Tasman National Park, Tasmania

If Freycinet is the darling of the Tasmanian Parks then Tasman is the evil twin brother. While Freycinet was white beaches, aqua seas and romance, Tasman is rocky cliffs, gale-force winds and drama. Tasman National park is located on the the Tasman peninsula on the south-east corner of Tasmania (anyone noticing a trend here?). It only has access via dirt roads and there is no public transit to take you in, so I had to rent a car. There is one main campsite at a place called Fortescue Bay, and this is where a left the car.

I started by doing a 2-day circuit trek that includes two peninsulas: Cape Huay and Cape Pillar. At the end of Cape Pillar is Tasman Island, which is small and supports a lighthouse and a couple buildings (residence for the lighthouse keeper and perhaps weather station?) The map/guide does not provide estimated walk times for the circuit so I had little to go on. There are only a couple of campsites on the whole route, both of them on Cape Pillar, so I had a considerable distance to cover the first day and no idea how long it would take. I set off at about 11:00 AM as I had driven down from Hobart that morning, and easily covered the trek out to Cape Huay and back to the main circuit trek in about 3 hours. I then set off over the circuit trail towards Cape Pillar. The terrain initially consisted of rocks and scrub, so it was impossible to tell if I was actually on the trail or not. To my dismay, there were no trail markers so I just had to assume that I was going in the right direction. Not a pleasant feeling. After about 45 minutes, I found my first trail marker, and I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. The trail was marked for the next few hours, so at least I knew I was on the right path. Unfortunately, this part of the trail is not maintained by the parks and is full of fallen trees. I literally could not take more that five steps at a time without having to climb over a fallen tree, or crab-walk/crawl under one. This was very difficult with my pack on and my knees and feet were really feeling it. Given that I didn't know how long to expect this hike to take, and it was impossible to make estimates due to the condition of the trail, I was quite uneasy along this path. I knew that I was the only one on the trail that day, and likely for the next couple of days as well, which added to my anxiety. I was also running out of water, and knew from my map that the next stream was well down into Cape Pillar. At about 6:00 PM I finally arrived at the junction of the Cape Pillar trail, which was a huge relief. As it turns out, the campsites were nothing more that small clearings on the trail large enough for one tent. They were unmarked so I'm still guessing that these small clearings were actually the campsites.

At the first stream I came upon a single woman camping alone. This wasn't a designated campsite but she, like me, was looking for any place big enough to fit a tent. For a moment I was tempted to try and fit my tent in beside hers, but then I proceeded to have a very bizarre conversation with her and didn't think I had the strength left in me to deal with her for the rest of the evening and next morning. She was American but trying to pass herself off as Australian. Her opening question to me was where was I from, and when I replied "Canada" she gave me a hard time for bringing up my nationality so early in the conversation. She has clearly encountered some backlash from the traveling public regarding her nationality and was very defensive about it. She also was rather spacey and couldn't seem to hang onto the flow of her conversation. I decided to push on to the campsite indicated on my map.

I finally got to a space big enough to accommodate my tent at 7:40 PM, just as the sun was setting. I got my tent set up despite the incredible winds and had no residual energy to even think about cooking dinner. I crawled into my sleeping bag with a baggie of trail mix and my book. At this point I was dry, warm and safe so I felt much better, but my feet, knees and hips were all aching from the day's effort. I was reminded of something my friend Nicole from Brisbane and said to me when were in the rain forest in Peru. We were staying in a lodge and each room had only three walls, with the fourth side being completely open to the forest. This is a bit frightening, but Nicole felt that since her bed was surrounded by a mosquito net, that she felt safe and protected from anything that might enter her room. I found this quite amusing at the time, however I felt the same thing there on Cape Pillar. A nylon tent was technically not much of a shield against the elements and animals out there, but once I was inside I felt like I was in a fortress and all of the days anxieties slipped right away.

I awoke the next morning after a horrible night's sleep due to mother nature's efforts. At least there were no possums to keep me awake here, but the wind and rain took over. I left my tent and took off down to the end of the cape to catch the views. It was absolutely stunning. There are massive craggy cliffs all along the coast that drop right into the raging sea. There were times when it felt like the wind would blow me right off my feet, and in fact I had to drop to my knees on several occasions to ensure that I wouldn't get blown over. Over the course of this trek, I ran into the woman I had seen the night before. She was like a different person - very charming and well-spoken. I have to assume that her behaviour the previous night had been somewhat chemically induced. After finishing the cape walk (about 4 hours round trip), I came back to my tent and packed up camp. I then set off back towards Fortescue Bay via the final leg of the circuit trail. This trail was very well maintained, and I made good time. Still, it was another 7 hours of trekking that day, and after the 8.5 hours of trekking the previous day, I was absolutely beat, and thrilled to see the campsite.

