The Overland Track – frequently described as the pinnacle of multi day hikes in Tasmania, if not all of Australia, is an absolute beauty. This trail passes by lakes, mountains, beautiful backcountry huts and stunning waterfalls As long as you keep your snacks safe from the cheeky Currawongs you’re going to have an absolutely incredible time.

GENERAL HIKE INFORMATION

• Track Length
• Getting a Permit
• Track Difficulty
• Correct Gear
• Drinking Water
• Toilets
• Wildlife (Currawongs)
• Side Trips
• One-way transport
• My Hike Itinerary (5 days, 4 nights)

How long is the Overland Track?

According to the Parks Tasmania website the trail is 65km in length from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair and is usually done over 6 days. If done this way then the hike ends at the northern end of Lake St Clair at Narcissus Hut where you’ll take a ferry across to the visitors centre at Cynthia Bay.

Keep in mind both these 65 and 80km length estimates don’t include any of the epic side trips, of which there are many!

How do I get a permit to hike the Overland Track?

We hiked the Overland track back in November 2020 during our trip around Australia and had an incredible time, due to COVID and majority of the worlds inability to enter Tasmania we managed to get our hands on permits somewhat easily. This isn’t always the case so it’s important to check up on permit release dates as early as you can to try and get the dates that suit you and your hiking party.

Permits cost $285 for adults and are purchased through the Tasmania Parks website here. The permit system ensures there is a maximum of 34 hikers departing Cradle Mountain each day. This means that the track isn’t overcrowded so that the facilities and environment can handle the number of people hiking through each day.

How difficult is the Overland Track?

Believe it or not, this hike is not particularly difficult. That is, it isn’t particularly difficult if you prepare correctly and don’t mind carrying your gear on your back for extended periods of time.

I say not particularly difficult as the track is well manicured and easy to follow, without crazy amounts of elevation. It is however prone to wild weather at any and every time of the year so you do need to take gear preparation seriously. Snow in January? sure why not. 30 degrees and sunny in the morning, 5 degrees and raining in the afternoon? of course.

What gear do I need to hike the Overland Track?

Tasmania Parks takes your gear preparation very seriously and before you can start the hike you’ll actually need to get your gear checked at the visitors centre when you pick up your permit. People have died on this trail due to inappropriate clothing so this is not a drill. That being said, if you’re prepared correctly then this hike is amazing. Epic views, awesome huts and incredible side trips await!

A brief overview of what you’ll need:
Keep in mind this is not extensive and highly dependant on weather conditions. Better to be safe than sorry. Make sure you double check with Tasmania Parks about what gear they expect you to be carrying.

Clothing:

• Waterproof & windproof jacket
• Base layers (I prefer merino)
• Fleece
• Puffer Jacket (preferably not down as if it gets wet down can be useless)
• Beanie
• Gloves
• Hat
• Socks (2 pairs, one to hike in and one warm one for camp)
• Undies
• Hiking short or pants
• Hiking top (I use a long sleeve button up or a merino t-shirt)
• Hiking shoes or trail runners (I always hike in lightweight, breathable trail runners but this is up to personal preference)
• Camp shoes (I use Tevas or Crocs)
• Camp clothes – set of clothes that you will not, under any circumstance, get wet during the day. This could be your puffer and fleece along with you base layer pants. It’s super important to have this so that if conditions deterioate you can get into your warm dry clothes and sleeping bag and wait for help.

Gear:

• Tent
• Pack liner (great to keep your camp clothes and sleeping stuff dry!)
• Sleeping mat
• Sleeping bag
• Stove & Fuel
• Cooking paraphanalia – lighter, matches
• Water filter and/or water purifying tablets
• Map & Compass
• First Aid Supplies
• Snake Bandage
• PLB (I use a Garmin inreach mini)
• Trowel
• Toilet Paper
• Space Blanket and/or emergency bivvy bag

Is there drinking water on the Overland Track?

Rainwater tanks are provided at each of the main huts and there are multiple lakes, creeks and rivers that you’ll pass by.
Remember that all water on the trail (including from rainwater tanks) needs to be boiled or treated prior to drinking.

