah, Austin, Skye and Kelvin in a prime morning tea spot. They had hot beverages on the go and were soaking up the sun in a most beautiful spot.
Fiona kind of shattered their peace a little when she rocked up to say hi and put her pack down – discovered a bulge in her shirt/top and surprised herself (and everyone else) by flinging about a pair of undies she had somehow stored there!!!! (I have been assured they were clean ones… ) 😀

Anyway – we forged on, looking for the first waterfall turnoff track.

We really enjoyed putting the packs down and walking (floating) on down to see the falls. We figured that after all the rain and snow, they would be a bit spectacular.

I think today I really started missing my other camera lenses. Next trip I will make room for a lot more gear and make space in my walking schedule to stop a lot more to get particular photos. (Probably will have to do it alone! haha)

There were a few minor waterfalls to walk over on the way down.

There was a LOT more water compared to the last time we were there!

The roar of the falls was impressive as was the water it was kicking up! We got a bit soggy standing there

We left the din behind to move on to the second falls.

I started missing my macro lens

But then, as we dragged ourselves away from the fungi and mosses, we reached Fergusson Falls at exactly the right moment.

Spectacular!!
Its actually hard to see these falls properly without clambering down and around which didn’t seem safe, but I was more than thrilled with the light rays beaming down to pretty everything up!

It was a bit hard to leave

Back to the fungi…

So many and so varied!

I like the way these little orange ones lined the path!

We broke out of the forests again and set off down to Hartnett Falls – sans packs

This was the place we lay down on rocks last hike! Water a little deeper this time!

We found the perfect picnic spot right on the lip of the falls, sitting on an old tree!

I nearly ate it all before I remembered the photo!!

Such a wonderful place to sit and rest!

Of course, rest can’t last forever on the Overland, so we set off to the base of the falls

The track down is much improved since I was here a year ago… still steep, but there are two fairly deep spots in the river to get across.
Our gaiters were worth their weight in gold!

Even though we couldn’t go far up the river this time, I think the views from below are just as rewarding.

Then we dunked our heads in the water to give them a scrub – so refreshing!!!

It was like a little fairyland down here with all the moss, water, ferns and fungi

Sadly, what goes down (us) has to go back up again (us)

Time to sling those packs back on and head towards our next hut – The Burt Nichols hut at Windy Ridge.

There was a fair bit of ‘up’ to manage before reaching the Du Cane Gap.

A lot of tree roots and boulders to skip across

And of course, mud.

Occasionally we would get a bit of boardwalk reprieve!

There are very few signs on the track. This one was most welcome. It basically says ‘You will be going downhill now’

And downhill we went.

Then in one heart-stopping moment, Fiona took a fall! She was navigating those tree roots and boulders when a misstep caused her pack to shift and throw her off balance

OK – yes I took a photo.
However… it went like this:
Me: “Are you alright, are you ok?” (panic panic)
Fiona: (Muffled with head in a rock) “I’m ok I’m ok… I just can’t get up”
Me: “I am coming down, I just can’t run”
Fiona: (Still muffled) “Take a photo!!”
Me: “Um… OK” (Snaps one hurried shot and takes pack off so I can properly rescue my poor cousin!)

Very very luckily, Fiona only hit her head slightly and with some effort, we got her pointing back up the right way. She later discovered a nice bruise on her leg, but we were more worried about the knock on the head, which thankfully wasn’t so bad.
She hadn’t packed her pack so well that morning and the pack itself didn’t seem set right. There was a LOT of play in it that day, which isn’t great for hiking on uneven ground!

We found the funny tree with its massive burl and Fiona decided to give it a hug (we are tree huggers after all haha)

The track got less tricky and the amount of fungi and lichen seemed to increase!

And for Fiona’s final trick of the day, she slipped on a bit of wet wood over a small stream crossing, her pack threw her off again and I looked back to see her pole dancing with a sapling over the creek!!!
I just took the photo from the hip as I dashed forward to complete my second rescue of the day!!

Glad the sapling was sturdy! That would have been a cold soggy end to the day!

We finally made it (in one piece) to the hut to find most of our fellow hikers on the lookout platform admiring the sun setting, and catching up on the days events!
Time to get our beds made, get clean sleeping gear on and dinner in our bellies!