I was able to take a hot shower at the camp and after I got myself settled in, I realized it was St. Patrick's day. There certainly wasn't a party going on at the campsite as there were only two other families there, so I inquired at the office about the location of the nearest pub. A 15 km drive took me near to Port Arthur, a tourist destination, and seemingly the only place where you could get a hot meal on the entire Tasman Peninsula. The Fox and Hounds is actually more of an inn than a pub, but they were able to accommodate me after a short wait with a glass of wine at the bar. I ended up dining on a superb blackened salmon fillet with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables steamed to perfection. Not exactly what I would have been doing for St. Paddy's day at home, but enjoyable none-the-less, especially since dinner the night before consisted of a few nuts and dried fruit. I was back to the campsite and tucked up in bed fairly early.

The next morning was beautiful and clear. I took a cup of tea down to the beach and watched the water birds. There were some birds on the sea that looked exactly like loons - their shape, the tilt of their heads and their diving style were all the same. I couldn't see what colour they were as they were back lit by the rising sun, but it still was a lovely reminder of home. After breakfast, I drove across the peninsula to do a 5 hour day hike to Cape Raoul. While I drove, the scenery was also similar to home - lots of farms and rolling hills. I could have been driving through Alcove - it was really pretty. This was a much easier hike than my previous one and made for a very enjoyable day. The views, while beautiful, weren't quite as dramatic as on the other capes, but I was able to see Cape Pillar from a different vantage point when I reached the tip of Cape Raoul. On the return trip I happened upon a massive tiger snake, but took it all in stride. Even though they're deadly, the snakes here tend to move much more slowly than they do at home, and that somehow makes me much less panicked in their presence. I explored the peninsula a bit by car after my hike and then spent some time reading on the beach back at the campsite.

The next day I packed up camp and decided to do some touring in the car rather than another hike. I explored some of the touristy spots on the peninsula, both man-made and nature-made. The coastline never seemed to get boring, with all the jagged rocks, caves and blow-holes. The Tasman peninsula figures prominently on the "convict trail" in Tassie. There were jails and other convict communities on the peninsula. The point where it joins the rest of the island, Eaglehawk Neck, is only 100 metres across so provided a natural barrier and served to keep the convicts confined. There was a dog line across this stretch where 18 or so very vicious dogs were tied up to alert the guards to anyone trying to cross. Very few people ever escaped.

I returned to Hobart and visited a few more historic sites there such as the Women's Factory (jail for female convicts) and the Cascade brewery. I finally made it up to the top of Mount Wellington which was well worth the trip. It towers over Hobart and offers absolutely fabulous views of Tassie in all directions. I spent the evening getting laundry done and readying myself for my departure from Tasmania. The next morning I drove myself to the airport and flew out to Sydney.

Freycinet National Park, Tasmania

I had heard good things about Freycinet, but none of them did it justice. I spent about 3.5 days there and was expecting to be trekking for most of it, but in fact the hikes were quite short. There was one day that included quite a long and challenging trek, but for the most part, my time was spent lazily enjoying the scenery.

Freycinet is a National Park situated on a peninsula off the east coast of Tasmania. It is nothing short of spectacular. Unlike the Overland Track, this park needs sunny weather to really show off it's beauty and I was lucky to have sunshine for about three-quarters of my stay there. I arrived at the trail head at around one on Sunday afternoon and hiked for about one and half hours to Hazard beach. Unfortunately, when I arrived it started to cloud over and the winds really picked up. As this was a long weekend, there were a few other campers at the camp site, but it was fairly quiet. The closest tent to mine was occupied by an Australian couple who were doing a sea kayak tour of the park. Their guides were a couple of young men from Vancouver who were doing a work term in Freycinet. I spent some of my evening with them and enjoyed their company. The weather broke a bit later in the day and we were treated to a beautiful sunset. The possums were a bit of a pain that night, and one actually clawed his way into my tent and was attempting to pull my food cache out through the hole he had made, by the time I chased him away with my hiking pole. I repaired the hole with some bandages.

