The Overland Trail - Soulful Concepts
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The Overland Trail

Need to know

  • Best time to travel: October–April
  • Tour duration: 7 days
  • Group size: 10–12 travellers
  • Challenge grade: 4/5
  • Accommodation: Twin share rooms in park huts and 3-star hotels
  • Minimum age: 18 (younger ages considered on application)

Tour from AUD: Available on request

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    Trip at a glance

    Traverse the iconic Overland Track, while retreating each evening in one of the five private huts nestled away in the remarkable World Heritage-listed park. Over six days, experience the rare beauty and diversity of Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair National Park. This extraordinary World Heritage area features a huge diversity of flora and fauna; glacial lakes, rainforests, and craggy peaks, which sit side by side with wombats, echidnas, wallabies and Tasmanian devils.

    Expert guides will lead you across this ancient landscape, taking you all the way to Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest freshwater lake. At the end of each day, retreat to a hot shower, a sumptuous three course meal with a glass of Tasmanian wine and a comfortable bed.

    On this exciting challenge, not only will you experience the pristine beauty of Cradle Mountain, but this is your chance to travel with purpose and share once-in-a-lifetime memories with like-minded travellers while experiencing Tasmania’s breathtaking landscape. You’ll walk away with treasured moments and the knowledge that you have been a part of something life-changing!

    Give back

    We know travel is better when you can give back as much as you get. That’s why we have designed our trips around contributing, supporting and participating in local projects and community initiatives that have a positive social and environmental impact.

    Each of our tours provide a unique way to get up close and personal with the destination and incorporate a fundraising target or donation into the travel costs, which enables travellers to connect, give back, and travel with purpose.

    If you are a charity, corporate or a private group interested in the Overland Trail please email us at info@soulfulconcepts.com

    Itinerary

    Day 1: Welcome to Launceston
    Welcome to Launceston, Tasmania! After landing make your way to the hotel and check in. The rest of the day you are free to relax or to explore the city’s historic streetscapes and heritage estates. Launceston is a vibrant hub for food and wine and culture. There's also a touch of wilderness with Cataract Gorge just a few minutes walk from the city centre. 

    Accommodation: Hotel Grand Chancellor Launceston

    Day 2: Cradle Valley to Barn Bluff Hut
    Today we depart our hotel at 6:40am sharp, please make sure you’ve had breakfast prior to departure. 

    Following our welcome briefing and a gear check, we journey to Waldheim in Cradle Valley. We then set off on the track by 11am. By lunch time we have walked through our first section of ancient temperate rainforest, have witnessed the dramatically glacially carved Crater Lake and the steepest section of the whole Overland Track is behind us.

    After lunch, we carry on with steps leading through steeper sections, reaching Marion’s Lookout (1,250m) after roughly an hour. The reward, providing weather conditions allow, is staggering with views of Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake. Every uphill step is worth it! We continue around the base of Cradle Mountain along the edge of a spectacular glacial cirque before dropping into Waterfall Valley, where our private hut awaits, beneath towering Barn Bluff.

    After several hours walking over a sometimes windy over exposed alpine plateau, it's a welcomed retreat to arrive at our cabin for the night.

    Accommodation: Barn Bluff Hut

    Meals: B,L,D

    Trekking distance: 12km (7 hours)



    Day 3: Barn Bluff Hut to Pine Forest Moor Hut
    Today we’ll be walking across plains where glaciers once rested, slowly moving and scouring out shallow tarns. Although an undulating trek with a few sections of exposed moorland, there are no significant climbs today. We take our time venturing across vast button grass plains where ancient pencil pines fringe alpine tarns. Rising from the moors, the peaks of Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff are behind us. Look ahead, and the stately Mt Pelion West comes into view. Those looking for an additional challenge today, can take a side trip to Lake Will. Hugged by pencil pines and with its narrow quartzite sand rim, Lake Will is striking. Keep an eye out for gravel mounds along the way, remnants of Joseph Will’s coal mining efforts in the 1890s. This evening, at Pine Forest Moor Hut, enjoy our outdoor dining setting with views out to Mt. Oakleigh in fine weather.

     

    Accommodation: Pine Forest Moor Hut

    Meals: B,L,D

    Trekking distance: 12km (6 hours)



    Day 4: Pine Forest Moor Hut to Pelion Hut
    This morning we venture through gorgeous myrtle-beech rainforest as we descend around the base of Mt Pelion West, down to the Forth River before it plunges into Lemonthyme Valley. We’ll take a break at Frog Flats beside the Forth River, which happens to be the Overland Track’s lowest point. From here, it’s a gentle ascent back out of the valley. We leave thick Eucalypt forest behind as the trees part to reveal Pelion Plains. Uninterrupted views of Mt Oakleigh’s dolerite spires now come into play. The Pelion Plains area offers a host of side trips, hugged by mountainous terrain. There are excellent swimming holes, peaceful nooks to rest and abandoned copper mines to explore. Come nightfall, we’ll be nestled amongst dry sclerophyll forest at Pelion Hut.

