5-8 day bushwalk recommendations???

[robbio]

Hi there.

I am looking to do a 5-8 day bushwalk with my two siblings early next year (most likely early autumn) and am after some recommendations. Each of us are (or at least will be) reasonable fit and have all had previous experience walking in tas.

I am hoping for something memorable and adventurous but am not after a 'death march'. We wish to avoid major crowds (overland track is out).

On top of my current list would be the Penguin Cradle Trail (with potentially adding Reynolds falls as a side trip if time/energy allowed). The rewards of the PCT and Reynolds falls seem to outway the 25 odd km of road walking methinks... I also hear that the track is in good enough condition (thanks to local volunteers) following the 2016 floods.

I have already considered the following walks:

MT Anne circuit: (off limits due to recent fires)
Port Davey Track: (Not keen on $300/person flight)
South Coast Track: (same as above...)
Federation Peak: (summiting prob too exposed)
Western Authurs Traverse: (prob too hardcore)

Off track navigation is a bonus

Walking out the way we walked in is not.

Am very much open to the idea of off track walking (or even walking on roads) to create some sort of circuit but this is not essential. (For instance in the past i have walked into frenchmans Cap and back out via crossing the Franklin River. Something like that but longer/more involved would be ideal).

Not afraid of mud. Looking for a variety of landscapes.

Any advice on particular walks would be much appreciated.

Rob

[north-north-west]

If you liked the Raglan-Irenabyss-Frenchmans walk, I don't see why the Western Arthurs would be too much, especially as only A-K is open at the moment.
Unfortunately, most of the best of the SW tracks are closed due to fire damage, so options are limited. Denisons closed. Wilmot-Frankland too long. Anne closed. Eastern Arthurs closed.

Southern Range-South Coast circuit might be a bit long if the weather goes feral, but doable within that timeframe. Mix of walking track and highly variable pad/marked route and a hitch at the end. A challenge, but one of Tassie's best. Route is covered in Chapman's South West book.

Tarkine Coast from Corinna to Temma if you can arrange transport, but it's a one way route usually. One of the best coastal walks around and possible to keep off a lot of the 4WD track sections in the north simply by staying closer to the shore. Covered in Phil Pullinger's Tarkine Trails book. Possible variation is to start on the Hazelton track, follow the Norfolk Range south, and then go across to the coast, north, and follow the Balfour track back to the road, but that may be a bit more hardcore than you want or should try without reasonable off-track Tassie experience.

It's easy to put together a walk of almost any length you want in the Walls/Central Plateau, and equally easy to turn one into a circuit with no, or minimal, backtracking. For example, in from Lake Ada to Talleh Lagoons, sidetrack to Antimony, up Bernes Valley to Ball, follow the track down to Adelaide, north to the main track, down to Trappers, up to George Howes, Golden Gate to Zion or Hinom, explore central Walls, return to Talleh via Powena and Fanny (where you pick up the track). Or instead of Powena, work your way south east to Pillans and pick up the 4WD track on its northern edge and follow that back down and over Lake Augusta. A mix of walking tracks, disused vehicle tracks, open and closed 4WD tracks and cross-country.
Or start at the Little Fisher, up via Rinadena Falls to Long Tarns and just wander, exiting via either the main Walls track or the cairned route down from Clumner Bluff. Little bit of road walking to connect the ends, but only a couple of hours max.
Or start by going in via Moses Creek, sidetrip up to the Cathedral Plateau, continue to Junction and Adelaide and chose your route out from there. Mix of variable standard walking track and off-track walking. Brilliant during fagus season.
Or mix up a bit of Walls and a bit of Overland by going via Lees Paddocks and Reg Wadleys to Kia Ora and through the Never Never to Junction, returning to the Mersey Forest Rd via Blizzard Plains or Moses Creek tracks, including a loop through the Walls.
Or start at Lake Mackenzie and use the Lake Explorer and Blue Peaks tracks to go in and out and just explore the country in between.
Most of those access routes - and more - are covered in Chapman's Cradle-St Clair/Walls book. Just pick and choose which options work best for you. Or get onto ListMap and plot a route from wherever through whatever. There's a lot of open country out there that makes for relatively easy off-track walking.

PCT is fairly straightforward in comparison, being tracked (albeit at varying standards) all the way. Reynolds is fantastic and it is also fairly easy to add a sidetrip up Pandani Creek to Back Peak and Recondite Knob (and Remus if you're feeling really masochistic). Leven Canyon is the only challenging part of the PCT, but it is fairly full-on, especially if there's rain. Black Bluff Range and Beecroft are neat.

[robbio]

Wow thanks alot. So many options. Looks like i've got some homework to do. I'll be sure to look into some of these.

Most of what you mention i have not yet walked, that should provide me with enough interesting walks for years to come.

Cheers.

[pazzar]

You could also leave a car at Lake McKenzie and wander through the highlands for as long as you wish. Accessing the Walls, Ironstone, Pillans Lakes are all achievable in that time frame. Navigation is almost all off track there, but the country is relatively open, but can be hard to navigate in bad conditions. A few historic huts up in the lakes there too.