Looking for ideas!

[Phil]

Hey guys

Just after a few ideas; I'm hoping to take my 7 year old son for another overnight walk before winter hits us here in tassie! I've taken him in to Lees Paddocks, and also to Scott Kilvert Hut in the past and am trying to think of a few options of where to go next.

I do have a few ideas but it's always nice to hear from others as I'm sure there'll be a few suggestions that had not crossed my mind.

So thinking about similar distances as those other two (under 10km each way); nothing too challenging (7 year old); preferably in the northern half of Tas...........

Was thinking in to the WOJ, or maybe up to Lake Myrtle; and he does love the old huts......anyway, shoot!

Phil

[doogs]

Wineglass bay, do a circuit. Good tracks, campsite and somewhere to build sandcastles

[sthughes]

Meston Hut via Lake Bill (always lovely camping at Myrtle if it turns out Meston seems too far).
Dixons Kingdom (or stop at Wild Dog if too far).
Lady Lake (or Ironstone Hut.)
Do Mt Pillinger and camp near Lake Price on the Maggs 17 track.
Basil Steers Hut and some exploring.
Lake Adelaide (no hut).
Hut near Lake Ironstone (can't recall name) & Mt Ironstone.

Never walked with a 7 year old so I may have no clue!

[corvus]

G'day Phil,
Do you want to Tent or Hut (this time of the year a Hut imho would be better for a 7yo) My choice would be Lady Lake Hut ,the other suggestions with respect may be a tad long for little legs
corvus

[eaglehawk]

Hi Phil,
I agree with the Lady Lake Hut suggestion, it is a favourite of my boys (4 and 5,1/2yrs). They also loved the Lees Paddock walk.
We have done WOJ with them but we had 2 nights, 3 days. This gave us a day to do Solomons throne, walk to Dixons Kingdom hut, have a swim,etc. Probably too far in for just one night.
Our next overnighter will probably be Mt Pillinger.
It's good to see other peoples suggestions. Keep them coming!!
My boys love mud and rocks. Oh and huts. They have no problem with steepness (unlike their packhorse parents!)
We also stick to about 10kms a day.
eaglehawk

[Ent]

'Whiteleys Hut' would be a good one to see how the boulder hopping goes but maybe wrong time of the year now and a little too ambitious. Do like the idea though of aiming for Meston Hut with the option to camp at Lake Myrtle.

If not hut seeking then Ben Lomond heading to Stacks Bluff (no need to reach it as view along the edge great) would be good to get a sense of adventure. Also you can check it out as a day walk.

Cheers

[ILUVSWTAS]

Whitleys Hut isnt much of a hut, I wouldnt like to have to sleep in it let alone make my boy sleep in it, great area for walking though.

Freycinet was a good suggestion if the weather looks 50/50. Be really careful with weather taking kids into the mtns!!

[Phil]

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback guys; a few I hadn't thought of and a few that I already had. Appreciate the ideas!

Yeah like your boys eaglehawk, my young fella loves the huts (as do I), something special about those old huts!

[eaglehawk]

yeah, we had a hard time convincing our youngest that Trappers Hut was NOT our final destination and we would NOT be sleeping in it.

[Ent]

Yes you have to love the imagination that kids bring. They tend not to be judgmental and accept most things with a sense of fun and adventure.

So Phil, is junior going to take after his old man and run up peaks?

Cheers

[Phil]

So Phil, is junior going to take after his old man and run up peaks?

Ha ha, we'll see Brett. He definitely loves the outdoors and exploring as much as I do/did; as a Father there's nothing I'd love more than to be able to do stuff like that with my son in the years to come

[shazcol]

Nobody has mentioned Haberles hut off the Parsons track. I'm not sure of current condition but somebody mentioned it to me today that they had taken their boy there.

[corvus]

Whitleys Hut isnt much of a hut, I wouldnt like to have to sleep in it let alone make my boy sleep in it, great area for walking though.

Freycinet was a good suggestion if the weather looks 50/50. Be really careful with weather taking kids into the mtns!!

I have slept in Whiteleys Hut (I am a Hut Tragic) and apart from a smoky stove it was not as "skanky" as portrayed ,unless it has deteriorated extensively in the last 24 months or so
However may be a bit of a long walk for young legs but I agree a nice area to walk in.
corvus

Last edited by corvus on Thu 19 Apr, 2012 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Ewww. Most people's sheds are cleaner.

It's skanky alright!!!

[Ent]

Hi

The hut is known by the name "The palace". But then you can not please some people.

Cheers

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hi.

Known by whom??

Cheers.

[Ent]

The locals in the area, not blow ins.

