Paso de la Oveja – Tierra Del Fuego – Argentine Patagonia

March 5, 2013 Keyman 5 Comments

Paso de la Oveja – Sheep Pass – is a two day hike starting to the east of Ushuaia and cutting a circuit around the Martial mountains, running 25kms along Valle de Andorra to end at the west side of the city. This is my first overnight hike in Patagonia and the only one I’ll be doing this far south.

I was a little nervous about this hike as I brought my tent and sleeping bag from Australia. While they did the job on that continent, they’re not designed for the cold climate. Leading up to the hike, I investigated many of the adventure stores in Ushuaia’s Centro district looking for a means to add warmth to the sleeping bag without spending a thousand or more pesos buying a new one. I didn’t find anything so took the light fleece blanket from my bed in my hostel.

Day 1 – Turbera Valle Andorra to Laguna del Caminante

To get to the beginning of the hike, I took a taxi from my hostel around the side of the Martial Mountains to a locked gate. While my spanish isn’t very good, I figured I’d show the driver the map and point out my destination. For some reason he got the idea I was wanting to be dropped off at the end!? I corrected him and he eventually delivered me to my start point. Past a locked gate I headed out along a dirt road towards the mountains with another glacier in view.

My directions said to walk 5 minutes to a set of shacks and take a faint 4WD track to the right. I did and it led me into a set of peat fields where horses grazed.

But after a while I discovered that the peat fields were rather soggy. By discovered I mean going knee deep into a bog. YAY! By the sounds of the description of the hike I was following, I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. So, I headed towards the mountains, picking my way through boggy grass. This took me some time but I eventually made it into forest. But this still didn’t feel right, and was also rather boggy with more knee high mud. I kept going towards the mountains and eventually found a not very faint but still rather muddy 4WD track. I followed it for a couple of kilometres through the forest with the occasional view of a mountain top.

The 4WD track eventually petered out at a sign announcing my entry into Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. The trail crossed an arroyo – stream – that came down from the back of the Martial Glacier.

It then followed the arroyo for some time through the forest…

At one point I came to an opening that led into a large red tinged field. This was off track, but as it gave good views of the mountains, I decided to head onto it. After only a step I discovered the field was in fact a growth of reddish green moss the size of a rugby field. It was spongy below my feet but supported my weight.

I pushed on along the trail for another couple of kilometres through the forest, with the occasional show of towering rock above the trees.

Late in the afternoon I arrived at a set of cascades in the river. Up until now Valle de Andorra had been flat, but according to my map the cascades marked the beginning of a 4km long climb. Nothing too high, just a constant climb. I crossed the arroyo several times on makeshift log bridges and wound my way up the side of the mountain. I broke the tree line and came to a T-junction and a sign.

I headed right, towards the Laguna climbing along the top of a steep grassy bank with a fast flowing arroyo at the bottom. The trail was difficult and I made my way carefully to ensure I didn’t end up tumbling 50m to the stream. As I began along the track, I heard voices and a group of six other hikers appeared out of the forest behind. I hadn’t seen a single other person since starting, so they must have held just behind me all day. At a highpoint on the trail I got views back along the Valle de Andorra.

A short distance on, I came around a jutting rocky outcrop to see the lake nestled below me…

To get down to it, I had to descend along a muddy bank and a rocky stream bed, watching each of my steps until I arrived at the bottom beside a waterfall. I walked along the arroyo that led to the lake and around a section of trees to locate a perfect campsite on the edge of the lake. There was already one set of hikers and the group of six arrived shortly after. Over the course of the next hour 3 other pairs arrived, but there was plenty of room and only the tents of the large group were close together.

As the sun went down, I sat in my tent and looked out over the lake.

Day 2 – Laguna del Caminante to Autodromo Ushuaia
The next morning, as I packed it rained a little, showering the lake surface with ripples. It didn’t last and I was soon off, back tracking along the path above the arroyo to the junction.

The trail then climbed to the pass where the grass gave way to a slate like rocky area with plentiful cairns to show the way. A 250m climb later I reached the top of the pass that gives this hike it’s name and a tall cairn. I’m not sure why it’s called Sheep Pass as there aren’t any sheep here. Perhaps in times past…

After taking a break in the pass I pushed on. The trail headed down into Cañadon del la Oveja – Sheep Canyon – where the trail hugged the side of the mountain range hundreds of metres above a grassy area. While the thin trail at times felt precarious, careful progress was all that was needed along the 3km trail before it zig-zagged down the mountain and into the forest.

Before I was surrounded in trees once more, I looked back along the Cañadon.

