OVERLAND TRACK TASMANIA 2021 | Complete 7 day hike + Cradle Mountain, Mount Ossa and Echo Point

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Our adventure on the Overland Track in Tasmania began on February 7, 2021. We had heard great things and were extremely excited as months of planning had gone into this hike.
We used the Overland Track Transport to pick us up from Launceston and take us to the beginning of the hike. We left our car secured at Drive, Park, Fly in the long term parking. Our driver was extremely helpful and knowledgeable having done the track himself and gave us lots of tips before we arrived.
After arriving at Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre, we checked in and waited to complete our safety briefing. It was quick and easy and then we caught the free shuttle to Ronny Creek where the hiking begins!
As soon as we stepped off the bus we were greeted with rain but nothing could dampen our excitement. We headed up to Crater Lake and then up to Marions Lookout where we had spectacular views of Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake.
From here we continued up to do the optional side trip to Cradle Mountain summit. It was a steep climb with lots of rock scrambling but so much fun! We reached the top and caught a few glimpses of the view but were up in the clouds majority of the time.
Another two hours along the track took us to our hut for the night, Waterfall Valley Hut. The hut looked brand new and was so fancy, so we did a full tour to show you! However we opted to camp and set up our tent on one of the awesome tent platforms.
Day 2 began with a short backtrack to complete the Barn Bluff summit hike which was also incredible. Once again we hiked up amongst the clouds and didn’t get any views but we’re still so glad we did the extra side trip!
We continued on to Windermere Hut with another small side trip to Lake Will. We saw a couple of snakes, wombats and lots of wallabies and pademelons!
On day 3 we opened the tent to see ice falling off the side of our tent as we had a frost overnight. We began hiking as we had a rather large day ahead, 17.8km to the next hut.
We stopped at Forth Valley Lookout and Old Pelion Hut where we read through old walker log books dating back to 1943. So interesting! Shortly after we got to New Pelion Hut where we set up our tent on the grass as there was only one tent platform. The hut was really nice with a great balcony and looking out to Mount Oakleigh.
Day 4 is the one we were most excited for as it meant summiting Tasmania’s tallest mountain, Mount Ossa! We hiked up to Pelion Gap where the junction is and left our large packs and just took a small day pack with us for the 5 hour return hike to the summit. We were so lucky to have incredible weather and it was honestly the highlight of the trip!
We got back down to Pelion Gap and decided we had enough energy to attempt the 2 hour return hike to Mount Pelion East summit as well. It was a steep climb and got super sketchy and dangerous towards the top, but we made it!
We got in late to Kia Ora Hut after a huge day but we wouldn’t change a thing!
Day 5 had lots of stops along the way including DuCane Hut, D’Alton Falls, Fergusson Falls and Hartnett Falls, all of which I would recommend seeing. If you go to Hartnett Falls, be sure to follow the track down to the river as it’s absolutely gorgeous down there.
We spent our first night sleeping in a hut at Bert Nichols Hut (Windy Ridge) as a lot of rain was predicted overnight and we made the right choice! It was fun to try out sleeping in a hut once but we definitely prefer the tent.
Day 6 we hiked to Narcissus where most people opt to catch the ferry to the end of the hike, but we didn’t. We wanted to complete the full hike and not catch the ferry. We enjoyed lunch there and then continued walking to Echo Point where we had incredible beach camping on Lake St Clair.
Our final day was quite short with a four hour hike to Cynthia Bay. We arrived mid-morning and went straight to the Lake St Clair Lodge to get ourselves an Overland Track burger and hot chocolates.
It was the best 7 days and I would recommend it to everyone and we for sure will be going back to do it again one day!
Hope you enjoyed the video!
Filmed February, 2021.
#OverlandTrack #Tasmania #Hiking
See what we packed for the Overland Track - • Overland Track GEAR LI...
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[@joshtagi4684]

ah yes, this brings back so many memories from when I did this in 2019. loved seeing the views up from mt ossa in this video, as I didn't end up getting up there unfortunately on my time there due to the snow and high winds. If you ever end up doing this again I would definitely recommend spending a night at pine valley. Whilst the hut isn't that great the scenery in the valley and also the walk up to the labyrinth is absolutely magical and was one of my favourite parts of the trip. Also, kudos to you for walking the whole thing in it's entirety, I just caught the ferry over like many others :P

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Yeah we’re pretty shattered we didn’t research enough to find out about Pine Valley but we definitely want to go back and do that and Mount Oakleigh that we missed out on. It’s a shame you didn’t get to do Mount Ossa but I would also love to see the track in snow 😍

[@fionaludbrook8193]

Pine Valley is glorious. All those Huon pines are a joy to see as well as lots of fagus. Thanks for reminding me, Josh Tagi!

[@dawn2duskphotos]

Aah, chocolate after a strenuous hike.. heaven!!!

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

There’s really nothing better 😍

[@yuliehill8638]

Great Video! Enjoy watching and so much information.

[@robjohnstone996]

Congratulations on finishing the hike... Thanks for making the time to create the video, loved it..

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Thanks Rob! Glad to hear you enjoyed it as it did take a long time to put together 😂

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Would love to answer any questions you have about the Overland Track or hear your feedback on the video, so please leave a comment below 🙂

[@LaurenandScott]

Matt’s very funny in this video haha. Looks very beautiful!

