Bushwalk Australia

I'm thinking of walking the South Coast Track solo over Xmas/New Year. I don't know that I'll find anyone else to come along and something about the thought of doing it alone is appealing. I'm a fairly fit and moderately experienced outdoorsman, having done my share of backpacking as well as rock and ice climbing, dogsledding, X-C skiing and a number of other such pursuits. I won't claim to be any sort of extraordinary athlete or mountaineer but do manage to plod along without wearying once I get going.

How would you recommend assessing the safety and suitability of doing the South Coast Trek solo? I realize that in some cases, like river crossings with rowboats, I'll have to wait for another group to come along in order to return the oars.

Any information to help evaluate the advisability and attendant risks would be extremely valuable.

Hi iguana,
It's certainly possible to do Melaleuca to Cockle Creek solo, especially that time of year - there's sure to be others happening along sometime soon. We did it in March and hardly saw anyone (6 people over the whole trip). The risks of the south Coast track are more to do with the remoteness of the location and the major mistakes you could make if you're not experienced. If you're well equipped, lucky and the weather is good to you, you wouldn't encounter any difficulties.

Creek crossings and Louisa River were our major difficulties - they come up very quickly after only a little rain - but go down within 12 hours too. Don't cross any creeks if they are over knee deep, or at least check them without a pack on first.

Check the tidal charts before you go so you know when high and low tide are for the creek and river mouth crossings, as well as the walk along the base of cliffs on the beach. Your longest day will be the ironbounds, which could be a major undertaking if the weather is not good - very exposed on top - in fact probably should wait for better weather - decisions to be made on your own, taking into consideration your fitness, experience and gear etc.

People have certainly disappeared down there walking solo, but I know others who have taken children as young as nine and had no worries. I have even heard people say that they hardly noticed the Louisa River crossing - ankle deep - whereas we had to wait 12 hours for it to go down as the flow was way too strong and it was over waist deep. When we did cross the next morning it was still knee deep.

If I were you I would avoid going off track/side trips unless you find others going there.

The boat crossing is very variable, depending on current weather and what storms have done to the current river mouth. If it is nasty weather (e.g. windy) then you will definitely need to wait for others. Most of it is only waist deep and in good weather you could probably swim/wade your pack across.
There is only very brackish water at the campsite here, carry lots from previous spot or go on to next campsite - the creeks on the map are non-existent or dry at the moment in this area.

Have a great time and enjoy the fantastic scenery.

Thanks so much, that's extremely helpful. I realize it's a very remote area and that the only way out is . . . to walk out. And I was intending to stick to the trail, which I understand is well marked, forswearing any side trips.

Not sure if you'd think it makes any difference if I said I'd never been to Australia (or Tasmania) and that the vast majority of my outdoors experience is in North America.

I have a note from John Chapman saying that "The South Coast Track has around 2500 walking it each summer, the Overland Track is currently around 4500 (the Overland track was 8000 before they introduced the permit system which limits the track to 55 per day). So as you can see the South Coast track averages 20 to 25 per day over the entire summer. Over the Christmas new year week i would expect a 100 or so on the track so you will not be on your own." So it seems notwithstanding your experience there should be other folks around.

Thanks also for the tip on the tidal charts and of course the advice to heed the weather and wait until conditions are suitable for mountain and river crossings.

Should I consider a GPS or PLB? I've never used either.

Much thanks again for your wisdom.

iguana00 wrote:How would you recommend assessing the safety and suitability of doing the South Coast Trek solo? I realize that in some cases, like river crossings with rowboats, I'll have to wait for another group to come along in order to return the oars.

Go for it. The South Coast track is fairly straightforward for experienced walkers. It's well established and pretty easy to follow along its whole length. It's also reasonably popular - I set out solo in Mar 07 but soon fell in with a group travelling in the same direction. We often had campsites to ourselves but most days we saw others on the track.

Forget the GPS, not needed. An EPIRB would be a good thing to carry in case of injury, you can hire one from Service Tasmania in Hobart, they were $30/week last time I hired one (Mar 08). You can cross New River Lagoon on your own, the aluminium dinghies are light enough to handle alone (unlike the heavy wooden dinghies at Bathurst Harbour). You need to make 3 crossings in order to leave a dinghy on both sides - it takes about an hour all together.

If you're interested in some photos of the route have a look at my gallery at http://www.lexharris.net/gallery2/main. ... album_003/.