The forest was supposed to be easy, but a portion of it looked to have been thrown about by a storm some time ago. This forced me to spend some time climbing over smashed trunks and broken limbs, a long and arduous task. I eventually got through and came out onto private property where I got a final look at a rocky mountain before heading down the hill towards and old motor racing track – autodromo.

Overall the hike was amazing with brilliant views and special places. I didn’t end up needing the blanket, but better to have it than not. With only 6 days until I leave for Antarctica, there are a handful of other short hikes I’d like to do if the weather holds up. I’ll see which ones I can fit in.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Hike, South America

Martial Glacier – Martial Mountains – Tierra del Fuego

March 1, 2013 Keyman 3 Comments

The Martial Mountain range – Montes Martial – is a small range of mountains behind the city of Ushuaia. The city itself is nestled in the foothills where the mountains meet the Beagle Canal. While not as jagged and tooth-like as others in the area, the mountain ramparts are still spectacular when seen from below. During winter much of the range is likely covered in snow, but as it is late summer there are only small dots of dirty white along the range, in all places except where I’m headed today.

This mass of snow is above the glacier and is where I’ll be walking with a companion from the hostel. Because Ushuaia isn’t a large city we decided to walk from the hostel to the base of the mountains. We work our way through the confusing mass of streets until we cross a bridge that crosses the Arroyo Buena Esperanza – ‘Arroyo’ being spanish for stream – which cuts through the centre of the city to the sea. On the far side begins the road leading up through the short wood covered foothills.

The road winds its way up the side of the foot hills with the occasional large hotel at the side. The initial trail doesn’t follow the winding road, but takes a more direct route with only the last hundred metres or so following the road to its end at a cafe and chair lift. Above us as we walk is the snow field although it’s sometimes covered in a lazy sweeping low cloud.

The Arroyo runs down the side of the mountain beside the wide rocky trail with the chair lift of the other side. The trail is not overly steep, but is rises constantly with the occasional wood covered ditch used as a water overflow during the summer melt.

The chairlift is almost 1,200 metres in length and ends in a tea house. We cross a small bridge below the tea house and stop for lunch on the side of the stream. A couple of hundred more metres above and the trail splits three ways – to the right it leads to the beginning of a ski slope, to the left the top of a jagged peak (we are forbidden to climb without specialised equipment) and straight on to the glacier. This is where I leave my companion and head on alone – she is due elsewhere and heads back down the trail.

The trail continues beside the stream as I climb between the mountains on either side. After another couple of hundred metres, the wide road-sized trail ends and a very thin trail climbs steeply up the mountain. It doesn’t go far before turning to the left and heading out of view.

I climb the trail and it is indeed steep. It’s not a stepped climb, but an intense scree slope worn by many feet. I have to rest a couple of times on my ascent until I reach a line of orange markers denoting where the trail heads to the left and over a ridge. With this hardest part of the climb down, I head over the ridge and a further hundred metres or so to the base of the glacier. The views from here of the canal, the city and the surrounding mountains are spectacular, and the cloudy day has even given way to blue skies for this moment.

The glacier itself is a patch of snow with water running under it, and there are signs forbidding passage beyond a certain point. There were a couple of groups up there and we all ignore the signs and climb a little further to the base of the snow. 50 metres up I sat on a set of rocky shelves, similar to those I climbed in Tasmania and rest after my two and a half hour climb.

Heading down was easier, as you would expect, with the only difficult part the thin, steep scree trail. After 90 minutes I arrived back at the hostel for a welcoming shower.

Next I head for my first overnight hike in Patagonia, Paso de la Oveja – Pass of the Sheep – which follows a long valley behind the back of Montes Martial.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Destination, South America

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

February 26, 2013 Keyman 2 Comments

Ushuaia is the city at ‘fin del mundo’ – the end of the world. It’s the southernmost city in the world located on Tierra Del Fuego, an island at the southern end of Patagonia shared by Argentina and Chile. Apart from the other islands of southern Patagonia, the only place further south than here is the great White Continent.

The taxi drive from the hostel in Buenos Aires was a rather exciting and scary experience. I shared with a Japanese lady and the pair of us huddled in the back seat as we hurtled headlong along the motorway to the airport. While the lanes were well-marked, the driver didn’t seem to notice them. He shot along at 130km, weaving madly even though the road wasn’t busy. We both felt safer once we arrived at the airport.

The 3 hour and 45 minute flight became an adventure of its own when fog in Ushuaia forced the plane to land at Rio Gallegos, some distance to the north, to sit it out. Thankfully it didn’t take long. The approach to Ushuaia was along the Beagle Channel which separates Isla del Tierra Del Fuego from Isla Navarino to the south. As we descended into the airport the sights were mind-blowing with snow-capped, rocky mountain peaks on either side.

