Alternative to Overland Track, 5-8 days

[dreamingof8a]

Hey there,

I will be in Tassie from October 26th on. Originally I was planning to do the overland track but would also like to know about alternatives. The South Coast Track sounds amazing, what's your take on that time of the year? Will it be worse at the beginning of November or pretty much the same as Nov-Dec-Jan? What temperatures are to be expected? I know weather can change quickly so I need to be preaperd for the cold anyway, but just to get an idea.

What alternatives could you recommend? I'd also be happy to do two seperate three day hikes or similar.

I will arrive in and depart from Hobart.

Thanks!

[frenchy_84]

I would do the Walls of jerusalem, 2 or 3 days and then Frenchmans cap, 3 or 4 days rather than the OT or south coast track. Public transport is poor/non existant for the WOJ and south coast track, so organising transport can be an issue. Tas weather is very unpredictable, by november you would hope that its warmed up somewhat but you can still get cold wet weather at anytime of year.

[dreamingof8a]

Thanks. Can you explain the reason for your recommendation (other than transportation)?
Do you have any information/webpages regarding logistics? I found some description of combining the WOJ with th eoverland to make for a 7-8 day adventure, any experinece with that?

[stepbystep]

Public transport for the SCT is about as good as it gets if you fly in to Melaleuca and bus back to Hobart. Frenchys suggestion for 2 trips is an excellent one if you want 2 walks.

[norts]

How much experience have you had bushwalking, hard to recommend a walk without some knowledge of your previous experience. I would not recommend the SCT to someone who had no or little previous bushwalking experience. The SCT is the next step up from the OLT in walking experience and equipment required.

Roger

[frenchy_84]

Yeah sbs is right about transport for sct, I was thinking about starting from the port davey track not sct, my bad. The reason I recommend those two walks is that they offer quite different walking experiences. Frenchmans has dramatically shaped quartzite mtns while wojs has dolerite mtns and alpine veg. And I'm just not a huge fan of the OT. The OT offers access to a lot of great areas, like the labyrinth and Pelion mtns but the track itself is pretty boring in places.

[dreamingof8a]

Well, as far as Tassie goes, no experience (will be my first visit). I have done the northern loop (4 days I think) in Wilson Prom/VIC which was not that hard although we were lazy one day and then had to do the two hardest sections together - that was an interesting day

Other than that I've done a lot of climbing, mountaineering and hiking in the Swiss alps and Canada.

I wouldnt wanna do a bushwalk where the main challenge is orientation or difficult river crossings. However as long es there is a more or less marked track I should be fine.

[dreamingof8a]

Yeah sbs is right about transport for sct, I was thinking about starting from the port davey track not sct, my bad. The reason I recommend those two walks is that they offer quite different walking experiences. Frenchmans has dramatically shaped quartzite mtns while wojs has dolerite mtns and alpine veg. And I'm just not a huge fan of the OT. The OT offers access to a lot of great areas, like the labyrinth and Pelion mtns but the track itself is pretty boring in places.

Thanks again, sounds good. I will look into these two options.
Frenchmans was on my initial list anyway, would have dropped it though in favour of the longer SCT (I only have two weeks in total).

[stepbystep]

How much experience have you had bushwalking, hard to recommend a walk without some knowledge of your previous experience. I would not recommend the SCT to someone who had no or little previous bushwalking experience. The SCT is the next step up from the OLT in walking experience and equipment required.

Roger

Yep good point, also a lot of overseas tourists are a little underwhelmed by the quality of the tracks in Tasmania. They can be quite rough/braided and often very muddy.
The WoJ, Freycinet and OLT being the exception.

Whatever you choose do your research so you aren't traumatised by your experience.