Cradle to Penguin Trail

Ok I know that my last blog was extremely weak so I promise to try and make these next few chalk full of witty remarks and enthralling stories; well that is my goal anyways… :)

Let’s see where did I leave off?… Day 1- my birthday = awesome; two rounds of birthday dessert; presents that left me speechless and two counts on the BBQ meter. The following day (19^th) we prepared for our bushwalk and Todd and I went to Burnie to pick up the final member of our crew (Al). The Burnie airport was much like the Launceston airport: small, efficient and refreshing lax in security measures. Pre airport pick up Todd and I walked around the “big” town of Burnie (19,000 people) and did some last minute Christmas shopping. We returned presents and Al in tow and then went to the grocery store to purchase food for our bushwalk. I have to say that the preparation is fun but extremely tedious. It is hard to measure your future hunger counterbalanced with the dreaded added weight that the food will supply. At the end of the day my pack weighed 21.5 kilos = 47 pounds. That was about the average weight of all of our packs, plus or minus a kilo or two.

We started out on the morning of the 20^th with a maxi taxi that picked us up and drove us to Cradle Mountain. We left our packs in the

taxi and just packed necessities (rain gear, food, water) in our day packs and hiked up to the top of Cradle (1,545 m above sea level) and across Hansen’s Peak and back to the taxi. The loop took us around 5 ½ hours and then the taxi (which had beeCn waiting for us for $20 an hour) drove us 20 min away to the Cradle – to – Penguin trail. Penguin is a town near Todd’s hometown of Ulverstone. We trenched through nasty, prickly bushes and ankle high mud for the next 3 hours until we reached Bare Mtn Camp.

As soon as we arrived we set up tents, pulled leeches off our legs :( blech, collected fire wood and began to rehydrate the spaghetti Bolognese that Emmi, Todd and I had made for us all. This camp was very unsheltered from the elements and although Mother Nature was very kind we were all fairly cold and crowded as close as possible to the fire. Todd was so close that his boots began to burn and he only noticed when Roman pointed out that something smelled like burnt rubber. Todd “My foot would have been ready to eat before I would have noticed,”

to which Roman responded “Yah! I have my cutlery all ready!” I was obviously sitting by the fire and making notes about the daily events: the beautiful view, the barely walked trail, and the men we passed on Cradle Mtn with Coles shopping bags in their hands. They were obviously setting off for the 6 day hike that we were originally going to conquer (the Overland Track). Apparently tourists often miscalculate the serious nature of the overland track and carry their food, bedding and clothing in their grocery bags. Todd mentioned that he had heard that one American tourist walked into the first overland track campsite with a plastic bag of snacks and a credit card. He had heard that there were shacks along the trail and he had assumed that he could charge his food and accommodation… priceless! :-D

The next morning we arose to a beautiful view of Cradle and thus began a routine that lasted for the next two days. We would stay up until the sun went down (around 9:30pm – AWESOME) and then wake up once the sun made the tent hot. We would boil water for oatmeal and coffee and then begin hiking. After a few hours we would stop for lunch and then walk again until our next camp. The second day we climbed a mtn called black bluff and then camped by a lake on the foot on black bluff. Of course Todd started a trend by jumping into the freezing lake and so we all diligently followed our tour guide… for about 60 seconds. :) The next morning we awoke to winds that blew the tents back and forth in 45 degree angles… Needless to say, we stayed in bed for a bit longer than usual. When we all managed to brave the wind (that died down a bit) Jeff made the mistake of taking out the tent stakes while the poles were still maintaining the shape of the tent. The tent became an instant kite and blew into the lake. After 30 seconds of “I’ll get it,” “Nah I’ll do it” and Jeff saying “Don’t! It’s not worth it,” Al jumped into the lake to perform a heroic save of the barely used tent.

And with that heroic act I will push the pause button to allow for snack, bathroom, and sleep breaks. My Tasmania trip has only just begun! More stories to come! Hold on tight… :-D