Ushuaia was larger than I expected. I’d pictured a quaint little port township nestled on the edge of the mountains, but it’s actually quite large. Stepping out of the airport the sights were amazing, the city nestled under the mountains on the edge of the channel with the mountains spreading from horizon to horizon.

While I’d been warned not to expect much from the weather, it was fairly clear when I arrived and over the next couple of days, became cloudy and overcast. The mountains usually begun the day covered in cloud, only to clear as the day progressed.

The Ushuaia Freestyle Hostel was a fairly nice place although like most cram as many people into a small amount of space. There were several common rooms including a large TV room and games room on the top level. Mostly the staff were friendly, although one or two had an ‘I don’t really care’ attitude unless you were spanish or an attractive woman. The wireless internet was pretty poor forcing everyone to wait for the two provided computers or go into town. While one of the better hostels in town, it closed down shortly after I was there, becoming part of hotel next door.

Downtown Ushuaia was a lot larger than I expected, the main road being quite long and for the most part has shops along both sides. The city is a little touristy, which isn’t a bad thing, and it actually has a full supermarket, something I wasn’t able to find in central Buenos Aires. There are all sorts of shops here and many more shopkeepers speak english than in Buenos Aires, but I was still unable to find a mini SIM card at one of the many mobile phone stores. Not that I needed to call anyone, it would have been useful to have a steady means to get access to the internet.

Overall, Ushuaia was beautiful and even at the end of summer, it wasn’t that cold. I did get some strange looks walking around in the middle of the day in flip-flops and a t-shirt. Evenings got cooler, but not freezing. It was just chilly enough to be refreshing (for me anyway) but most people were decked out in their warm clothing. I still carried a jacket, just in case, but got hot quickly climbing up the hill to the hostel or when I entered an air-conditioned shop. Winter there would be seriously icy.

I went to Ushuaia with no strict travel plans and just figured it out as I went. I did book one of the Antarctic cruises, for 12 days and it cost me more than I had planned, but when was I going to have the opportunity again? It did mean I had 10 days to kill in Ushuaia.

Here are some of the adventures I had in region:

The 2-day Paso de la Oveja – Sheep Pass which climbs though an idyllic valley and over a mountain pass.
A day walk up to Laguna Esmaralda, a beautiful mountain lake
A climb up to the Martial Glacier, with great views of the city and channel.

Other things to do in the region I didn’t get time for:

Tierra del Fuego National Park for short walks and Lago Roca
Dublin Bar, the southernmost Irish pub in the world
Skiing at Cerro Castor (in winter)
The Maritime Museum of Ushuaia
The 4-5 day Dientes Circuit hike

Next, I headed off on my Antarctic Voyage. On my return from the great white continent, I caught a bus north to Punta Arenas, Chile.

So many adventures to be had. But thus is life.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Destination, South America

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Impressions

February 24, 2013 Keyman 3 Comments

After an exhausting 11-hour flight from Auckland to Santiago de Chile, wandering around the Aeropuerto Internacional, I quickly realised my 8-week spanish course hadn’t prepared me for being in a place where no-one speaks english. The airport wasn’t the most straightforward of places, but I eventually found my way to my connecting flight, not before walking up and down the airport at least a dozen times. Luckily I had plenty of layover time.

As I flew out of the pencil thin country the sight of the many layers of the Andes blew my mind. Alas, my phone battery had died on the long flight so was unable to take photos.

Unlike the rather mountainous and brown Chile, Argentina is flat and plentifully green. Two hours after leaving Santiago de Chile I landed in Buenos Aires, a sprawling city of 13 million people. I booked my bus to the hostel and 90 minutes later I arrived. Being driven around Buenos Aires is an experience. There are lines on the road to help make things orderly but few drivers use them, they jam themselves in willy nilly. On several occasions we nearly clipped another vehicle, a regular occurrence based on the amount of dents many cars have.

I stayed in the America del Sur Hostel in the inner city suburb of San Telmo and found it an excellent hostel. The english speaking staff were always helpful, the beer fridge well stocked, and the wi-fi was good.

It was hot and muggy in Buenos Aires, but since I’d been living in Brisbane I was used to it. I took my opportunity to wander the streets and see what was around. I’d originally planned a bicycle tour so didn’t take many photos, but due to flight changes didn’t end up taking the tour.

