WARNING: if you are considering walking this track, think long and hard about it. It's very muddy, not very spectacular and quite difficult to navigate at times due to poor track marking or lack thereof. If I had the chance again I would not walk this track, but instead choose to walk around the South-West Cape near Melaleuca instead.
WARNING: This blog contains a daily selfie (or two).
DAY 1
Launceston - Scott's Peak Dam - Alpha Moraine
I spent Christmas with my sister-in-law Heidi's family in Launceston. Thanks for a lovely Christmas and the hospitality, John and Margot! :) Boxing Day morning Mum and I got the hire car and, after a false start where our car exploded somewhat, drove the short length of the state down to Scott's Peak Dam.
After arriving at about 2.30pm and registering at the Port Davey track official start, Mum dropped me off at the dam lookout and I bush-bashed down to the track. The first section of the track was pretty easy actually - extensive sections of boardwalk in between quartzy sections of track.
After about half an hour or so things started to get pretty shitty. The section of track between the dam and Junction Creek cops a lot more hiker traffic than the rest of the Port Davey track - as a matter of fact after I left Alpha Moraine the next morning I didn't see a single soul until I got to the airstrip at Melaleuca!
The thing about this part of Tasmania is that the soil type is predominantly peat. Kerry Lyn Bridle did a study on soil of the soils in the area and states 'Peat soils in south west Tasmania are shallow, with an average depth of 30 cm. Three types of peat were recognised: fibrous, intermediate and muck.'
Well I sure came across a lot of muck. And what wasn't already muck becomes muck as soon as the vegetation is removed. So things soon get pretty epic when that's combined with a lot of rain and water, lots of foot traffic made heavier by heavy packs and boots that weigh a kilo each.
THEME ALERT: LOTS OF MUCKING MUD.
I met about 3 groups of people heading to the Western Arthur Range, a spectacular collection of granite crags over gorgeous lakes that played a starring role in the first day's walking.
I came across a couple of unafraid pademelons in one of the rare patches of forest and also collected a stray thong - it looked like a fresh dropping (I'm officially a hiker scatologist) so I took it with me. Sure enough, at the Junction Creek crossing I came across its very thankful owner :)
After a strong afternoon push I made it into Alpha Moraine camp at around 9.00pm. All the official campsites were taken, and I was preparing to set up tent in a very uncomfortable spot next to the creek when I happened across a much nicer spot - phew! I set my 1-man Kathmandu Mono for the first time, had dinner and settled in for the first night out. It was great to be out there!
DAY 2
Alpha Moraine - Watershed Camp
I had originally intended to do a quick sprint up to Lake Cygnus and back on this day, but rain started to come in by the time I had packed up, so I thought better of it and set off. It was very windy, and soon enough the cold sideways rain started.
I was walking straight down the wind tunnel too, so every time I raised my head to see where I was going, the rain stung me in the face. Soon it was so bad that I found shelter behind a large boulder - I sat there for about 45 minutes until I could re-start. I wasn't too impressed, but luckily before long the weather improved for the day and I got some relief.
This day was very monotonous walking. After rounding the Western Arthurs the path turned to the south-west and into a rather challenging-looking valley. I was reminded of Gimli speaking of the way to Mordor - "Festering, stinking marshlands, far as the eye can see!" It did look a bit Lord-of-the-Rings-esque.
I crossed a long buttongrass plain interspersed with burnt-out sections of scrub. I'm not sure when the fire went through here but it was obviously a while ago - the vegetation was taking a long time to recover. I crossed Crossing River, which was flowing quite well and crystal clear. One of the best parts of this hike was the quality of the water, and its availability. Basically everywhere you walked was wet, so soon enough you would pass a creeklet or creek. The water tasted amazing and just felt so healthy :)
After crossing the Crossing I pushed on to Watershed Camp. But really, what a boring, wet and muddy day... lucky I was miles from anyone in the middle of wilderness to make up for it!
DAY 3
Watershed Camp - Forest Camp
The Lost World Plateau was what I was looking forward to this day. While there wasn't much written about it on the internet, I figured if someone had gone to all the trouble of naming it such then surely it has to be cool... right?? Well... let's just say it wasn't quite as spectacular as its namesake from Venezuela, Mt Roraima.