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

He’s definitely getting more confident, it’s good 😂

[@fionaludbrook8193]

Loved this. The Visitors Centre looks amazing, ditto all the info in the huts of what to expect the next day. None of that back in 1988. Oh it looks so easy with all that duck boarding these days. In 1988 I was up to thighs and occasionally my waist in thick black mud for most of the way, that was not super rocky. Old Pellion hut was the only hut at Pellion back then and boasted the most ferocious leeches in the world in its vicinity. No tent platforms either, nor helipads. By the end of the track, the mud had changed the colour of our clothes and would not wash out, so they had to be ditched. They really stunk of the mud and our perspiration. Those rocky mountains are known as moraine and have been left as a result of glaciers depositing them during the Ice Age. Ditto the many lakes, known as cirque lakes, all scraped out by glaciers as these ice rivers moved across the landscape. It certainly is dramatic country, with inspiring vegetation and incredible views. Great to see the fagus, Australia;s only deciduous tree and the button grass, though the button grass does not look to be as vigourous or as healthy as it once was, despite all the duck boarding, That leech forest is so beautiful, but the leeches are unforgetable. The development and size of the huts as well as the cute signs marking the beginning and end of the track are all pretty mind blowing. You looked so darned clean the whole way, compared to the mud men and women that were the norm, back before all the upgrades. Geez it was hard going through all the mud back then, so be very glad of that duck boarding. Interested to see if you saw any of the once common Tasmanian Devils in the area, or any quolls, as they were the most common of all the animals on the track when I did it. Thanks so much for this beautifully filmed and described video. Your love of hiking and the joy of the track shines through to entertain and inform. Bet this has wetted your appetite to do The Walls of Jerusalem hike now too?

[@andretaylor1969]

Terrific video Katelyn. Thanks for making the time to share your adventure. Impressed you managed to climb Ossa and Pelion East in one day…. That would be too much for me. :)

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Glad you liked it, a lot of time and effort went into making it. So worth it when it can help others out though and we have it to watch back for the memories 😍 Ossa and Pelion East was a huge day but spectacular weather and so worth it!

[@nicolemorse1782]

Looked awesome 😍

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

It was amazing, you’ll have to do it one day 😋

[@brokenlimitsnjm]

Looks awesome great video

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Thanks heaps Nathan!

[@our4feettravelers760]

looks like a grate time good vlog

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

It was, thanks so much for watching ☺️

[@CowboyJojosAdventures]

Loved your adventure 👍🏽😍Doing it next year for the second time around after 23 years

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Amazing, so excited for you! I'm sure it's changed a fair bit since then 🙂

[@CowboyJojosAdventures]

@@AdventuresofKatelyn I am sure of that Katelyn. ☺️

[@karenrawlins1529]

Definitely do the three capes track if you can, awesome views

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Definitely keen to do it next time, we did Cape Hauy and it was incredible 😍

[@stevelewis2444]

Great video

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Thank you Steve!

[@amypatterson-bocchi2514]

You guys have been very helpful. I’m freaking out about the leeches though. We’re booked to do the hike in autumn.

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

You'll be fine! You'll be able to see the areas where they're bad at campsites and just keep an eye out on yourself while hiking. It's worth the leeches I promise 😬

[@mattk1945]

Such a memorable hike, so glad we had the chance to do it together, had the best time! 😍

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Such an amazing experience, can’t wait to do it again with you one day 💖

[@user-pf6tp4co3u]

Hi guys, great video and super helpful for my partner and I who are walking the track this coming Easter. I was wondering if you took shoes or boots and now having done the track, which do you think are the most suitable? Cheers, Dale

[@tcm0002]

hiii I am planned to go to this amazing trip and I have some question about food , how many food had you two bring for the whole trip??

[@dave690]

Hey quick question did you guys to Windy Ridge to Echo Point in a day? I am thinking of doing this but did not know if it was too far?

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Yes we did Windy Ridge (Bert Nichols Hut) to Echo Point in a day. I think it took us around 7-8 hours just going at an average pace and that includes probably an hour worth of breaks. You can always aim for that and if you get to Narcissus Hut and decide it’s too much then you can stay there and do Narcissus to Cynthia Bay on the last day!

[@fionaludbrook8193]

I think we did our final day from Narcissus to Echo Point, but I could be wrong. Know we made Echo Point well before lunch and then took the ferry out, as a fire had gone through the Lake St Claire end the previous summer and all the bush was still black and burned out. Great to see it has recovered here!

[@debs_hiking_journey]

Hi can you remember what time you guys started on day one?

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

Hey, we got to Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre around 9am, did the safety briefing etc, got the bus to Ronny Creek and started the walk about 11am 🙂

[@debs_hiking_journey]

@@AdventuresofKatelyn oh that's great to hear, wasn't sure if I would have time to do the climb if leaving after 10am, thank you for your reply

[@lizardears4861]

Is there actually a national park ranger residing in the waterfall valley camp?

[@AdventuresofKatelyn]

There is a hut for the rangers, not sure if they reside there 24/7 or come and go but there was a ranger staying while we were there.