While touring Australia a couple of months earlier I’d been notified that my flights to Ushuaia had changed. Two days before the flight I was notified that it’d been changed again, a day earlier. This cost me money to try to contact them, prepaid nights at the hostel and caused me to miss my bicycle tour. This wasn’t the first trouble I’ve had with Orbitz – a US travel company – and do not intend to use them again.

The streets of Buenos Aires are narrow and many are paved. They must hold regular elephant races through the streets as many footpaths are smashed and have jagged concrete sticking up in many places. After a bit of a walk I found a statue, parliament house and the main central city open-air shopping mall.

While there were plentiful police around, I stayed aware of the people around me and a kept my hands near my valuables. Buenos Aires has a dangerous reputation for petty crime with street thugs, pickpockets and muggings. For my first Latin American experience I erred on the side of caution.

The open-air mall was very large, continuing for many blocks and crossing roads – mostly one way streets, where cars race by almost unannounced. There was also the ever-present call of ‘cambio, cambio’ – change, change – from black market foreign money exchangers. I was warned not to use their services even though they can offer some excellent rates, but since they only accept US dollars and the Euro, I had nothing to change anyway.

They have everything you could need in the central city, although the streets are dirty, with rubbish, dog faeces, people sitting around at random spots, old buildings, broken foot paths, broken buildings and the smokers – EVERYONE smokes. But this doesn’t make Buenos Aires a bad place, just mysterious, quaint and smoky.

Then, just as I started to get used to it, it was time to leave. My stay in Buenos was about settling into a foreign speaking country, dealing with the culture shock and getting a few things sorted for my ongoing trip.

Next, I headed to Ushuaia, in the province of Tierra del Fuego – Land of the Fire – the southernmost region of Patagonia.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Australia, Hike

Bogong Wilderness – North Kosciusko National Park – NSW

January 16, 2013 Keyman 3 Comments

Kosciusko National Park in New South Wales is part of the Great Dividing Range that starts in North Queensland and ends at the Grampians in western Victoria. Kosciusko National Park gets its name from Mt Kosciusko the tallest mountain in Australia, which is situated at the southern end of the park. I’ve climbed that mountain twice now, so for my final hike of my South East Australian adventure tour, I’ll be walking around the north end of the park, an area called the Bogong Wilderness.

The Bogong Wilderness is a small region of the park around Bogong Mountain. Not Mt Bogong, which is a different mountain – the tallest in Victoria. The Bogong, from which both mountains get their name, is a dark coloured Australian moth, which was apparently used as a food by the aborigines.

The Bogong Wilderness walk is an overnight hike stretching 42km through forest. It’s a linear hike, so I’m hoping someone will give me a lift back to The Pointy Brick tomorrow afternoon.

Day 1 – Prosser Fire Trail to Ring Creek
On the way to the start point, I passed a lookout and stopped for a photo. A sign at the lookout pointed out some features of the wilderness that I’d be passing in my travels. It was like looking at my hiking route from the side.

I arrived at the beginning of Prosser Fire Trail and donning my pack, headed off into the wilderness.

There’s actually not a lot I can say about the trail. It’s fairly wide and like all fire trails, is designed to allow access for 4WD vehicles into the wilderness in event of a fire. On that note, there are plentiful fires going on throughout New South Wales at the moment, but just not here – I did make sure to check before coming.

A lot of the 20.5km of today’s walk is climbing and I’m well used to that. The trail meanders – a word I have tried to put in every post so far – through the wilderness, ascending and descending, and crossing the occasional creek.

The entire day I’m surrounded by forest, so there’s not much to see. I’m constantly hounded by horse flies that try to bite when I stop for breaks. There are now plentiful dead March Flies littered around the area no doubt providing a food source for the ant populations.

At the end of the day, I arrive at a large grassy patch beside Ring Creek and set up for the night.

Day 2 – Ring Creek to Humes Crossing
Unlike yesterday, most of today is down hill. I have the option to climb Bogong Mountain, but it would mean an hour of bush bashing and with 21km ahead of me, I decided not to. While this may have led to some good views of the surrounding forests, it was also forecast to be hot today, and after the last time, I didn’t want to push it.

Again, as per yesterday, there’s not much to be said about the trail. While I was no longer on the Prosser Fire Trail, I was on another fire trail and it looked pretty much the same.

It wasn’t until the final five kilometres that the views began and they were the reason I’d decided on this hike. Looking down off the mountains you see Blowering Reservoir, a beautiful stretch of lake, that while fairly thin, stretches off to either side. The views are minimal at first, the reservoir seen through the trees, but as I descended they got better.