My suggestion is to take your time, allow extra days to relax and explore and enjoy the coastline. Same for Melaleuca if you're passing through, spend a bit of extra time there and explore. This is a track that is best not rushed

Brilliant, thanks. Very grateful to all of you; your encouragement has been the deciding factor in making the decision to go.

Just waiting to find out if there are flights from Hobart to Melaleuca on December 25th before booking my flight from NYC to SYD.

Two questions re the above:

I) "EPIRB" -- I take it you mean PLB, the 'personal version' -- from what I've read an EPIRB per se is a massive thing but the term is used to refer to all types of mobile emergency beacons. Personally I've never seen any member of the species but will seek to rent a PLB in Hobart.

II)

Same for Melaleuca if you're passing through, spend a bit of extra time there and explore.

Really? From the descriptions I saw it's . . . barren: "The place isn’t big enough to be classed as a two-horse town. There are no shops and the few buildings are barely visible, even from the landing strip. Melaleuca’s total population is two." But happy to look around if there's something to see or explore.

Again thanks.

iguana00 wrote:II)

Same for Melaleuca if you're passing through, spend a bit of extra time there and explore.

Really? From the descriptions I saw it's . . . barren: "The place isn’t big enough to be classed as a two-horse town. There are no shops and the few buildings are barely visible, even from the landing strip. Melaleuca’s total population is two." But happy to look around if there's something to see or explore.

God bless Americans!! (please take no offence)
"No shops" - no nothing for DAYS

It is WILDERNESS but well worth having a look around

Search for Denny King and the book about his life. Great pre reading , not sure if it is still for sale or where you would get it
(some one here may know)

We are heading there in Feb - will take a GPS , more for gauging travel time to next camp as last time we were there we hwere very late in each day

EPIRB - yes we will take

There are a couple of posts on our blog that may be of interest - this one is a ripper about the Port Davey Track done solo by Larry earlier this year : http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2008/07/p ... eport.html and this one is his discussion about his gear : http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2008/07/h ... -trip.html which is an excellent, well thought out analysis of what he took.

This one is a link to a few posts we did of our trip there: http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2006/03/s ... mania.html

Open up the first photo on the first page of Melaleuca Harbour - beautiful at 7am.

iguana00 wrote:Brilliant, thanks. Very grateful to all of you; your encouragement has been the deciding factor in making the decision to go.

I) "EPIRB" -- I take it you mean PLB, the 'personal version' -- from what I've read an EPIRB per se is a massive thing but the term is used to refer to all types of mobile emergency beacons. Personally I've never seen any member of the species but will seek to rent a PLB in Hobart.

II) Really? From the descriptions I saw it's . . . barren: "The place isn’t big enough to be classed as a two-horse town. There are no shops and the few buildings are barely visible, even from the landing strip. Melaleuca’s total population is two." But happy to look around if there's something to see or explore.

Again thanks.

Geez... As pointed out above, it's WILDERNESS! Isn't that what you're going there for? If you're looking for shops and buildings then stay in Sydney or Melbourne! If you consider Melaleuca "barren" then maybe you should reconsider going on this walk.

At Melaleuca, the things you can explore are the wilderness (how about that!) and the history. The history centres around the late Deny King who established the site and lived there most of his life. An excellent account of his life is given in the biography "King of the Wilderness" by Christobel Mattingley. I'm sure you could find a copy on Amazon or similar. Without some appreciation of the history you will miss a lot of what Melaleuca has to offer.

No we don't mean PLB, we mean EPIRB. If you ask for PLB in Hobart you will probably get little more than a quizzical look. EPIRB is an acronym for Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. The ones you can hire for bushwalking are about the size of a cigarette packet and weigh about 175g.

Didn't mean to suggest I was looking for a shopping mall, just that I hadn't seen any mention of points of interest, natural or historic, near Meleuca in the Chapman book or elsewhere. I only saw it noted as the terminus of the South Coast and Port Davey Tracks. The lagoon does look quite lovely.

I may have some extra hours as a result of logistical vagaries so any recommendations regarding things to see around Meleuca before starting out on the South Coast Track would be appreciated.

Will definitely get a copy of King of the Wilderness, if nothing else because I'll have 24+ hours in transit to occupy.

Again much thanks for all your advice.

iguana00 wrote:I may have some extra hours as a result of logistical vagaries so any recommendations regarding things to see around Meleuca before starting out on the South Coast Track would be appreciated.