     

    Accommodation: Pelion Hut

    Meals: B,L,D

    Trekking distance: 10km (5 hours)



    Day 5: Pelion Hut to Kia Ora Hut
    Today begins with a climb of almost 300m to Pelion Gap through beautiful rainforest. Pelion Gap is a plateau stretching between Mt Pelion East and Mt Ossa, affording fantastic views to the south as well as back to the north. There’s plenty of time for side trips from Pelion Gap including the option to summit Mt Ossa. At 1,617m, it is Tasmania’s highest peak. There are other less challenging climbs, including Mt Doris. From Pelion Gap it's a further two hours of gentle downhill to the hut. Today, choose to keep things relaxed or challenge yourself to stand atop the island’s highest point. Once we arrive at Kia Ora Hut, enjoy a Tasmanian drop with spectacular views out to Cathedral Mountain.

     

    Accommodation: Kia Ora Hut

    Meals: B,L,D

    Trekking distance: 7km (4hrs) Optional summit trips 



    Day 6: Kia Ora Hut to Windy Ridge Hut
    Today is about icy-flowing waterfalls. We depart Kia Ora Hut and walk about an hour to Du Cane, where a 1910-built hut remains from the long-gone days of animal trapping. Du Cane Hut is a fine spot to rest, surrounded by native gardens and overlooked by the spectacular Du Cane Range. From here, we wander through some of the oldest forests in the National Park, with King Billy pines as old as 2,000 years. Now, we are above the Mersey River, which descends deeply northward towards Bass Strait, spilling down cliff faces. There are three major sets of waterfalls in the area. We aim to visit one or more of these, choosing the best to have lunch beside. During the afternoon, we make our way over Du Cane Gap, then descend beside the spectacular Falling Mountain to Windy Ridge Hut. Tonight is a celebratory one, our last evening on the track.

    Accommodation: Windy Ridge Hut

    Meals: B,L,D

    Trekking distance: 9km (5hrs)



    Day 7: Windy Ridge Hut to Lake St Clair - Launceston
    Lake St Clair is Australia’s deepest natural lake and as with most of this area, has been shaped by

    glaciers. The walk is mainly through cool temperate eucalypt forest and bird song is all around. We arrive

    at Narcissus at the northern end of Lake St Clair in time for lunch before boarding the Ida Clair cruise

    boat, for the spectacular 17km cruise back to Cynthia Bay. There is a visitor centre at Cynthia Bay, where you’ll have about half an hour to look around and perhaps grab an ice cream! The return trip to Quamby Estate is through the trout fishing mecca of the highland lakes, descending the rugged Western Tiers to the broad plains of the Northern Midlands and passing through the rural townships of Cressy and Longford.

    You will return to Quamby Estate at approximately 5.00pm on the last day, for afternoon tea and a glass of wine. There will be a courtesy bus departing for Launceston at 6.00pm, which will go via the airport at approximately 6.30pm, arriving back in Launceston at about 7.00pm*. 

    Meals: B,L

    Trekking distance: 9km (5hrs)

     

     *Please speak with the Soulful travel team if you would like to extend your stay in Tasmania. 



    • What's included:
    • Return transfers between Launceston and the start & finish of the walk
    • Accommodation (twin share) each evening in one of the park’s five private huts and the Hotel Grand Chancellor
    • All meals and non-alcoholic beverages, plus a limited selection of Tasmanian wines
    • National Park and Overland Track passes
    • Boat transfer across Lake St Clair (on Day 7 only)
    • Use of a backpack and Gore-tex jacket for the duration of the walk
    • Sleeping bags, pillows and a comfortable mattress at each hut
    • Sleeping sheet and pillowcase to carry with you
    • Two qualified guides for the duration of the walk
    • What's not included:
    • Airport transfers
    • Airfares
    • Single supplement
    • Optional tours and excursions
    • Tips and gratuities (optional)
    • Personal travel insurance and ambulance cover
    • Items of a personal nature
    • Other services not listed in the inclusions column

    * Travellers are responsible for valid visas throughout the duration of the trip

    View full itinerary  
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    Need to know

    • Best time to travel: October–April
    • Tour duration: 7 days
    • Group size: 10–12 travellers
    • Challenge grade: 4/5
    • Accommodation: Twin share rooms in park huts and 3-star hotels
    • Minimum age: 18 (younger ages considered on application)

    Tour from AUD: Available on request

      Get in touch with us

      Fill in your details and we’ll get back to you soon

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