There’s a catch though… the trail descends very steeply for several kilometres. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but the surface is light scree over hard dirt. This meant every step had to be carefully made else an uncontrolled slip down the steep trail. This is definitely a place where hiking poles come in handy. The descent took me down 800m steeply, so it was a slow process but with growing views.

As I broke the tree line I headed out onto dry grassy plains for the last couple of kilometres. But without the shelter of the trees, I began to feel the heat of the day. As I came down, I crossed paths with several groups of kangaroos. After a rest, I made it to the road and began walking towards my van, which was only 27km away. The heat of the bitumen added to that of the day, plus the one thing you don’t notice when driving…roadkilled kangaroo stinks, and there are plenty of them. I did see an Emu crossing the road, though. First time I’ve seen one in the wild. Of course, then I came to an ‘Emu Crossing’ road sign…

After about 2km – walking on bitumen is fairly speedy – I was picked up and dropped off at The Pointy Brick.

So, here ends my South East Australian adventure. Next, I’m taking a well deserved rest while I wrap up things here in Australia and sell the Pointy Brick. Then it’s off to New Zealand for a couple of weeks before delving into South America, to begin the next leg of my adventure.

Until then,

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Australia, Hike

Mt Bogong Big River Circuit – Alpine National Park – Central Victoria

January 12, 2013 Keyman 2 Comments

Alpine National Park is in the Central Victorian Highlands and is a well known Victorian skiing area. Mt Bogong is the tallest mountain in Victoria at just under 2000m above sea level.

Day 1 – Watchbed Creek Trailhead to Cole Cleve Memorial Hut
This morning I drove, from where I’d been resting for a few days at Mt Beauty (a township not a mountain), up to the Bogong High Plains and Watchbed Creek Trailhead. The Trailhead is about 1500m from the locked gate that is the beginning of the hike. I parked down the bottom as I didn’t deem the road suitable of the Pointy Brick.

I was preparing to walk up the track and add the 1.5km to the already 20.5km for the day when an old lady drove up. She asked about the condition of the road and telling me how she used to come here years ago. She decided to drive it and offered to give me a lift.

From the gate, the trail walks out across the grassy high plains gently climbing to a point where it meets the Australian Alps Walking Trail. The AAWT, as it’s known, is a 650km long trail starting in lower Victoria and crossing all of the country’s highest areas to its end point near Canberra. I might do that another time. Maybe.

Since the highland is above the tree line, the knolls and knobs are the mountains. Sadly, this makes them not as impressive as the rocky Tasmanian mountains. The trail climbed gently through the mountains with the distant sets of rolling mountains coming into view from time to time in all directions. The track is fairly easy to follow as it’s a 4WD track cut across the grass. The side tracks, of which there are plenty, are harder to see. Along the side of the track are snow posts each 3 metres tall.

At a junction the track separates and I follow the less defined one. The other is my return track in a couple of days. After a couple of kilometres the trail heads below the tree line and shortly after I arrive at Roper Hut. The hut is surrounded in the white Snow Gum trees, their high branches standing white against the surrounding greenery. The hut itself was burnt down in the 2003 fires, and has been rebuilt. It looks new on the inside.

The trail from here climbs steeply down 800 metres…

…to Big River, which is probably a lot bigger during wetter seasons, where I stopped for lunch in preparation for the 800 metre climb on the other side back up the mountain.

While the climbing was hard, it wasn’t too torturous but did seem to go on until 90 minutes later I arrived at the top and a junction. The AAWT went one way and I went the other to Cole Cleve Memorial Hut, another well set up hut, this one even had running water, a shower and a connecter to enhance your cellphone reception. This far up, I was expecting to be alone, but there were 3 other groups here.

Day 2 – Cole Cleve Memorial Hut to Big River Ford
While it was slightly cold on the highlands overnight, nothing a pair of socks couldn’t fix.

Today’s walk begins with a steep climb up to Mt Bogong, but as it’s above the tree line the time goes past quickly because you can see how much further you have to go.

Following the line of snow poles, I made my way up the mountain. Climbing in the highlands doesn’t have the same grandeur as some other places.

Yes, I was climbing the tallest mountain in Victoria, but it felt more like I’d just strolled to the top of the neighbourhood grassy hill. There are no rocky fingers or parapets, just a grassy knoll high above everything else. Yup, that’s the high point…

At the top of Mt Bogong is a giant cairn and 360 degree views.

The views are awesome, lines and lines of mountains in all directions…

and one large valley where sits the township of Mt Beauty.