[doogs]

The only locals would be rats surely?

[Ent]

The family that built it might disagree with that characterization.

[doogs]

The family that built it might disagree with that characterization.

Nah, can't think why!
Its the Australian sense of humour; I have a friend whose hut near Lake Leake in known as the 'Taj Mahal' and most 'shacks' at Binalong Bay are nicer than my house!

Last edited by doogs on Wed 18 Apr, 2012 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yes and spiders.

A great hut im sure for fishermen, but for a 7year old. No.

[eaglehawk]

Or maybe yes, my boys love skanky sheds...

[Ent]

I suppose there are princes and princesses! So as a fellow walker is found of saying "suck it up princess".

Cheers

[corvus]

Yes and spiders.

A great hut im sure for fishermen, but for a 7year old. No.

ILSWTAS For some reason we seem to at odds again as I believe this is a really exellent example of good old Tasmanian ingenuity and conservation .
Most of this hut was built from the ruins of the original Lady Lake Hut therefore removing the most valuable salvage from a wreck and creating a habitable structure which is free to use by all and as for spiders they are a common occurrence in every home in Tasmania sheesh I welcome Huntsmen in my house to deal with the imho the more pesky Mozzies
corvus

[Ent]

Good point Corvus on the social history. We tend to take for granted the history and reason behind areas seeing only the nature and neglect the the hard work locals spent ensuring the area's preservation. For example you can walk around Gallipoli (or any historical site) and see it only for the landscape but to go around it with someone that knows the history and importantly a connection with it then it takes on new meaning.

Huts are a view back in time when boys were men and often left to fend for themselves and care for the live stock. I chuckle with the comments made as my father's next door neighbor as a six year performed duties that we would consider nowadays challenging for an eighteen year old. Such huts were often places people lived for months in remote isolation before mobile phones, GPS, modern materials and PLBs added a degree of safety and comfort. They were indeed palaces for people in harsh weather. As the areas moved from summer livestock and trapping to recreational it is sadly all too easy to see such conditions as "not up to modern standards". It is great that kids can get a window on their grand or great-grand parents' way of life. I enjoy looking through things with my nephew's eyes. He visited the home of his mother and instead of retreating from the harsh conditions that she experienced he reveled in them. He speaks fondly of the basic existence and by all accounts adapted well but no doubt enjoys the more comfortable surrounds of his suburban home. It is good to visit but not permanently live there was his wise comments as a seven year old. As an eight year old now he is happy to make any shelter his palace.

I suppose some people walk with eyes closed to all they do not wish to see. I enjoyed the history that my fellow walkers can bring to an area. Hard to imagine that people were trapped by Mount Roland and the Blue Mountains when now the paths are well known. I met as a fourteen year old a very old man that as at the same age got lost up in the Tiers and found his way out weeks later much to his parents surprise and delight. I when traveling was given a gem of advice by a person that spent much of his early life as a refuge, it was "enjoy what you have and not mourn for what you are missing". I loved the misadventures in Turkey as did many others but more than a few left unhappy as it was "not up to scratch".

No, long live the basic hut, and if they are below some people's dignity to stay in so be it, let the rest enjoy them as a window in time to an era when life was truly much more challenging, where you did not seek "tests" but they found you.

Cheers

[corvus]

This is why I like this Hut.

http://www.mountainhuts.com.au/whiteleys_hut.htm

Not a lot of history but enough to make sure we take care of it.
corvus

[ILUVSWTAS]

There's no doubt it's a cool place, dont get me wrong. But it's hardly a hut. It's more like a shed.

[Nuts]

I love the Real historic huts. Handcrafted King Billy shingles and bush furniture. Walls and ancient graffiti preserved in woodsmoke. Others.. well, c'mon...

[Lady McGuyver]

Yeah, there's some beauties out there for the finding. This one I visited had the hand split KB shingles, bark peelings for cladding and stacks of character ( as well as the resident spiders!!)
I like seeing how visitors have made repairs over the years, some going to great lengths to keep it looking rustic and original
Btw, tall smurfs might find the doorway a bit of a squeeze!
Nice place to spend the evening by the fire, but I prefer my tent for sleepin'. I got enough white-tailed spiders in my house, let alone going camping with them!!!

Cosy Hut

Cosy Hut.jpg (144.6 KiB) Viewed 6676 times

[Taurë-rana]

I like huts because once you have a fire in them, they get very homely. You can't see the odd rat or possum dropping in the dark, and there's more space than in a tent. I've gone into several huts that have felt dank, dirty and unwelcoming but once they've had a bit of a sweep out, belongings scattered around and a fire lit, they turn into home.