TheLostGlobe

The Overland Track is Tasmania’s and possibly Australia’s premier hiking experience, starting at the world renowned Cradle Mountain it snakes through Cradle Mountain and Lake St Claire National Park in Tasmania’s central highlands. The track is about 80km long (Depending on start/finish points and sidetracks). It is open all year round but in the walking season (1 November to 30 April) a booking is required which includes a $150 fee and the requirement to walk North to South.

Assuming you already have the gear required for a 5-8 Day walk and transportation (To Tasmania at least) arranged and are planning to walk during the walking season I will outline the planning and preparation required from there.

• Before leaving anywhere you need to book for the day you will begin the walk, you can do this at http://www.overlandtrack.com.au, by phone on (03 6233 6047) or in person at the Cradle, Lake St Clair, Freycinet or Mt Field visitor centers. From November 1 2007 the booking fee is $150* per person.

*The fee was previously $100, the recently announced $50 increase is receiving many complaints from Tasmanian walkers, Parks Minister Paula Wriedt attempted to justify the fee by comparing the track to other international walks, specifically New Zealand and calling the track “loved to death and crowded”. Media release, Track fee scare (The Mercury) and Walkers kick at fee hike (The Mercury). Unfortunately although the fee goes directly back into parks projects little of it is presently going towards the actual OT, fees are currently being mostly used to provide the shuttle bus service and visitor receptions areas for day visitors.

• Transport to and from the trail heads can be by private vehicle or bus, there are a number of bus services, TassieLink having one other the easier to book services, however it is worth shopping around. If you can arrange private transport for drop off and pickup it will likely save you a significant amount.

• Park entry incurs yet another fee, for visitors to the state the 8 week (vehicle) pass is probably the most suitable but you can check which pass best suits your needs at the PWS entry fees page.

It is a good idea to spend your first day at least just to explore the Cradle area, there are a number of accommodation options near the park entry ranging from backpackers to luxury accommodation everything in between. The Cradle Chateau has the excellent Wilderness Gallery which showcases photography of Tasmania and is really worth a look, however their accommodation is a little less inspiring than even many of the cheaper options. Prices are significantly cheaper during the winter months if you feel up to tackling the snow.

It getting closer to my own Overland adventure, so far all I have done is booked the walk, we still have to renew our parks pass about one month before the walk, sort out transport and I need to confirm the dog is booked into a kennel, which I’ll do today. It will be time soon to step up the training, I need to walk with a full pack more often and build some core strength so that I don’t pike two days in. I’ll outline some further preparation for the OT as I do it in future posts.

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