South Coast Track Wedding Week Adventure

The South Coast Track is an unbelievable world heritage wilderness that sits on the southern tip of the Island of Tasmania, staring Antarctica straight in the face. Antarctica is too far away to see but you can certainly experience the weather that comes out of the Southern Ocean on this track. This track is known for its difficulty, hazards and extreme weather all tempered by the gorgeous and exillerating experience of the place.


I met Prue, one of K and D's friends from Darwin, on the day that we flew out on a very small plane to Melaluka. You have to either fly in ot sail in to get to the beginning of this track. There is a small airstrip that was built by a pioneer bushman where we landed with Tom, our pilot. There was a storm over the mainland wich meant that we had a bumpy ride along the coast and some amazing airials of our future track.


We flew in on Saturday, October 13th and K and D's wedding was on the next Saturday at 2:00 pm, at wich time I am to speak about community. The track is said to take 6-8 days so we have to hustle 86 kilometers up and down mountians (the Ironbounds and the South Cape Range) through horrendous mud up to your hips, through sand and rocky beaches and up waterfalls and through jungles. I think we can do it, with gusto and hitch back to Houonville for the wedding.


Prue and I got started the evening that we landed and hiked for 4 hours to the first beach and campsite at Cox Bight in the dark and wet night. This was fairly sheltered by the trees and we could only hear the violent wind and rain that fell all night long. We woke up and were ready for the day.


Prue is an avid bushwalker and marine conservationist who had tried this walk before from Port Arthur. Unfortunately, she and her partner were unable to complete the track and had to fly out from Melaluka. This was her second attempt. We had figured how long we had to hike and by what day to make it out in time. I was told by a colleague of Kristins at Hobart Uni that we had to be past a certain river crossing called Louisa Creek by the end of Tuesday or we should turn around and take our chances waiting for a plane to take us back to Hobart.


We were making great time in along the track leading up to the Ironbound range, a 900 meter steep ascent and then down into a steep jungle rainforest. From Cox Bight to the other side of the Ironbounds is 30 kilometers. Most hikers make a day out of the Ironbound Range from Louisa Creek, about a 10 hour day. This was our plan. To make it to Louisa Creek on Monday Night, cross, camp and climb. This is where we ran into the first and potentially disasterous challenge.


Since it had been raining and misting for days, there was a tremendous amount of water in the system, this was afterall, the wet season. Prue and I made a good pace to Faraway Creek, a few river crossings before we reached Louisa Creek. The water looked immediately dangerous. It was flowing far to fast and there was no rope for crossing that we could see. After we put down our packs and checked the area a little closer, we found a "Danger, High Water" sign about a half meter under water. We then realized there was an entire set of steps under water, leading to the place where you are to cross. This was a huge problem. There was no way to cross without being flushed down the river and strained by the next tree, which we could see sticking out of the water. After a short time, we could hear a flapping in the water, only to discover the rope that is used to cross (at shoulder level) emerging from the water. This was a good sign, but also a signal as to how deep the water really was, and how long we might have to wait. We reckoned the water would have to drop 6 feet before we could cross. We sat, ate and watched the water move down from the marker that we jammed into the side of the bank. The water was draining quickly.

(This story will take some time, So I'm going to write it as I find time) Stay tuned.

Mt. Wellington, Mt. Field, Tall Trees and the Groundling Swallet

This last week was one of the most amazing. I hiked for 9 hours on the side of mount Wellington which is the big mountain that hosts Hobart at it's feet. I walked up from Kristin and Darren's new place on Huon Road. I walked for 9 hours and only ran into two people and a classroom field trip. I took some pictures of the Dolerite coulombs that is common as a geological feature around Tasmania. According to geologists, these coulombs were formed around the time when Gondwanaland (the supercontinent) broke apart. I turns out that Tasmania is more similar and was once connected to the antarctic continent at some time in the past. You can see the dolerite in the pictures of the Organ Pipes Trail.

This last weekend, we went out to a music event called Rectango here in Hobart. It was a beautiful scene of people of all ages dancing to some island marimba music.

The next day, Kristin, Amy and I went up to Mt. Field. This was a stunning environment. We trudged up into a snow covered mountain with a pink boogie board and another sled. This mountain looked like a half prehistoric jungle half ice age climate that just boggled my mind. I couldn't believe that there was a ski lift operating at the top with a few shacks to warm up in. We got to the top, had a delicious lunch care of Amy, and sledded down the mountain. It was a great hike.

When we reached the bottom, the temperature heats up and the jungle emerges. This area is where the Ents sequences were filmed in Lord of the Rings in a forest called the Styx. This was one of the most amazing forests I had ever been lucky enough to step foot in. There are some of the tallest trees in the world there. Humongous eucalyptus trees were spread out with moss and epiphytes growing all over them. We took the tall trees walk and then went to one of the most magical places I've ever been, the Groundling Swallet. This was a river that flowed through this lush forest and down into a cave. Magnificent.

This week, I worked on the place at Mountain River in preparation for the wedding on Saturday. I'm also preparing for a 6 day hike called the South West Track in Tassie. It will be quite an adventure. Wish me luck!