A really wonderful days adventure!
Cheers

Well hello!
I have had these photos kinda ready for a couple of days… now getting to an actual story!
We woke up on day four to weather that was chilly but promising (ie it wasn’t raining sideways)

I love the massive veranda at Pelion!

Its the usual chaotic scramble in the morning, starting from about 6am when people start stirring, making the brisk walk up to the loo’s, organising breakfast, packing up sleeping gear then bravely pulling on cold wet boots and socks!

There is always time for a few snaps before we sling the packs on and get back onto the track though!
We had to make a point of Fiona’s T-shirt.
A local singer, Claire Anne Taylor made the trip with us!! She is a lovely young woman with a beautiful voice and talent. I have been lucky enough to meet her and hear her sing on a few occasions!
(One of her songs here if anyone is interested!)

A last look at Mt Oakleigh and we were loaded up and on our way.

Of course its good manners to say hi to the locals who were still out and about

We started by walking through bushland that was draped in green. It’s so fresh and beautiful.

What was really fabulous was breaking out into the open and finally seeing proper blue skies!!

 

Water was everywhere – no great surprise, but streams, creeks, rivulets, and just puddles and running waterways all over the place!

The paths were varied – new boardwalk, old boardwalk, natural paths lined with tree roots or boggy swamps!

Often, paths were little waterfalls too!

Not far up the track, we ducked off to the side to check out the river and waterfall… what a difference from when I was here a year ago!

Looking back 13 months:

It was fabulous standing there watching the water roar on by!

Back on with the packs and forward!

Sometimes it was a balancing act – pretty easy to be looking at the pretty scenery and fall off the path into the mud!

Fallen logs offer a great spot to rest and take the weight of the pack for five minutes!

Always something to look at… whether it was the unusually coloured trees, beautiful mosses, various fungi… it was an ongoing feast for the eyes.

And just as our eyes became permanently stained green, we broke out into a totally different landscape.
And snow!

Between two mountains – we had been hoping to climb Ossa, but the weather had rolled in and so we decided to give up that idea.

I think Kim and Brod were doing a Gandalf Thing with the stick/staff

Always great to make new friends while you are in the wilderness!

So we made our way down the snowy, icy boardwalks towards our next hut

Ok, yes and stop for a quick selfie 🙂

I can’t help taking continual delight in the colours and textures of the trees and rocks

We knew we were close to the hut, but we found a suitable rock with an awesome view and ate our lunch

Cheese (Swiss cheese no less) and relish wraps – nectar of gods!! 🙂 Everything tastes twice as good when eaten outdoors after hiking!

We had met up a few times with people along the way today!
Angela, Paul and Martin caught us up again while we were lounging on our rock eating!

And not long after, we arrived at Kia Ora Hut

Kia Ora was a small compact hut. Squashy indoor eating area – but people were good at moving on when done and sharing.
A number of people opted to camp this night, although food and packs get stored in the cloakroom area of the hut so to lessen the risk of possums tearing into your pack and nicking your food!
Some people (Kim and Brod) chose tent platforms with the best views!

Each hut has a helipad, which is usually fairly close to the toilets. The clear area around the helipads usually had some excellent views

Just past the hut was a river – very enjoyable to lean on the bridge for a while.

Eventually night falls and its time to hop into the sleeping bags and get some rest

Dreaming of green forests and looking forward to the next days adventure!
Cheers!

Hello!
Just continuing our day three stroll through the wilderness on the way to Pelion Hut.
So much flowing water and fungi to admire everywhere!

Everything was so lush & green!

Pandani! (Giant grass trees)

The little creeks and streams were just bursting this trip! Very different from last time.

I really love running water – was so easy just to linger at the edge or over creeks and just watch it rushing by!

It wasn’t long before the path and the waterways merged, providing interesting obstacles to our hike!

Step one…

I kept sending Fiona first. I wanted to a) get photos and b) make sure my camera survived! haha

Not far down the track and we were hopping through more streams

I am really not sure what ballet movement this was, but…

We just found everything so pretty!

Eventually we stopped for lunch… we just found a non-soggy part of the path and fished out our wraps to eat and also munch on some trail mix etc.
Some people like to get out their cooking gear and make a real lunch. I am way too lazy for that! I like eating on the go!

Nice timing again as we broke back out into the open areas and some sunshine!