By the morning it was still windy and overcast, so I packed up my tent and moved on to Cook's Beach, an invigorating hour-long "trek" down the coast. I met a few campers on their way out - the long weekend was officially ending. There was one other camper at Cooks' Beach, a German fellow named Tiemo. We were obviously both enjoying our solitude, but had much in common so spent some time together. I did a short (2-hour return) hike over to the south end of the peninsula to Bryan's beach. This was quite a wild beach - lots of fallen trees and debris on the sand. The wind was blowing hard right into the beach and there was nowhere to take shelter, so I didn't stay long. By the time I got back to Cook's Beach, the weather had cleared, and the wind died down. I spent some time sunning on the beach and exploring the little bays to the south. Tiemo and I spent most of the afternoon and early evening sitting on the beach and enjoying the spectacular scenery and generally solving the world's problems. It was a wonderful afternoon.

The next morning was a bit overcast as I set out on my long walk. This trek crossed the peninsula diagonally and took me quite high to get some fabulous views. About two hours into it, the sky had cleared and I had beautiful weather. I unfortunately don't have too many photos from this trek due to stupidity on my part. Based on the estimated walking times, the map and the actual terrain that I was walking through, I was totally lost for the entire day. I wasn't actually lost - the trail was very well marked and there was never any question that I would come out where I wanted to. I just couldn't reconcile the terrain with the map and walking times. I kept looking for the side trails to the two peaks along the way (which, it turns out were not marked) and didn't realize until I was well passed them that I had missed them. Because I kept waiting for these two vantage points to take my photos, and given that I missed them both, I never really took any photos. I think I ate my lunch within about 50 meters of one of them - doh! Anyway, all the views are safely registered in my mind's eye, I just can't share them with you.

I arrived at Wineglass Bay campsite about one hour earlier than my fastest estimate and found the campsite empty. This beach is the jewel in the crown of Freycinet and is so beautiful it makes you ache. It is one of the most romantic places I've ever been, and I have to admit it would have been nice to share it with someone.

The bay can also be accessed directly from the trail head in about an hour (this is the trail I would take out) so most people just come in for the day. I could see a handful of people at the far end of the beach near the trail head. There were a couple of boats anchored in the bay for the night but other than that, the place was empty. I put on my bathing suit and headed for the beach. Within minutes, realizing that there was nobody within view, I had pulled off my top and walked the beach in my bottoms. It was so wonderful to feel the sun on my skin and to have the freedom to be out in the fresh air half naked. I spent the rest of the afternoon just soaking up the sun and the solitude. By late afternoon I had the beach to myself although another couple did show up at about 7:00 to use the campsite. After dinner I sat on the beach and watched it get dark, the stars came out in full force as the last light was leaving the sky. It was a spectacular night.

When I woke the next morning, the other couple were still asleep in their tent and all the boats had left the bay. The beach was mine. I grabbed my towel and went for an early morning skinny dip in the sea. I can't begin to describe the feeling of freedom and serenity. I had a couple of hours to kill before I had to hike out, so after I packed up I put on my iPod and hit the beach. I sang along to Blue Rodeo at the top of my lungs as I twirled and danced in the sand. In that moment my life was perfect, and every demon that had ever plagued me was a million miles away. I came to realize how important these things are to me: feeling the sun on my skin, swimming naked, singing out loud, being 100% myself and having privacy. My house gave all these things to me and I know that I'll never settle in a spot where I can't have them.

I hiked out at the last possible moment and caught the bus back to Hobart (although the temptation was to buy more food and hike back in for a few days!). I am now preparing for my final outdoor adventure of Tasmania. I'll be heading out to Tasman National Park (south east coast) tomorrow for some more hiking. The scenery there will be much more dramatic: high cliffs along the sea and wind-blown bluffs. The trekking will also be much more challenging, which I'm looking forward to. (Getting back in shape after months of laziness has been wonderful.) I'll be back in Hobart late on Monday and fly to Sydney early Tuesday morning. I have to rent a car for this leg of the journey, as there is no public transit to this park. It's a real drag to have to pay for a car to sit in a parking lot for 3 days, but there's just no other way to do it. At least there's no accommodation to pay for out there.

I'll be in touch again on either the 19th or 20th, depending on my schedule.

Overland Track, Tasmania

I am back safe and sound from the Overland Track. The trek was wonderful, the scenery spectacular and the people friendly. I had a lot of time for introspection as I walked, and on top of some major revelations, I also enjoyed some really magical moments. The park is impeccably maintained and managed. There are log books at each hut to document the route of each trekker, and we all have registration numbers which the rangers check from time to time. The huts are well equipped for cooking and cleaning (fire-resistant table surfaces etc.), and while spartan provide everything you could want. Rain water is collected in huge tanks at the huts so there is always potable water available, and the outhouses are all composting toilets so that even food scraps can be disposed of there.