Are there toilets on the Overland Track?

Composting toilets are provided at each of the main huts, however it is always good to be prepared in case you need to go when you’re between huts. Carry a trowel and always remember to dig a deep hole, far away from water sources and bury all waste sufficiently.

Is there any wildlife to be aware of on the Overland Track?

As with all of Australia it is important to be snake aware when hiking the Overland Track. Otherwise the majority of the critters you’ll encounter on the trail are fine! You do need to be aware of the Currawong birds though. they wont hurt you hwoever these guys are very clever and have learnt how to unzip backpacks! When leaving your pack unattended (if doing a side trip etc) ensure your zips are face down and out of reach of these intelligent birds! You may even want to lock your zips in place using a carabiner.

What are the side trips on the Overland Track?

The side trips on the Overland are plentiful, and spectacular! A lot of the summit climbs can only be attempted in fine weather so make sure you take into account your ability and weather conditions when taking on some of these side trips.

Cradle Mountain Summit (1545 m)	2 km, 2-3 hours return from the track junction.
Barn Bluff (1559 m)	7 km, 3-4 hours return from track junction.
Lake Will	3 km, 1 hour return from track junction.
Old Pelion Hut	1 km, 0.5 hour return from track junction.
Mount Oakleigh (1286m)​	8 km, 4 – 6 hours return from track junction. ​​​​​
Mount Ossa (1617m)	5.2 km, 4-5 hours return from track junction.
Mount Pelion East (1433m)	2.4 km, 2 hours return from track junction.
D’Alton and Fergusson Falls	1 km, 1 hour return.
Hartnett Falls	1.5 km, 1 hour return.​
Pine Valley Hut	4.7 km, 1.5-2 hours one way from track junction

One Way Transport:

Wait. so the hike is one-way, how do I get back to my car at the end? Great question.

There are a couple of options here. You can either do what we did and leave your car at the end of the hike and organise a lift/shuttle service back to Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre to start your hike or you can organise a lift/shuttle service to meet you at the end of your hike.

We chose to have our car at the end for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s lovely to have all your fresh, warm, clean clothes ready to change into after a shower at the Visitors Centre after your hike. Yes there are showers at the visitors centre. Yes the are hot showers. And secondly, it meant that if we were delayed on the trail due to injury, bad weather or conversely great weather, and an ability to tick off more side trips, it mean that there wasn’t a deadline we needed to finish for.

We used Wild Island Adventure for our overland track transport and could not have been happier. They were prompt, professional, friendly and knowledgable. Everything we needed and then some! In November 2020 the pricing was $160 per person, and as there was only the two of us it was $320 for the trip from Lake St Clair back to Cradle Mountain. Keep in mind this is a 3 hour drive so we found the price very reasonable.

Hike Itinerary Overview:

Here’s an overview of what we did. We hiked the Overland Track (the 80km version) in 5 days, as well as a few side trips. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do all of the side trips we wanted to as the weather was a little funky for a lot of our hike. We’ll be back to hike Barn Bluff and Mt Ossa one day!

Day 1: Ronny Creek → Waterfall Valley → Lake Windermere (18.5km)
Day 2: Lake Windermere → Pelion Hut (16.5km)
Day 3: Pelion Hut to Bert Nichols aka Windy Ridge Hut (21km)
Day 4: Windy Ridge → Narcissus Hut → Echo Point Hut (14km)
Day 5: Echo Point → Cynthia Bay (10km)
Total: 80km (plus side trips taking the total over the 5 days up to a little over 100km)

Day 1: Ronny Creek → Waterfall Valley → Lake Windermere (18.5km)

Our day begun at the Cradle Mountain Visitors centre where we hopped on a shuttle bus that would take us down to Ronny Creek where we would officially begin our hike of the Overland Track.

The weather was a little funky with some dark clouds and strong wind. We begun the hike up to Crater lake and onwards to Marions saddle. We carried on past Kicthen Hut (an emergency shelter only) and made our way to Waterfall Valley. The hut at Waterfall Valley is very new and a great place to shelter from the wind. This hut is commonly used for peoples first night, especially if they choose to summit Cradle Mountain or Barn Bluff.