I crossed Hooker Plateau and found a spot for lunch looking along the valley. Then I was off again. The only way down is along Quartz Ridge, and awesome rocky spine. This was the fun part of the day with a deep gully on either side. I climbed along it cautiously.

A few hundred metres later I broke the tree line and followed the trail down through the Snow Gums at times feeling like I was walking in a tree graveyard, the white fingers sticking up with growth around the base.

A couple of tree covered knolls later I came to a junction and followed it for a kilometre to the Big River Fire Trail I’d left yesterday (when I headed to Roper Hut). Another kilometre downhill I came to the Big River at a ford about 8km along from yesterday’s crossing. The fire trail continued on the other side, but there was an open patch of ground that I used as a camping spot. Unlike Cole Cleve Memorial hut, there’s nothing here other than a flattened area of ground and a fire pit. Not even a toilet. I set up the tent and then went down for a dip in the icy river.

Day 3 – Big River Ford to Watchbed Creek Trailhead.
From the ford, the fire trail heads up at a constant slope up to the junction where I left it two days ago. Most of the walk was along the side of the mountains, meandering their way slowly up towards the tree line.

Once at the junction, it was another 2 and a half hours retracing my steps back across the highlands until I arrived at the locked gate. This time there was no old lady to drive me, so I walked down to The Pointy Brick.

While the hike wasn’t as grand as others I’ve done, I still felt like I achieved a feat. Next, after a couple of days off, I go to the Kosciusko National Park, home of the tallest mountain in Australia, in the highlands of New South Wales. Mt Kosciusko is actually at the southern end of the National Park, but as I’ve already climbed it twice, I’m walking an area called the Bogong Wilderness at the northern end. This is the last hike of my South East Australian adventure, then after a short break, I head to Argentina to continue my travels.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Australia, Destination

Bachan Caves – Snowy River National Park

January 12, 2013 Keyman 1 Comment

As a planned rest stop after Wilsons Promontory I stopped off at Bachan to check out the caves. I hadn’t organised adventure caving, so was going to just do a standard tour.

There are two cave tours at Buchan. They were discovered in the late 1800s when looking for cave systems to match the tourism of New South Wales.

Both tours had a full compliment of 25 on them, so were rather busy and noisy.

The Fairy Cave

Roof formations:

Columns forming:

Stalactite garden:

Stone ribbons… With a light on the other side they can be seen through. Also called bacon strips.

A frisky floor:

The Royal Cave

Rock ears:

Rock straws forming:

Pure calcium carbonate – ancient fossils – form the wax coloured formations:

Crystal structures:

Redness means iron deposits:

Next, I’m off to Mt Beauty for a couple of days of rest before climbing Mt Bogong – tallest mountain in Victoria – on the Bogong high plains.

The Cave Wanderer

Australia, Hike

Wilsons Promontory – Victoria

January 12, 2013 Keyman 2 Comments

Wilsons Promontory is the southern most tip of mainland Australia and is also known as the South-East Cape. Located about 200km south east of Melbourne, it’s a common holiday destination. In fact, it’s so popular, each year there’s a ballot for the many camping spots at Tidal River, the township on The Prom.

There are several walking tracks around The Prom on both the north and south sides. I’ll be walking the south side, merging two 2-day hikes into a 3-day one.

Day 1 – Telegraph Saddle to Little Waterloo Bay
I parked The Pointy Brick in the Overnight Hiker’s car park just outside Tidal River and prepared for the walk. A shuttle bus leaves Tidal River via the car park every 15 minutes, so when I was ready, I waited and was transported up the hill to Oberon car park at Telegraph Saddle.

Originally, I was going to walk across The Prom to Sealer’s Cove and around the bay working my way to Little Waterloo Bay, but since the floods of May 2011 – 19 months ago – the track has been closed. I discovered this during the week before and planned accordingly although this meant my first day was shorter and easier.

I headed down the centre of the southern end of The Prom via a gravel road. The road continues all the way to the Lighthouse, which is tomorrow’s lunch destination. I walked along the road gently downhill for about 6km through the mountains.

The mountains here are different to those of Tasmania, they’re mainly tree covered and those that aren’t are large smooth boulder covered mounds. In fact, one of the mountains is called Boulder Mountain.

The turn off to Waterloo Bay is a sandy track that meanders gently through a gap in the mountains and past a tree covered rocky outcrop called The Mussolini Rocks, but I don’t see the likeness.

Eventually the track arrived at Waterloo Bay – a beach of pristine white sands and azure blue water.

Little Waterloo Bay is a kilometre away on the other side of a jutting rocky outcrop. When I arrived, I discovered many people were already here. I found a spot, set up my tent and went to the beach where I sat reading on a set of boulders.

