Bushie down from north Qld, any long trails?

[chop]

Gday all... coming down to Tassie around January... searchin for some longer(5 days +) hikes and good camping that takes in the scenery... Cheers

[Marky]

Bush Trails in Tassie? nah nothing of the sort here!!
Couple of small walks.. one to a place called federation peak you may have heard of it or frenchmans cap? or theres a modest walk thru the middle of tassie called the overland track which a few people do from time to time.....
Sorry for the 'tude I just cant handle ignorant mainlanders......
S'funny I recently spoke to an american couple who had planned to hike around Tasmania in just a few days...... "WHAT ITS ONLY AN ISLAND".........

[Son of a Beach]

Come on now Marky, don't be hard on the one-headed mainlander!

But Marky is correct in that there are a lot of walks. I'd suggest that you browse through some of the topics in this forum, and post questions here on any that take your interest. All of the ones Marky suggested are excellent walks, but they vary from rather difficult (federation) to somewhat less difficult (overland track).

[chop]

Where all ignorant somewhere Marky, But cheers, i probably should have been more specific. Im not looking for any overly difficult cliffhanger type walks. More long easy walks where i can soak up what tazzie has to offer and enjoy my nights of camping. The Overlander track sounds great exept for all the tourists, as i wanna stay as far away as i can from those *&%$#!. been looking for a while now around a lot of sites, but there all so touristy trying to sell you guided walks and accomodation. I saw that some of the walks like the walls of jerico seemed very alpine and well full of pines. That sounds good but ide prefer to see the big old mountain ashes and wildlife that im sure is more abundant in more sclerophyllous areas. Ide apreciate some local knowledge. Cheers again

[tasadam]

Sounds to me like you could do well to get your hands on Chapman's Southwest book.
That will give you another problem though - trying to decide...

[Marky]

Yes John Chapmans book is very handy!
You may be on the right track thinking walls of J. Pretty easy walking (easy to dodge people) and still a variety of nice mountains about.
The Southern ranges offer a good variety of easy walking thru to full on bushwhacking with some amazing mountains to be seen.
But if your after wildlife and mountains maybe Mt Field or somewhere around the central plateu could be what your after! not that theres not plenty of critters about, they just tend to be a bit sparser further southwest (more scrub maybe?)

[tasadam]

Sounds to me like you could do well to get your hands on Chapman's Southwest book.
That will give you another problem though - trying to decide...

Yep... Skim reading not so good tonight.

Southwest book does have its share of overly difficult cliffhanger type stuff, sorry bout that.
But then there's the South Coast track. Certainly it's long, though not "easy" so I've heard (find out myself next month).
Frenchmans in and out allowing 4 days is relatively possible, and a good Tasmanian experience, but far from easy, particularly depending on the mud.
Not much wildlife to be seen there though, apart from the Tiger snakes.
If you want a wildlife experience, go to Narawntapu a bit before dusk.

Will keep it in mid if I think of something - certainly the Walls is a great area.

[Natt]

Sounds like Freycinet might be something you might like - a -2/3 day walk

there is a nice daywalk from Fortescue Bay out to near Eaglehawk neck (VERY long) - but pretty

[Marky]

Only prob with south coast and frenchmans is in mid january he will struggle to avoid the tourists....
Still South coast is one of my fave areas, SW circuit is still my fondest walk to date! 6 days of scenic delights!

Freycinet could be perfect for what he is after, if the obvious places like wineglass are avoided...

[Nuts]

Im not looking for any overly difficult cliffhanger type walks.
Rules out tasman peninsula..


The Overlander track sounds great exept for all the tourists, as i wanna stay as far away as i can from those *&%$#!. been looking for a while now around a lot of sites, but there all so touristy trying to sell you guided walks and accomodation.

True, busy over summer but then so are some of the other suggestions, at least the OT is regulated and you know you'll get somewhere to camp. Also you'd see a lot of different types of Tassie bush (inc. drier country down towards Lake St. Clair). If you have a look at the booking calendar it shows how many will leave with ya each day. Some days have very few. Also, the type of tourist your probably thinking of has probably not left the Cradle Mt. carpark

I saw that some of the walks like the walls of jerico seemed very alpine and well full of pines. That sounds good but ide prefer to see the big old mountain ashes and wildlife that im sure is more abundant in more sclerophyllous areas.


Probably true too though here in tassie those pines have been here a very long time...

Walls of jerusalem, ?.

[Son of a Beach]

The Walls of Jerusalem (not Jericho... they fell over), should not be dismissed too quickly. The pines there are native pencil pines and are truly beautiful. There are a lot of wallabies up there (although best seen from the top of the West Wall, looking down from a distance). There can be a lot of walkers up there at times, but if you plan your walk carefully, you can miss most of them.

[tasadam]

There can be a lot of walkers up there at times, but if you plan your walk carefully, you can miss most of them.

Indeed!
Early December 2007 -

DSC_0998 (Medium).JPG (53.55 KiB) Viewed 6537 times

But don't let that scare you off - it's a big area.

[mrstastrekker]

Fabulous that you are planning to visit Tassie. I guess I am wondering a few things about your trip.
Are you expecting to carry all your gear for 5 plus days? Or are you looking for facilities at the end of each day?
Do you have the gear to cope with snow, wind, rain and the elements in general? A 5 day forecast can not be relied upon and our climate is never really stable like other parts of Australia.
Also, I love the photo attached to your user name, guess it makes me wonder if you know how dry Tassie is. Most of the places mentioned above have fuel stove only restrictions.
Lastly, how are you planning to get around in Tassie? This may have some influence over where you walk to and from as public transport can be an issue!
Kind regards,
Mrs Tastrekker.

[Marky]

Wow that last post was so sensible Mrstrekker
Actually asking the type of questions that should be asked! Just like a Lady to bring sense and sensability to an otherwise entertaining string....

[chop]

Thanks for your imput everyone particularly Mrs Trekker... Yea crocs, stingers, rays, sharks, cassowary's, wild flowers, bush fires, deadly snakes, rageing flash floods, cyclones, wild bush folk and oriental tourists trying to drive have somewhat prepared me for most hardships. Taking that into account, the odd spiky echidnas , pretend furry dog-tigers and a little chilly breeze isn't much of a deterant. The south coast suggestion-good one! Thanks Natt for your imput... it all sounds great down your corner of the world! I will get my hands on a copy of the book... helpful! Cheers

[Fizzygood]

Hi Chop,

It sounds like you have had your fair share of experiences!...

There are areas of Tasmania where even in Summer you need to carry good quality 4 season equipment. It is incredible the amount of people out there that are under-prepared. I am sure you will do your research and equip appropriately. The temptation for many walkers is to cut back on winter gear during summer but in Tasmania that can be a fatal mistake

Things like this (see pic) can happen any time of year in some places! (slightly more than a little chilly breeze)

Cheers, Erin