bushwalking bliss

Tasmania's Overland Track didn't disappoint...I thought the weather and the sheer toughness would dominate my first impressions of the Overland, particularly because I'd cut my teeth on much easier tracks on mainland Australia and New Zealand.

(Click on the photos to embiggen.)
However it was the the sheer majesty of the landscapes which took my breath away. Every day, every few moments a new vista would appear; the crumbling dolerite towers of Cradle Mountain; the mirrored waters of Dove Lake; the wide plains of button grass shimmering silvery in the breeze; the multitudes of wildflowers from palest pink to fuschia, from butter yellow to a blaze of gold; moss covered beech trunks within silent rainforsts; alpine plains dotted with hundreds of lakes ...

 

They say track work has improved walking conditions exponentially in recent decades, but the Overland is still a multi-day trek through a wilderness area in a region with dramatically changeable weather. In 6 days we had sun, rain, snow, sleet and then more of the same the next day. We crossed rivers, climbed mountains, slogged through ankle deep and sometimes up to knee deep mud, picked our way over rocky paths, ankle breaking roots,  and boulders and considered ourselves spoiled when we came to boardwalk sections....all the while loving every. single. moment.

A million photos - these are just from the first day. Happy to be home, but oh so happy to have experienced this most wonderful, precious, very very special world heritage Australian treasure.