Our 22 days in Tasmania - report

[SergejD]

Hey everyone,

we are back home from Tasmania and working out now with the heavy snow outside the house.

I just wanted to thank everyone on this forum for every bit of information that helped our vacation be a fantastic one.
I didn't go through the photos yet so you will have to wait for the actual report here with pictures and everything.
We came to Australia on 2nd Jan. and on 3rd we were on Tasmania. We were there till 24th. Jan. Then we spent last 3 days around Melbourne.

Just a short version of report:
- South Coast track(7.1.-13.1. - should start on 5th Jan. but because of the bad weather and heavy winds flew in on 7th.)
Because of the storms in the previous days(the volunteer in Melaleuca said they had hail and snow on the peaks the day before we flew in)
the Melaleuca was flooded and first 3 days were really muddy. But we were lucky and we had really good weather all 7 days. Just few drops of rain on 2 days.
It was hard to get used to all the mud(haven't seen anything like that during our trips around the world). I think we went to the walk well prepared. We are both
climbers and are used for long walking hours with heavy gear to get to the routes in European Alps. We took our time stoping to take photos and to eat. The times
mentioned in the Chapman book were good comparison to us. After last year when we were on Borneo walking in the jungle we were again happy to find such
a beautiful and remote place. We saw lots of wildlife and quite a number of snakes. Had a photoshooting with a big tiger snake in South Cape Rivulet Camp.

I think it was a big one...

I was not so close - big zoom. :)

Although scary it was a magnificent animal!

But I was really sad that you can see the trash left behind. I don't understand how you can come to such a beautiful place and carry everything in but can't carry the empty stuff out?

- Walls of Jerusalem(14.1.-16.1.) - we were there during the heat and i thing that from the peak of Mt. Jerusalem we could see some of the fires starting in the distance and the helicopters flying there.
Slept near the Dixon's up in the direction of Mt.Jerusalem. Realy a magical place with wallabys all around. My wife had a close encounter with a Tiger snake. We were siting on
the ground relaxing and talking and the snake came to 10 cm of her arm resting on the ground. I think because we were so relaxed and silent the snake didn't notice her. The result was a wild scream
and some kind of ninja jump away from the snake. That was when i first noticed the snake. I think it was more afraid of my wife than the other way around. After that my wife told me she heard some
hissing noise and then saw the snake.

- Mt. Anne(20.1.-21.1.) - not 100% sure on the dates - have to check the photos. Came late in the evening to the car park and decided to walk to the hut and sleep there. It was a great evening there
and had fun reading the print from this forum about Mt.Anne circuit. The sunset was magical. On the next day we left 1 backpack at the hut and took everything we needed to get to the summit and back.
Saw a group of people camping under Eve Peak near the tarns. Had really nice chat with them at the hut and car park after we came back from Mt.Anne. By the time we came to the spot where the track goes
left towards the peak Mt.Anne was hidden in the fog and low clouds. Because we didn't have much experience with Tassi weather we were thinking about our options. But we decided that becouse we are both
climbers that we would be quick enough. The short climb was really nice and we enjoyed it, but because of the fog there was limited visibility and the views were not so great. On the way down we climbed
on our own route(not the way we came up). We both agreed that mt Anne region was the place that was a lot like our country( Slovenia ) and our mountains.

We also made some day walks and drove around the Tassi a lot. I hope i will find some time to go over our photos and write a longer version of the report.

The only thing we didn't manage to do was to go diving, because my wife forgot her diving licence card.

But we really had a wonderful time and are thankful for all the info we got here on the forum and all the help and nice words from the people we met all around Tassi.

Thank you!
Mojca & Sergej

[eggs]

Thanks for your report.
Sorry about the snakes. Its been many years since I saw a snake in Tas.

[walkabout]

Thank you for taking the time to report. It's always interesting to read/hear what someone outside of Oz thinks about the walks/scenery etc. I look forward to seeing the photos.

[philm]

Thanks for the report sounds like a great trip.

We were in the Walls on the same dates and seems like there was a temporary resident snake just up the board walk from Dixon's . It was quite imune to humans and we also had a couple of close encounters! The snake seemed more intent on getting cool in the stream coming down the hill rather than worry about peole! Anyway we had a great time and perhaps we saw you as we were camping at Dixon's at the same days you were there. Glad you had a great trip and you sure packed in the walks for the time you were in Tassie.

[SergejD]

Added first 3 pictures of a photoshooting with a big tiger snake in South Cape Rivulet Camp.

[stry]

Sorry about the snakes. Its been many years since I saw a snake in Tas.

Thanks a joke right ? Or do you have some secret, or heavy feet, or something that gets them out of the way before you see them?

[eggs]

No - I was checking my trips mentally. Definitely saw some tigers on the first trip back in Feb 80. There was even one out in the snow near Pelion Gap.
I remember one scooting underneath my wife's feet on the Nut at Stanley in 83, and we had one chased towards us by a friend at Lake Ball in 86.
I think the last one was a tiger at Narcissus in April 08.
Had 4 summer trips since then including 4 days across the Central Plateau / Walls area and only a Whip Snake in Dec 08.
I suspect its been either too cold or too hot for them.
As for heavy feet, I did Mt Dundas solo in 1980 on quite a hot day. I was expecting to see lots that day, but a heavy thud of a walking stick gives them warning that you are coming. I didn't see one.