Day 2 – Little Waterloo Bay to Roaring Meg
Many people had departed before me this morning, most heading around the coast towards Sealer’s Cove (the cove isn’t closed, only the trail to it from Telegraph Saddle).

I walked back to the junction and then along the beach for a kilometre. Sand is perhaps one of the hardest surfaces to walk on and it’s slow going. At the end of the beach the trail headed up the mountain on a sandy path. The constant climbing was a change from none at all yesterday. There were a couple of good vantage points as I walked.

At the top of the mountain the trail flattened out giving some good views out to the south and the small rocky islands in the distance.

I rested on a large smooth boulder before heading off again, with my aim to be at the lighthouse by lunchtime. The trail began slowly downhill before climbing again around the sides of two other mountains. It cut through the forest and along a steep cliff line before arriving at the junction to the lighthouse.

I hid my pack and with day pack I made my way downhill towards a set of Remarkable Rocks similar to those I’d seen on Kangaroo Island.

To get to the lighthouse, there’s a very steep concrete road which was used to transport supplies from the beach below. You can book to stay at the lighthouse, but I hadn’t so was just visiting. While I was there, I ran into the ranger who offered me a jug of ice water! Real treated water and ice, it’s almost like having a pub on the trail, just without beer.

After lunch, I returned to my pack and continued on. For the first hour, I climbed around the mountains at the southern edge of The Prom working my way up to the plateau. After a couple of flat kilometres, there was a series of steep ups and downs before finally crossing a stream via a wooden bridge and into Roaring Meg, a two level camping area.

I set up my tent at the bottom near the stream before being invited for a mug of tea with a couple of older gents who were already camping.

Day 3 – Roaring Meg to Tidal River
Today was forecast to be a hot one, so I was glad my route took me via Oberon Bay beach. The trail headed me briefly uphill before it met the road and then wound its way back to the junction I’d left to get to Waterloo Bay.

On the way down from the mountains, I came across a foot long grass snake in the middle of the road. I stopped for a brief chat as it slithered across.

The heat was already in the air as I arrived at Halfway Hut and decided to stop for morning tea. I was sitting on a log at the side of an empty campsite when I looked up to see a metre long Tiger Snake slithering not a metre away. I, of course, followed it but it went into the brush before I could get a photo. Snakes aren’t scary and they generally only bite as a defensive measure, usually when you stand on them. There’s a trick to snakes, don’t stand on them.

Twenty minutes later I came to the turn off and headed west towards Oberon Bay. The road turned to sand and became hard going. Thankfully there were plentiful tree covered areas for me to stop in the 5km to the beach as it was starting to become very hot.

At the end of the trail was the beach, not as picturesque as Waterloo Bay, but it was water. I walked 500m to the end before stripping off and getting in. The water was beautiful but by the time I got back to my clothes and dressed I was sweating again. I ate a quick lunch before setting off on the final 7km around the bays to town.

By now, the heat was draining as I reached Little Oberon Bay and crossed it. On the far end, there’s a dune to climb to get back to the trail. The effort took it from me and I had to rest at the end, almost throwing up from the over exertion in the heat. It was only 4km to go and I discovered my water was hot. I sat in some shade at the top of the dune for about 30 minutes trying to dry off and recover. When I was ready, I headed on again. There was more climbing to be done before the end and I dragged myself 500m at a time before having to stop for a rest and cool off.

I came around the point and could see Norman Beach in front of Tidal River which gave me hope, so I staggered on. I stopped once before the beach, once at the beach and once on the way to the car park. I was relieved when I finally got to the Pointy Brick. After changing, I headed to Tidal River for a cold drink, and ice block and then a swim in the sea.

It turned out to be 44 degrees that day. I decided to take a few days off before my next hike – Mt Bogong and Big River in the Central Victorian Highlands.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Australia, Hike

Overland Track Afterword – The Huts of the Overland Track

January 8, 2013 Keyman Leave a comment

While I was planning for the Overland Track I had trouble finding collective information about the huts and camping grounds on the trail. Some I didn’t go to so don’t have any information on. Most other huts are for emergency only.

