Penguin Cradle Trail to Gunns Plains

[BenCo]

HI All,
Thanks to all previous contributions regarding the PCT, this site was a great help in planning my re-entry to walking after a 20 or so year break - so here is my little give back !

I had been planning to re-do an old favourite of Mt Ossa via Arm River but the Easter weather forecast was not that inviting and taking into account the teenagers in the group we opted for the warmer coastal climate.
As it turned out we were one less from the start with one of the youngsters going down with a cold just a few days before our planned Easter Saturday start date so it was just me (40+), the eldest daughter and nephew (both 16).

We over-packed a tad (being a bit cautious) but got though the first day OK, especially once we hit the old tramway along the Leven River edge - a very pleasant afternoon.
The second day was a bit tougher with more climbing and overgrown sections of track but thanks to good maps, a decision to leave our big packs at Purtons (aka Foggs) Flats and taking just the essential day packs onto Gunns Plains we enjoyed another great day - albeit the weather turned a bit nasty toward the end.

A couple of recommendations for anyone else heading this way:
Maps & notes
- Get the 1:25,000 "Dial Range Recreation and Management Map" (published by Foresty Tas and available at the Penguin visitor information centre - but not many other places ?)
- The North West Walking Club track notes (on their web-site http://www.nwwc.org.au/ is also a must)
- The famous Chapman Bushwalking in Tasmania book is also a great reference
As the track is very ill-defined in some areas, good notes, maps and being able to use them is a must


Day 1 - Penguin - Hardstaff Creek
- The Keddies Creek section is steep, slippery and over grown - proceed with caution and probably not friendly enough for younger kids.
- If you are taking younger kids, consider starting at the end of Dial Rd and going through to Hardstaff Creek (and drive out via Purtons Road)
- Fishing in the Leven with a simple hand-line and worm proved to be very successful - 2 nice pan size trout for tea within 30min of getting the line wet
- Camping at Hardstaff Creek is good - no facilities but a nice sheltered area in the bush, good water, plenty of firewood etc (but check for fire bans in summer !)

Day 2 - Hardstaff Creek to Gunns Plains
- As above, if you are only doing the first 2 days of the longer walk through to Cradle consider leaving bulky gear at the end of Purtons Road which can be accessed later via Allisons Road just north of North Motton
- The walk up Mt Lorymer to the lookout is a tough start to the morning !
- The section from the the Mt Lorymer vehicle track down too and along Adit Creek then to Walloa creek is very overgrown, lots of trees down and at time hard to follow. Very easy to imagine people getting bushed here so be careful and take it easy.
- Going up from Walloa Creek and then back down into Gunns Plains near the plantation are both very steep and slippery. It's a pity the track did not just follow the creek down (but maybe that's just me being slack !).

Anyway, I hope that helps anyone who is looking at this walk. It's a great walk with lots of options for short sections and access via roads if you want to.

A huge thanks to NWWC for their work on the track over the years.

Cheers
Benco

[vagrom]

Thanks Benco,
I did the track in 2003, consulting Braids at nwwc before and after. Blackwood Camp is magic, possibly moreso if you're soloing. Such a pleasure to go through the messages in the book, big names like Chapman, Schwabe etc but months between entries, showing the place to be a very special corner of Tassie wilderness and yet so beautifully kept, all things considered.

For anyone wanting to test their budding navi-skills on track it's great , starting lightly and turning pretty serious by the end. But with proper planning escape routes can be accessed without too much effort. Serious because of high possibility white-outs and exposure from Black Bluff onwards. As with South Coast Track and the sea, if you're heading north there's something wrong.

Three parts: Hinterland, Plains farmlands and the uplands. You're getting deeper into wilderness as you go- the Fourways may provide a Leech fiesta, but only if conditions are right ( ..or wrong ? ).
Food, booze, a bus at the end and the opportunity to restock and head on down to St Clair, bragging all the way.

Only one complaint: so many tracks in the Dials, with their markers. Which forks to take? Our Heysen Trail has a little red and white design sticker. Seen on a star dropper,you know immediately. This may be solved by now or a future Central Coast schools design competition. I'm thinking of the Penguin book logo with Cradle Mtn behind it as an idea.

Go well.