Nice to enjoy some views!

Back through the green draped bush then we finally reached the Forth River – which really had completely overflowed and taken over quite a bit of land

For a moment I really couldn’t see the boardwalk! No avoiding this puddle!

Totally cleaned all the mud off anyway

We loved it – again, like little kids splashing through water!

Another fallen tree – we had to do a small detour for this one.

There was a last stretch up a ‘hill’ before winding our way down into Pelion Hut – a welcome sight as we were ready to get the wet boots off and get settled in for the night

The views of Mt Oakleigh from the veranda are lovely.
It was a most enjoyable night… fellow hikers, Angela, Martin and Paul invited us to ‘Apple Pie Night’ where they shared a pretty amazing dessert with us!! What a treat! I am quite determined to work out how to make something similar in my dehydrator for the next hike!
As usual, we were all fed, changed and tucked up in bed by about 7pm!

About where I am heading now (although to a slightly more comfortable bed!!)
Cheers!

Hi there. Things are looking up. I have had toast AND chocolate today – even did some random weeding in the garden until I got a bit tired out 🙂
Back inside to resume resting pose.
Day Three on the Overland Track is a long one. Nearly 17km through fairly varied terrain. I remember this as being a really tough day last time – possibly because Jeff struggled that day as well.
This time around it was a lot easier.

The snow had been washed off most of the pathways, although the pathways themselves could be challenging to walk over.
The rain kept up as an on and off thing all day.
Everyone who was planning on leaving Windemere Hut to get to Pelion Hut today was in a bit of a rush to pack up and get out there. No-one fancied arriving in the dark!

I liked it when we came out into the open areas to see where we were heading

Sometimes the sun came out properly! Bliss!

Circled above is Mt Oakleigh. Pelion Hut, where we were headed that day is on the other side!! Seems a long way off!

Not daunted!! Fiona was thrilled to finally have some views on the Overland to check out! We thought for the first two days the only things we would see was stuff underfoot!

I don’t think they have updated the snow pole markers in a while…

I must say, I am glad we didn’t do this stretch the day before. In the snow and blizzards it would have been a nightmare. We met some people at Pelion that did it and they ended up having a second day at Pelion to rest as they had an extremely tough go of it.

Hopping over puddles… until you can’t!

Soggy tracks were the norm.

Just before the rain started up again we reached the shelter of the tangled bush areas again

The snow lingered in some areas, and we continued the slog through plenty of mud!

I was starting to regret not bringing my macro lens. There is only so much you can do with a wide angle!! However, with all the beautiful fungi up there at the moment, if I had brought all my lenses I possibly still would have been up there photographing!

The track threw up one or two little obstacles along the way besides the mud puddles. (A lot easier to duck under if you don’t have a pack!)

And again… once you had enough of the gloom, you’d break back out into the open once more!

Can you see the track?

We passed so many creeks and streams… everything busting at the seams due to all the water!

We even got a rainbow that day!

We moved into a different kind of forest… I adore the bark in the rain, coming up bright orange and yellow!

I’ll finish off this days photos in the next post. Can’t have too much of a good thing right?
Hope you are having a good week!
Cheers!
(Eeep… I just realised it was MAY already!!)

 

Hello!
Success – I mostly rested today and also got through Day Three’s photos.
However… I am still tired and ‘blah’ and ready for bed way too early so just popping in fleetingly to say hi!

Day three was pretty fantastic actually… a long one – nearly 17km with lots of changing terrain, a bit of ‘up’ to tackle and lots of water to cross!

The rain the night before cleared most of the snow off the paths which made for easier hiking.
We got rain on and off during the day but not in the volumes of the first day and not sideways. 🙂

Mostly impossible to keep out of the water. To be honest I didn’t even try. As Fiona said – it was like being a little kid again jumping in mud and puddles!

One of our fellow hikers was kind enough to send through a link to a few videos she took and if you are interested, click the link to check out the weather conditions she captured!
Overland Video

Be sure to check out the one with the wombat walking along the boardwalk through the snow!  The sideways rain video was good to see too… was a tough day’s walking that first day!
Rachel has an instagram account here if you would like to see more and I am sending thanks to her for sharing those videos and letting me post the link here.

Anyway, hope I got all that right.
For now, thats me done and off to bed!

Cheers!