Tassie Buswalking trip: Advice needed

[rwaldron]

HI,
I'm planning a 18day buswalking trip in tassie in Dec this year. We will have a hire car and are keen to visit lots of national parks and complete lots of walking.

Areas/ walks on the list are:
cradle mt/ lake st clair - OT - 7days
freycinet pen. walk - 3 days?
Bay of fires?
Mt field NP - tarn shelf circuit, falls - day and a half
Mt wellington np - half day

I would like to spend some time in the Tarkine and walls of jerusalem np, but dont think I can do both. Which area would people recommend?

Is the bay of fires area similar to freycinet, maybe I dont need to do both?

Thanks
Roanna

[stepbystep]

Can't go wrong with any of those destinations.
It really is a personal thing, I'd skip all of those and head to the SW, but that's just me.
I'd take Freycinet over Bay of Fires, has that wow factor.
You could probably do the Tarn Shelf circuit and some waterfalls at Mt Field in 1 day. OT could be done in 5 as well.
Enjoy!

[DonQx]

I would like to spend some time in the Tarkine and walls of jerusalem np, but dont think I can do both. Which area would people recommend?

There's been some talk about restrictions/permits for the Walls to be on the horizon ... if you don't want to pay more than the general parks fee, do the Walls now ... if you prefer lowish numbers of people hanging around, do Tarkine now and wait for the Walls until (if??) restrictions are in.

Is the bay of fires area similar to freycinet, maybe I dont need to do both?

very different.

freyc is sorta rocky ridges with beaches & lagoons in between. bof is a long flat coastal expanse with beautiful headlands etc.

if you're a beach lover, maybe do bof.

i much prefer freyc.

freyc will be busier even before xmas I(backpackers galore), friendly beaches will be extremely busy from 26 Dec onwards, half of Tassie's families will be camped there.

[Erica]

I would like to spend some time in the Tarkine and walls of jerusalem np, but dont think I can do both. Which area would people recommend?

I haven't been to the Tarkine (very wrong I know, and I call myself Tasmanian...) but from what I've seen/read its very very different to the Walls, and I LOVE the walls, but you might find it somewhat similar to some of the high alpine areas on the Overland Track and at Mt Field. Just something to consider.

Also, yes as stepbystep mentioned, the OLT can be done in 5 days, and lots of walks can be done 'quickly' but you might want to consider the differences between rushing around Tassie and seeing everything, and actually seeing some parts properly, something like spending more time on the OLT (or anywhere, for that matter) and taking the time to really enjoy where you are and what you're doing.

Have fun!

Erica

[north-north-west]

Just remember the basic rule: There's no point trying to second guess Tasmanian weather.

[tasmaniac]

I would have to aree with the popular consensus as far as freycinet over bof and woj over tarkine. I would also suggest a trip to tassie wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Tasman Peninsula. If (like me) you find 200-300m high sea cliffs exciting then a day walk to Cape Raoul or 3 dayer to Cape Pillar would be definitely on the list.