The first day was very tough, as expected based on the trek notes. There was a lot of uphill climbing, some of it very steep and I was carrying all my gear on my back. I didn't get started until about 11:00 AM as that is when the bus dropped me of and I got checked in with the parks people. In the middle of the afternoon I made the decision to summit Cradle Mountain which is an offshoot of the trail. It is a very steep climb, most of it scrambling over huge boulders. It added an extra 3 hours to my day, but was well worth it as the views were stunning. (I was able to leave my backpack below when I did the summit climb.) By the time I finally got into camp at about 6:00 PM, I was almost in tears from exhaustion and blisters all over my feet. (I left my old hiking boots in Bhutan and bought a new pair in Melbourne. As much as I tried to break them in before the trek, there's only so much walking around the house in them that I could do.) It sure made me appreciate the porters and yaks/horses I have had to carry my gear on other treks.

The first hut, Waterfall hut, has a full-time ranger staying there, as well as a couple of volunteers who rotate out every couple of weeks. They help the trekkers figure out the "system", where everything is and how it works. It was a nice evening meeting the other trekkers, chatting with the volunteers and watching the nocturnal animals start showing up at about dusk. Everyone was in bed at about 8:30 which is when it gets dark. Despite my fatigue, this was a bit too early for me, but I was able to read by headlamp for a while before I dropped off.

Day two was a short day and I arrived at Windermere hut shortly after noon. I had all my blisters taped up, and even though my feet hurt, it wasn't too bad. I was definitely walking much slower than most people, as each footstep is somewhat painful and I was terrified of falling. I have discovered that my balance leaves a lot to be desired (especially with an extra 50 lbs or so on my back) - not sure if that's part of my old hip problem or not. I was very glad to have my hiking pole to help me over the rough ground and roots. We all did a short (1-hour) side hike into a pretty little lake, but it was quite cool and rainy so I didn't swim there. I did go for a quick swim in the lake beside the hut, and even though there is a strict ban on soap in the park (even biodegradable soap is prohibited), it felt good to at least rinse off in the cool water. A quiet afternoon around camp and early to bed again.

Day three was a bit longer, but I had set my expectations well and managed alright. Pelion hut is huge (sleeps 60) as it is at a bit of a crossroads and has access from several different parks. It is a beautiful spot and I really enjoyed watching the views from the deck as the sun was going down.

Day four was another long day and included another summit. We climbed to the top of Mt Ossa which is the highest peak in Tasmania. (That's not saying much - there are no real mountains of any size in Australia.) It was well worth the effort as the views were spectacular from the top. 360 degrees of rugged mountain peaks. By the end of the day, I was really starting to feel the stress. My blisters were very sore as was my back and most of my leg muscles. I was starting to worry at this point, but that's when things started to turn around and everything started to heal by the next morning. There is a lovely little waterfall beside Kia Ora hut with a swimming hole at the bottom. Even though the water was too cold for a swim, I managed to get in thigh deep and give myself a splash. Once I was all bundled up with my book on the deck to relax until dinner, I noticed some dirt was caught in the blister on my left big toe. Closer examination revealed that it was in fact a leech inside the blister on my toe. I am embarrassed to admit that my first thought was to call out for a man. Fortunately, there was a worthy man nearby (Australian/Canadian hybrid) who went into the hut for salt and returned with a box of matches. Nobody had any salt so he had to burn the leech off my toe. I was very brave throughout the procedure and I was very grateful for his gentle ministrations.

Day five was supposed to be a short day for me, but I stretched it out socializing along the trail. We stopped at a couple of waterfalls which were very pretty. We stayed at a very small hut called Windy Ridge, which isn't used much as most trekkers press on to the next camp for the night. As a result we were a small group and we had a good time making use of the Scrabble game left in the hut. It had started raining about an hour before I arrived in camp, and there was some fairly threatening thunder and lightening. I was actually beginning to get quite nervous as it was quite dark already at 3:30 PM and I was carrying a metal hiking pole through a thunderstorm. About this time I entered into an old growth forest. The trees were huge and covered in moss, the canopy high overhead. While it was even darker in the forest, I felt this wonderful sense of security and comfort within it. Just like at my home in Val-des-Monts, I felt embraced and protected by the woods. It gave me renewed energy and spirit to make it into camp.

