Bushwalk Australia

Hello all,

was just looking for some advice regarding hiking through the walls and onto the overland track- is there only one way through to hook up with the overland? (just south of kia ora- harnett falls?) or is there another option (through to pelion for instance). are any of these routes ( eg through the never never) marked or signed?

Have recently done the overland and looking forward to heading back in February

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!

Chapmans book on Cradle and Walls shows alot of the routes. Probably the easiest way to organise a walk from Walls to Cradle

Roger

Chris,

There are in fact a number of routes from the Walls to the Overland. We have just returned from a 6 day walk down through the Walls to Junction Lake hut then across to Lake Artemis, up onto the Travellers Range and then we dropped down onto the Overland at Du Cane Gap. At Junction Lake Hut we met two guys from Victoria who were walking up via Cloisters Lagoon to the Moses Creek car park then across to Lees Paddock track and into Pelion hut. Their original plan was to go via the Never Never, but they had been put off by the number of leeches! (Admittedly they also met a group of walkers on the track emerging from the Never Never who did everything they could to put them off).

Be aware the majority of these routes are hard going in places, you need to have more than a basic ability to navigate as there are no signs and at times route finding can be problematic. It is not as straight forward as the route on the Overland. The area around Junction Lake is criss crossed with a myriad of pads and it can be easy to get lost - I speak from personal experience .

Chapmans book is indeed a good source of the main 'recommended' routes. Make sure you plan carefully and give yourself plenty of time.

Thanks for the info guys!

I am considering hiking the walls solo, as being a west aussie it's proving difficult to drag anyone along with me!

I have basic nav / first aid skills and shall bring EPIRB / SAT phone as a precaution

I will be definately purchasing the chapmans book and no doubt choosing the safest route through along with the the necessary precautions.

I guess my question now is, is it still advisable to undertake this solo with the additional precautions?

I would be happy to do the overland again but would love to see the walls

Would there possibly be a way of hooking up with anyone else planning the trip at the same time? (late Feb)

Understandable. We're in the same boat. Add a gps to your navigation equipment list.

solo should be fine. i went from walls carpark to junction, thru the never never and back out thru arm river solo and that was all fine. it seemed to me just takn ur time and the with the never never it was a case of west is best ( comin from junction). it sure is pretty...

We did this trip last week (2nd - 8th Dec) and headed north to Cradle Mountain. We have the waypoints of the whole trip including the position of the (very slippery) log across the Mersey (UP stream from McCoy Falls) Took us a couple of hours to find it last July but this time it was great to just walk out of the scrub until we headed left and hit it!

Great trip and a nice variety of scenery.

PM me if you want info re Parks attitude to this (and how to assist in arguing your case - we got a bit of grief..... ) or the waypoints


Edit - fix location of log, up stream from McCoy Falls

Thanks again for all the help guys!

It looks like I may of found a fellow hiking buddy to drag along as well.

Much appreciated

Chris

Just remember that the Never Never is being flogged recently as a way to access and enjoy the Overland Track area with avoiding the Overland Track fee. Please consider the management cost of the Overland Track and the potential cost now that the Never Never (from the Walls of Jerusalem) will pose as "blogs" ( and John Chapman and co) suggest this as an alternative route to use ( plus others). Tasmania is being flogged by forestry companies too much now without further overuse by cost conservative park users.

Environmental consideration seems to have been disregarded in the recent past with the aim of personal satisfaction! The Overland Track may be crowded, but it can be an incredible (and managed) experience if considered in the context to enjoy it as it is! This area is a World Heritage Area for a reason.........

The use of alternate routes to access the overland track is part of the parks dept plans for reducing traffic (wear and tear ) on the main access routes.
They had a web page with the walker numbers per track with before and after forecasts.( before booking and fees were introduced )

It really gets up peoples noses when you pass them going south to north on the OT it is almost as if you have committed a crime.

Last time thru the never never( 3 years ago ), we crossed on a log upstream from McCoys falls, can anyone tell me if it is still usable?

Hi,
I find some of the above comments a bit perplexing with regards to limited use or parts there of the OT...and especially if Parks have a problem with it.
Maybe they should adhere to there own policy which quite clearly states....following IS A QUOTE copied from their own website re the OT...at the following link........http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=8206

'Walking just a part of the track?
During the peak walking season, bookings are only required for those walking the entire track in a single journey.
If you are walking just a section of the track, you are not considered to be part of the Overland Track experience. We are aware that people do like to walk small sections of the track, quite often as part of a much larger journey, and where suitable facilities are available, this use can continue'.

So for those walking the Never Never using a small portion(4kms in some cases if turning back onto Lees Track or 13.2km if turning back onto the Arm Track)...I can't see a problem...especially if not wanting to use any hut facilities on the OT.

So if people are being hassled then maybe they should promptly contact Parks or their local MP and ask what the go is....as gorby stated...
'The use of alternate routes to access the overland track is part of the parks dept plans for reducing traffic (wear and tear ) on the main access routes.'

They can't have it both ways...but of course if you were to pay the exorbitant $150 OT fee their would be no questions asked??

Give me a break...geesh.

gorby wrote:Last time thru the never never( 3 years ago ), we crossed on a log upstream from McCoys falls, can anyone tell me if it is still usable?

