Photo: Diego Delso ↗THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL
Six days across the Tasmanian plateau.
The Overland Track crosses the Cradle Mountain plateau from north to south, through buttongrass moorland, tree ferns, eucalypt forest and past Australia's deepest lake. It runs through the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and in season is walked one way only, under a quota of 34 departures a day.
- Cradle Mountain above Dove Lake
- Mount Ossa, 1,617 m, the highest point in Tasmania
- The Ferguson and Hartnett falls in rainforest
- Lake St Clair, the deepest lake in Australia
With old friends or new ones
Join a group or arrange a separate departure for your own team. Before travelling, we get to know each other, discuss everyone's experience and find suitable dates. You can also prepare together.
DAY BY DAY
Your daily itinerary.
A provisional itinerary. Weather, group readiness and local conditions may change the order and length of the stages.
- DAY 1 · Packing and briefing
Launceston, the group meets
We meet in Launceston, buy food and lay it out day by day. Pack weights and stoves are checked: open fires are banned on the track. An evening briefing on park rules and leave-no-trace.
Overnight: Hotel in Launceston - DAY 2 · 11 km, 600 m of ascent
Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley
Two hours by bus to Cradle Mountain and registration at the gate. Up the boardwalk to Marions Lookout (1,250 m) above Dove Lake, then a traverse of the plateau to Waterfall Valley. Around 11 km.
Overnight: Tents at Waterfall Valley - DAY 3 · 8 km across moorland
Moorland to Lake Windermere
An easy 8 km across open buttongrass moor dotted with tarns. In good weather there is the option of Barn Bluff (1,559 m). A swim in Windermere for the hardy.
Overnight: Tents at Lake Windermere - DAY 4 · 17 km, bog and forest
The Forth valley to Pelion
The longest day at 17 km: down into the Forth valley, a stretch of boggy boardwalk and quiet eucalypt forest. New Pelion hut sits in a clearing looking at Mount Oakleigh.
Overnight: Tents at Pelion - DAY 5 · 14 km, a 1,617 m summit
Pelion Gap and Mount Ossa
Up to Pelion Gap (1,126 m) and from there a side trip to Mount Ossa (1,617 m), the highest point in Tasmania, three hours there and back over boulders. Down to Kia Ora, about 14 km in all.
Overnight: Tents at Kia Ora - DAY 6 · 10 km, waterfalls
Waterfalls and Windy Ridge
A rainforest day: side paths to the D'Alton, Ferguson and Hartnett falls, then past the old Du Cane hut. We finish at Windy Ridge below the walls of the Du Cane Range, around 10 km.
Overnight: Tents at Windy Ridge - DAY 7 · 9 km and a ferry
Narcissus and the lake ferry
A final 9 km through eucalypt forest to the Narcissus jetty at the north end of Lake St Clair. The ferry takes an hour across a lake 167 metres deep to Cynthia Bay, then it is on to Hobart.
Overnight: Hotel in Hobart - DAY 8 · Transfer
Hobart and departure
A free morning: the Salamanca market on Saturdays, the MONA museum by ferry, or the drive up Mount Wellington. The airport transfer in the afternoon.
Overnight: —
Included in the estimated price
Hotels in Launceston and Hobart, breakfast
Tents on the platforms and park hut space
Food for all six days on the track
An Australian guide and group kit
The Overland Track fee and park entry
The Lake St Clair ferry from Narcissus
Transfers from Launceston and on to Hobart
Not included in the price
Flights to the meeting point
Personal travel insurance and visas
Personal equipment
Single-room supplements and personal expenses
Flights into Launceston and out of Hobart
Tent, sleeping bag and stove hire
Dinners in Launceston and Hobart
YOUR PREPARATION
Arrive ready for the route.
You carry everything: tent, bag and six days of food, which makes for a 15 to 17 kg pack. Two months out Ivan sets long days at full weight and singles out walking on wet boardwalk, which here is genuinely slippery.
Prepare with IvanROUTE QUESTIONS
BEFORE WE MEET ON THE TRAIL
What to prepare in advance
- Broken-in trekking footwear and a suitable daypack
- Rain gear, an insulating layer and spare socks
- Poles, if you are used to them
- Personal items within the agreed luggage allowance and suited to the accommodation
Once we choose a date, we agree on the equipment list, meeting point and transfer time. Please wait until the programme is confirmed before booking flights.