I left the main trail on day six to stay at the much-recommended Pine Valley hut. The walk in was fairly easy and very pretty, although the weather deteriorated as the day wore on. I got to the hut, left my bag there, and climbed up to a rock formation named the Parthenon. It was really raining and totally socked in - I couldn't see a thing. On the far side of the Parthenon is an area known as the Labyrinth, so named because it is a huge area of rocks, lakes and shrubberies with an infinte number of paths through it. People have been lost there and never found. You are advised not to go there alone, especially when the weather is not clear. As it turns out, someone has marked one path through the Labyrinth with stone cairns, and I followed this path as far as the first lake. The cairns were close enough together that there was no chance of me losing my way (and I had left word with some other trekkers at Pine Valley as to where I was going). As I walked along the ridge of the Parthenon and down into the Labyrinth, the clouds were swirling around me and the views were changing every second. Everything was a shade of gray and colours would only appear when I got very close to them. It was eerie and beautiful. I felt both at peace and exhilarated at the same time. It was the first time that I've felt truly happy and "right" since I've left Asia. It was a sense of connecting with the universe and being totally in synch with my environment. It makes me wonder about the way we live our lives in the developed world. Since I've been in Australia, I've been living much as I did at home and fell victim to the lures of TV, the internet, shopping malls and cinemas. It seems that all these things that seem such an integral part of our lives are actually distractions from life. It's amazing how much more alive I feel when I don't have access to these things. It was a very powerful moment for me and has me longing to get back to Asia or at least out of my comfort zone.

On the way down from the Parthenon, the clouds parted long enough for me to catch a view of Lake St. Clair which marks the end of the Overland Track. I got back to the hut to find a family there with two small girls. I was a bit concerned about this, but the girls were polite, well-behaved, very talkative and fun to have around.

My plan was to hike to another rock formation, the Acropolis before I left Pine Valley on day seven. Unfortunately, the weather was awful and there was no point in going - it affords wonderful views in good weather, but on this day you couldn't seen the hand in front of your face. We all hung around in the cabin until about 11:00 hoping the weather would clear, but we had no luck. At that point I started my descent to my last hut, Narcissus, which sits on the shores of Lake St. Claire. There is a ferry that runs from one end of the lake to the other, and most trekkers choose to end their hike at Narcissus and jump on the ferry there. As a result, I was alone at Narcissus hut for the night. I was worried about being lonely out there, but given my background with lakeside huts, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The weather stayed very wet for the remainder of the afternoon and evening, but I was entertained by watching the views come and go through the swirling clouds and rain. I stood on the ferry dock and slowly did a 360 degree turn and realized that there likely weren't any other people as far as I could see in any direction. It was a wonderful feeling of serenity and freedom.

I woke the next morning to perfectly blue skies. I took a cup of tea down to the dock and watched the sun burn the mist off the lake. It was so much like home and yet so far away from home. I stripped down and slid into the cold water for a morning swim and then stood with my feet in the frost of the dock and let the warm sunshine dry me off. It was absolutely glorious! I got myself ready to go, and started on my trek down the lake just as the morning ferry was arriving. The weather continued to be great, and I hiked through beautiful forest along the lake shore for five hours. After completing the entire trek without spotting a snake, I managed to see two within the last 45 minutes of my walk. Both were very big black tiger snakes, the same lethally poisonous type that was living in Brian's driveway. Fortunately both left me alone long enough to jump-start my heart and get hiking again. At about 3:00 I arrived at the Lake St. Clair Visitor Centre and my trek was over. I pitched my tent and took a fabulous hot shower. I ran into the family from Pine Valley hut (they had taken the ferry across the lake as I was hiking down its shore) and joined them for a couple of well-deserved cold beers at the restaurant in the Visitors Centre. I had dinner at my camp and went to bed.

My final day in the park was spent doing a seven-hour circuit trek up Mt. Rufus. Given that I wasn't carrying anything other than a sandwhich and some water, I practically ran up this mountain. It was a really lovely trek, and the views were superb from the top. I came down via a small lake and had my lunch on its shores. I met another couple on the hike who were also staying at the campsite. They invited me to join them at a pub down the road, so I had a lovely visit with them and enjoyed a glass of wine at the end of the day. They are a newly retired couple from outside Melbourne who are traveling all around Australia. They were very friendly and I had a great time with them.

Unfortunately it rained all night and it turns out that my cheapie tent isn't exactly rain-proof. Fortunately, my bus didn't come until late the next afternoon, so I spent the morning in the laundry facilities, drying everything out. I actually came back to Hobart with all my gear clean and dry.

I have just made arrangements to go out to Freycinet Park on Sunday (March 10) to do another couple of days of trekking. This time I'll be on the coast and will likely have much clearer and warmer weather. I'm looking forward to that, as the Hobart summer leaves something to be desired. I guess we're actually heading into autumn here, much as you are all heading into spring. Hobart is almost at the same latitude as home, so the weather is much more extreme here than in other parts of Australia.

I'll likely not blog again until after Freycinet (March 14), but I do welcome all your e-mails, so keep writing.