Sorry Gorby (and others) it is upstream from McCoy falls - have fixed up my post. Yes it is still usable (if not a tad slippery)

I walked through the Never Never with a friend just last week and had no problems at all.
At times when I did lose the track, heading closer to the mersey seemed to pick up the track again. It was easy to lose the track through the more open areas, but as soon as the scrub thickens up, we just happened to appear on the track!
In saying that though, good navigation is still needed, especially if things dont go to plan. We used our map on multiple occasions, if only for some reassurance..
Having previously read frank_in_oz's account of searching for the crossing, I was not looking forward to this part, but it just so happened that the track brought us directly to the log crossing, no problems at all!
And yes, its upstream of McCoy Falls. We could hear the falls at the log crossing, which may help.
The log crossing.

No one we met at Kia Ora or Pelion hut were annoyed at our plan, I'd say they were more interested.
To Bazza, am I disregarding the environment just because I decide to walk part of the OT when a fee is usually required? I have done the Overland track multiple times in winter, and being a local with access to a car, it's easier for me to organise a loop trip from the Walls of J onto the Overland and back, without needing to get picked up and dropped off. And comparing us to forestry companies!!
There are logbooks for walkers entering the Never Never and Lees Paddocks via which we left, so Parks should be aware of how many people do actually use these tracks. I wonder at the ratio of people doing the OT to people going through Never Never..

im with you nick on bazza's comments. i pay my park fees and have paid the ot fee when i did it in november one year. what are you supposed to do to see the never never, you have to access the ot at one stage or another. of course you could turn around when you get to hartnett falls and go back to junction but wouldnt this be harder on the never never?

UPDATE!

Just in case anyone finds this old link via Google, please note the latest info on side routes and the Overland Track can be found here http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=13261

cheers

Peter

In March last year we travelled from Lake St Clair to the Walls over the Traveller Range as others have described. Due to bad weather we stayed at Windty Ridge the first night (original plans were to stay high on the DuCane Gap).
We met the ranger and explained our plans and situation and had no issues.
The next day we walked from the hut up DuCane Gap (Gatepost track) then across off track on the Traveller range and camped at Lake Artemis - great spot.
The walk took us about 10 hours as we hit some really tough scrub at Lake Metrope - stay away from the lakes edge! - next time we would stay high or climb the rocky know to the east of the lake.
Overall a great walk.

I would not be put off doing the Never Never or the trip described however I'd prefer to do it with at least one or 2 others - perhaps post something on the site and you may find others to go with you?

There are many other routes but the never never is the most used - still a good trip but perhaps becoming too popular!
I have grid references and GPS logs if this helps for both.

Interesting philm. Do you happen to remember the name of ranger you spoken to? My group had planned to do an anticlockwise circuit of the du cane range but were told by a ranger we meet near narcissus that this would breach the OTL guidelines and were advised to go clockwise via Pine Valley. Obviously there is some inconsistency in the way the guidelines are implemented!

Dee.

No sorry I don't remember his name. But it was a stormy night and maybe he just felt sorry for us!
We were out early the next day and went from the hut to DuCane gap without seeing a sole!
Overall a night on the Traveller range instead of the hut would have been preferred but it was blowing a gale on top with winds 80-100km/hr.
Not sure if our trip was absolutely against the guidelines but I think we abided by the intentions of them - that is to allow people on the OLT to use the huts and to no overcrowd the track during peak periods. This needs to be balanced with enabling access to the great reserve that the area has to offer.

Thanks Phil!

Yeah I totally agreed with what you are saying. I work on the track as a guide and so know the rangers quite well! Most of them wouldn't have any problems letting you do what you did or letting us do what we had planned but the particular ranger we ran into is a bit of a stickler for the rule book I think. In hindsight we were probably better off going clockwise as it was nice to have gravity on our side for the section on Falling Mountain!

Cheers again.

I've talked a bit with one of the rangers - at Windy Ridge (and later at Pine Valley) - and asked quite a few questions. It looks like for the Du Cane Range traverse - they don't like you climbing up from Du Cane Gap if you have come from Lake St Clair. I met a group of walkers who had gone to Windy Ridge - and they had been directed back and around to Pine Valley for their Du Cane trip (This don't seem to worry them too much). But - if you are intending to do a trip onto the Traveller Range - then it is OK for parties to go via Windy Ridge and Du Cane Gap. Some of this may not be printed policy - deliberately to allow rangers to have a bit of flexibility?

Dave

Further to Dave's comments, I think this excerpt from the PWS guidelines covers a Traveller Range trip.

vi Lake St Clair/Narcissus  Byron, Cuvier, Traveller
Range, Ducane Range, Olympus

Walkers intending to do walks iv, v, vi or other walks
are asked to notify, as a courtesy, the Overland Track
Administrator or the Visitor Centre at Lake St Clair.
Please advise a contact name and phone number, number
in party, route, departure and return date.
Overland Track Administrator
email: overlandtrackadministrator@parks.tas.gov.au
phone: (03) 6165 4254

I reckon on contacting PWS in this way, any Du Cane traverse walkers will be asked to go via Pine Valley/The Labyrinth ... which is a better direction anyway, in my opinion,

cheers

Peter

DaveNoble wrote:Some of this may not be printed policy - deliberately to allow rangers to have a bit of flexibility?
Dave

Sounds considered.. but why do these seasonal staff need such 'flexibility'? Why not just stick to established 'printed policy'.