Overall, All Main Huts:

Sleep at least 24
Have untreated tank water
Have one composting toilet (usually two)
NO TOILETS HAVE TOILET PAPER (bring your own)
NO RUBBISH BINS PROVIDED (Take your rubbish with you)
Have plentiful camping spots for tents
Have gas/coal heaters for cooler times (some only work at temps below 10 degrees)
Have cooking tables inside the hut
Have bookable group camping platforms
Have a no open fire policy

Camp 1: Waterfall Valley
There are two huts at Waterfall valley:

Old Hut

Is 100m from New Hut.
Sleeps 8: two double bunks each sleeping two
Has a separate toilet 50m further away
No tank water
Has Group camping platforms above the waterfall
Most camping is on the grass around the hut

New Hut

Sleeps 24: 2 platform bunks, each platform sleeps 6
There are two tables and 2 cooking benches
Plenty of room for sleepers on the floor in wet weather
Water tanks
Twin externally located composting toilets
Bed platforms are in same room as cooking area
Gas heater
Separate room for wet weather gear

Camp 2: Lake Windemere

There is only one hut
Sleeps 24. 4 double bunks and 1 quad bunk
Sleeping room is separate from cooking room
Gas heater
4 cooking tables
Water tanks
Has Group camping platforms
Twin externally located composting toilets
Camping is on platforms only
Small amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary

Camp 3: Pelion Plains

Sleeps 60 (theoretically 72)
6 separate sleeping rooms
3 double bunks in each room (theoretically 12 people per room)
Bedrooms are separated from each other and cooking area by doors
6 cooking tables in massive room
Cooking room can be separated in half by roller door
2 gas heaters
Water Tanks
Has Group camping platforms
Twin externally located composting toilets
Camping is on platforms only
Huge amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary

Camp 4: Kia Ora hut

Sleeps 24: Has 2 platform bunks, each platform sleeps 6
Bed platforms are in same room as cooking area
Coal heater
2 cooking tables
Water tanks
Has Group camping platforms
Twin externally located composting toilets
Camping is on platforms only
Very small amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary

Emergency Hut: Du Cane Hut

Sleeps 12: Has platform bunks, each platform sleeps 6
Bed platforms are in same room as cooking area
Single externally located composting toilets
Very small amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary

Camp 5: Bert Nichols hut

Sleeps 36: 3 rooms each with platform bunk. Platforms sleep 6
Bedrooms closed by doors
Cooking room has 5 cooking tables and two cooking benches
Separate room for wet weather gears
2 water tanks
Has Group camping platforms
Twin externally located composting toilets
Camping is on platforms only
Coal heater
Huge amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary

Side Camp: Pine Valley

Sleeps 24: 2 platform bunks, each platform sleeps 6

Bed platforms are in same room as cooking area
Coal heater
2 cooking tables
Water tanks
Single externally located composting toilet
Camping is on grass only
Very small amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary

Camp 6: Kia Ora hut

Sleeps 24: 2 platform bunks, each platform sleeps 6
Bed platforms are in same room as cooking area
Coal heater
1 cooking table
Water tanks
Externally located composting toilets
Camping is on platforms only
Very small amount of room for sleeping on floor where necessary
Radio to communicate with Lake St Clair Information Centre ferry
Has resident rats

Camp 6.5: Echo Point Hut

Sleeps 8: Has two double bunks each sleeping two
Unsure if toilet
Unsure if tank water
Camping is on sand at side of lake
Has resident rats

I hope this is of some use to someone out there

Australia, Hike

Overland Track Day 7 – Pine Valley to Cynthia Bay

January 8, 2013 Keyman Leave a comment

I’d planned to climb the Acropolis this morning – one of the last climbable mountain on the trail – but rain had fallen all night. My plans also had me staying on the trail one more day, but with the rain, I decided to walk out. So, packing the wet tent, I headed off across the pair of suspension bridges to the junction, then across a river…

It did not take long to get to Narsassus Hut, where I’d planned to stay the night. I stopped for a bite of lunch then pushed on.

The lake quickly came into view as I walked through the forest along its side, walking around large muddy patches as I went.

Two hours on from Narsassus hut I came to Echo Point Hut, and called for the ferry. Half an hour later I stood on the wharf at the end of the Overland Track.

It wasn’t how I’d intended to finish, but with the changeable nature of Tasmanian weather, it was for the best.

Afterwards, I enjoyed a hot shower and a steak dinner with the Brits as we chatted about our experiences.

Overall, I enjoyed the hike in all of its different parts, and while I’d have preferred more open spaces and less forests, I’d still recommend this hike to anyone wanting to get into the sport. It has something for everyone, beginners and experienced walkers, allowing you to chose the difficulty of most days as you go.

Next, I drive back across Tasmania, catch the ferry back to Melbourne and head to Wilsons Promontory, also know as the South-east Cape, the southernmost tip of Mainland Australia. There I’m back into my boots and hitting a three day trail.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Cutting a trail around the world, one country at a time…