Iguana, with a few hours available you could check out some of the following:
Deny King's house and outlying buildings and kitchen gardens remain much as they were and are maintained by his two daughters who visit periodically. They are worth a look, if only to reflect on life as it was there. There are also the remains of Deny King's tin mining activities within short walking distance of the airstrip - more interesting if you've read a little of the history. There is a bird hide where you can often observe the rare and endangered orange bellied parrot. The lagoon as you've mentioned is a beautiful and tranquil place. The bushwalkers' huts (built by Deny King) provide a welcome refuge for weary walkers walking into Melaleuca - both have visitor's books with a fascinating collection of walkers' experiences.

If you have longer (which maybe you don't), there are many day (or longer) walks possible with Melaleuca as a base. Generally the splendid isolation of the place is its main attraction - if you are lucky you may find yourself the only person there, marvellous . The only permanent residents in the vicinity are the Wilsons, an elderly couple who live a km or so SW from the strip. You can see their house in the distance - it's private, no access to public.

Keep your camera handy on the flight down from Hobart - the outgoing flight is often along the south coast along the very country you'll be walking through. If it isn't along the coast it may be inland across the eastern Arthur Range, sensational in clear weather.

BTW, for information about EPIRB hire see http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=7364

Have a great walk, you'll enjoy it for sure.

Lex
http://www.lexharris.net

lexharris wrote: <SNIP> At Melaleuca, the things you can explore are the wilderness (how about that!) and the history. The history centres around the late Deny King who established the site and lived there most of his life. An excellent account of his life is given in the biography "King of the Wilderness" by Christobel Mattingley. I'm sure you could find a copy on Amazon or similar. Without some appreciation of the history you will miss a lot of what Melaleuca has to offer. <SNIP>

There is some brief information and links about Deny King and Melaleuca here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_Wilderness, and the Launceston Walking Club now has a video tribute to Deny King produced for their 2002 "Do You Know Tasmnaia" show on YouTube - Part 1 - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=qZZCeR31srk and part 2- http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=QhUuH1pnM6Y
Try to read "King of the wilderness" before you go on your walk if you can - it will truely give you a new perspective on Melaleuca and the man behind its history.

lexharris wrote:No we don't mean PLB, we mean EPIRB. If you ask for PLB in Hobart you will probably get little more than a quizzical look. EPIRB is an acronym for Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. The ones you can hire for bushwalking are about the size of a cigarette packet and weigh about 175g.

Actually I had also been told that EPIRB was what was used on water (being a bit of a yachtie myself) and a PLB was what you used on land (akin to charts vs maps I had assumed).

I would have to agree with you, Kainas. There has been a change in the designation of the hand held units for land use. My old one (bought 8-9 years ago) was an EPIRB; my new one (about 12 months old) is a PLB. Unlike the older units, the new units are unique and are registered to the owner so in the event that they are activated, the authorities are able ot identify the user as well as pinpoint their location.

BarryJ wrote:I would have to agree with you, Kainas. There has been a change in the designation of the hand held units for land use. My old one (bought 8-9 years ago) was an EPIRB; my new one (about 12 months old) is a PLB. Unlike the older units, the new units are unique and are registered to the owner so in the event that they are activated, the authorities are able ot identify the user as well as pinpoint their location.

EPIRB are the same now. They are registered to the owner etc.

I stand corrected. According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority PLB is now the correct term for handheld personal distress beacons of the type used by bushwalkers. See http://beacons.amsa.gov.au/distress_beacons.asp.

However Parks and Wildlife in Tasmania still refer to these handheld units as EPIRBS. See http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=7364.

Go for it - you'll love it. Look on Google earth to see Melaleuca. Quite detailed. Track is all there so GPS not needed but its not "paved" in timber all the way! I thnk you are doing it the best way too. PLB a good idea. Wait for a good day to cross Ironbounds, You miss the views otherwise. If summer is dry, water can be an issue at New Lagoon campsite...the campsite at Osmiridian Bay is far superior. Forget US style campsites too.....as one American loudly exclaimed beside me at a Victorian bush campsite "Gee, the accomidations are pretty rustic". As you guys say "go figure"
Come with an open mind and you will love it
Fitz

Am reminded of wonderfull views enjoyed from the flight from Hobart to Melaleuca about ten years ago. If my memory is right, take a seat near the window to the right.

dplanet wrote:Am reminded of wonderfull views enjoyed from the flight from Hobart to Melaleuca about ten years ago. If my memory is right, take a seat near the window to the right.

Or better still, the co-pilot's seat! (front RHS). Unfortunately seat allocation is pretty much decided by the pilot in my experience, but you could always ask!