Hey gang - just letting you know that Vee and I finished the Overland and Three Capes. We are back home a week early though unfortunately as Vee’s mum had a heart attack and we decided it would be best if we were back home, just in case.
Anyway! The Overland was amazing. When we arrived into Tassie it started raining a bit which was good for the fires. As we dropped off our car at Lake St Clair and loaded our gear into the mini bus, it started raining heavily… I am not exagerating here, but this was some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen. As we descended into Queenstown (strange place!), rivers and waterfalls were running heavily down the rock face of the surrounding mountains. It was a sight to see, but unfortunately it triggered my anxiety and the rest of the journey I started feeling sick and just having unusual thoughts about it all. That night I had to try multiple things to calm myself down but I had to resort to taking a sleeping tablet to pass the time until we started the next day.
As we woke, some people may have seen an instagram story… it was still pissing down. We got to the Ranger station - signed in and were shuttled off to the start of the track at Ronny Creek. Within 5 minutes of starting the Overland, we were soaked! What a welcome. But then the excitement kicked in and it became fun. Once we climbed to the top of Marion’s Lookout we were hit with gusts of wind up to 100km which was making walking hard and toppling us over. Then the sleet started and we covered up all of our exposed skin to stop the constant stinging of the sleet.
This continued for most of the day and we took shelter as much as we could, the first was Kitchen Hut where we had lunch, the second was a few kms after in an emergency shelter. Because of this, all side trips were out of the question. No Cradle Mountain, and no Barn Bluff.
We got to the first hut where there were only a small amount of people already. We decided to stay in the hut that night (something that would be a pattern at the end of each day - we only set up camp once on the 6 nights were out there for). As each walker and group came in, we welcomed them and helped them get warm and sort their stuff out for them. By the end of the night, everyone had arrived and new friendships were being made.
The next morning Vee and I were the first out of the hut and we were welcomed with 2-3 inches of snow during the course of the day. Our footprints being the first to make their way along the boardwalks. The sun came out every now and then… this day was may most memorable day in Tasmania. We didn’t see much of the surrounding landscape, we were in white out conditions most of the time so again, any side trips were put off (no Lake Will).
Once we got to the next hut - all of the tent platforms still had snow on them so we grabbed a spot inside the hut… so did everyone else, we all crammed into a small hut and this was a blessing in disguise. The group we started with all bonded, everyone just got along and stories were being swapped. People were sharing whisky and good times were being had. It just made the whole experience so much better.
The third day, it rained for most of the day - a much longer day to Mt Pelion hut and halfway through I started feeling a head cold coming on. That night I woke up in a fever and it just added to the challenge of it all.
Anyway, thats enough for now. Check out this video that one of the girls made of the experience, it will show some of the conditions we were dealt with. Vee helps with the commentary for most of it as well, it’s good viewing (in my opinion).
It really sounds super epic… You guys can really go forth and tackle a lot more stuff in confidence now! Winter Fed Peak?