Due to the weather we were unable to attempt Barn Bluff, and we’d done Cradle Mountain summit a few days prior to leaving for the Overland, so we had a snack at Waterfall and carried onwards to Windermere where we’d spend our first night.

We got to Windermere, set up our tent and headed to the lake to wash ourselves a little before getting into some warm gear and having an early dinner. Our total kilometres for the day was 19km.

Day 2: Lake Windermere → Pelion Hut (17km)

The next morning we set off from Windermere towards Pelion Hut, the weather was again not fabulous so we rugged up in our wet weather gear and headed off. It was a long morning of walking and once we reached Pelion Hut we were ready for lunch!

We ate lunch and set our tent up on the grass outside New Pelion Hut. When possible we like to camp outside the huts as we find they can be pretty loud inside!

After setting up our tent we headed off on a side trip to Mount Oakleigh, it was super lovely to hike without our packs on and we resultantly felt very speedy. This side trip is an 8km round trip that climbs to the summit of Mount Oakleigh at 1286m. The weather decided to play along for the afternoon and we had some blue sky!

We made our way back down towards the tent and then headed towards Old Pelion Hut, another side trip. There is a beautiful swimming hole there also that was absolutely delightful to clean ourselves off in after a long day!

With the side trip to Mount Oakleigh our total kilometres for the day was 25km.

Day 3: Pelion Hut to Bert Nichols aka Windy Ridge Hut (21km)

The next day we woke up, had some breakfast, packed up our tent and headed off. We had originally planned ot be able to hike Mt Ossa today but unfortuantely it was raining and super misty again, not super safe conditions to attempt to summit the mountain.

We headed onwards and visited a couple of epic waterfalls that are side trips. We hiked to the view point of D’Alton and Fergusson Falls and then had a swim at Hartnett Falls, it was VERY cold but again bloody lovely for a refresh!

We hiked 21km today to reach Bert Nichols (or Windy Ridge) Hut. This is a newly built hut and was bloody lovely! Again we opted to set up our tent, and we got a spot with a view out towards the Acropolis. It was pretty epic!

Day 4: Windy Ridge → Narcissus Hut → Echo Point Hut (14km) plus a side trip up to Pine Valley Hut to explore the Acropolis & Labyrinth taking the days total to 31km

We started the day with the usual, black coffee and porridge, before packing up and heading off early. We planned to hike the side trip out to Pine Valley Hut to explore the Acropolis and the Labyrinth before making our way to Echo Point for the night.

We reached the turn off for Pine Valley and headed off. The trail out to Pine Valley was beautiful with a long swing bridge and a well formed trail. On our way our there the weather begun to turn and it got very wet and very cold. We reached Pine Valley Hut and dropped our packs. We headed up towards the Acropolis and Labyrinth. After about an hour of exploring we decided to turn around, it had gotten incredibly cold, we were soaked to the bone and Sean was starting to really feel it.

Once we got back to the hut we got our stove out and made some hot soup, and drunk that in the hut whilst trying to warm up. We were unable to get the fireplace working in the hut as they’re old coal burning fireplaces and can be quite finicky! The weather this day was a great reminder of how quickly the conditions can change, and how if you aren’t properly prepared things can turn pretty bad pretty quickly.

Once we’d sufficiently warmed up and left Pine Valley Hut we headed for Echo Point. The weather had cleared up again making the journey very enjoyable. The trail took us past Narcissus Hut, where a lot of people will end their Overland Journey. As I stated earlier, if time allows you I really encourage taking the extra time to travel by foot from Narcissus Hut to Cynthia Bay as we really loved the camping spot at Echo Point.

Day 5: Echo Point → Cynthia Bay (12.5km)

Our last was easy walking along moss covered paths towards Cynthia Bay, the southern end of Lake St Clair and the end point of the Overland Track.

Once we reached the Visitors Centre we dropped our bags, headed to our van and got some clean clothing before heading for a hot shower. The St Clair Visitors Centre has showers and they were absolute heaven after a wet and cold 5 days.

Thanks for reading!

Planning a trip to Tasmania? Check out our 2 week road trip itinerary here.