Actually it was boring as dog shit. Exactly the same vegetation, topography and views as everything else on this hike. Why bother naming it anything at all? But at least the morning was a fine one, good to get out and feel the sun on my face and breathe the fresh air. You can see the amazing plateau behind me.
The main thing of note from that morning were all the spider webs. Oddly enough I hadn't come across them in the previous two days, and then after about lunch time they disappeared again. Bizarre.
This was another boring day really, except for the confusion around Spring River. Both the book (South West Tasmania by John Chapman) and the map (South Coast walks) stated that the official campsite is on the east side of the river after the crossing. However I found an extensive campsite before crossing the river on the west side. Water access from the river crossing itself which is about 50m to the north. NOTE: This is a very easy place to get lost. There was a little pink marking tape leading north from said campsite but I didn't see it, and proceeded to head south into the river jungle and got lost and extremely frustrated for about 30 minutes or so.
The river crossing itself wasn't too bad, but probably might present a challenge for those of us who don't think that they're related to Bear Grylls. It's currently a log that has broken in the middle to become submerged in the river. The broken log's branches have placed pressure on the guide rope in places which makes the traverse even harder. Oh, and stinky ants are using the rope as a highway over the river... and not even paying any tolls! But if you hold tight to the rope and keep your footing sure you will be fine.
I also didn't find this apparent 'main Spring River campsite' after the crossing that Chapman and the map were referring to...
After leaving the river, I crossed another small feeder creek, then climbed briefly onto a ridgeline where I stayed for the rest of the day. I ended up at Forest Camp, which was quite a nice spot really - dry, sheltered and clear. However if you do plan to camp here, it is a 10 minute walk down the track to the rainforest creek to get water.
DAY 4
Forest Camp - Melaleuca
The last weather forecast I had gotten had said that this day would be between 20-40mm of rain... that's a lot! When I woke up, however, the sun was out. I packed quickly and got away.
Soon enough the vegetation and geography returned to 'normal', however this day was more undulating and elevated than the previous ones. I pushed on through, trying to at least cross the Bathurst Narrows before the rain came. Before long I got my first ocean views :) You can see the rain threatening from the south.
As much as I bag out this Port Davey track, the views on this section of the walk were spectacular - of Bathurst Harbour, Mt Rugby and the entire surrounding area. Soon enough I was at the juncture to the Farrell Point forest and campsite. I dropped my bad and went down to check it out. What a spot! Best campsite of the track, for sure. If I'd known it was this good I would have planned to stay a night here... right on the ocean, sheltered and dry. It was a little difficult to find water but there is a trickle of a creek there.
And so to the boat crossing. NOTE: If you are reading this thinking of walking the track solo, you have to be quite strong. I am 6'1, very fit and reasonably strong - yet the job of turning these fiberglass dinghies over all by myself was very challenging. As was dragging and pushing them all the way up and down the metal guide rails (Joan Point side). I would estimate the boats weigh about 200kg each (could be wrong but they are damn heavy).
Just as I was eating and drinking and generally preparing to row over the first crossing, it started to rain. I positioned the boat upside down on the edge of the platform and sat under it - perfect! Soon the shower passed though so I got to get in and row over the Narrows. It wasn't easy. The boat wasn't it great condition - one oar lock was missing and the oars were quite worn. I made it eventually, discovered a de-mountable used by Parks workers and their rubbish (!), and then proceeded to tow the other boat behind me back to the other side. NOTE: Prospective hikers, remember to take a second set of oars for the second boat with you too! Then left that boat there and returned at last to Joan Point, just as more rain was coming in. It was nice to taste the ocean, breathe the salty air and to rinse my wounds in salt water.
It was still fairly early in the day, so I set out to see how far I could get before the rain really set in. I saw two white-bellied sea eagles - magnificent! :) NOTE: After walking along Joan Point the path seems to climb a small hill to an open forest with markers that lead down to a creek and the cove on the west side of Joan Point. There is a campsite here, but not an official one. It's probably one used by fishermen or other seafarers, not hikers, as there was lots of flotsam and jetsam around. In any case this is not the path. The real path probably doesn't even climb the hill, but the way I got back to it was by re-tracing my steps out of the forest and following a little goat track down the east side to the track. This part of the track was very overgrown in places, but inexplicably it did have some sections of boardwalk.
After another round of getting lost, the rain decided to come in steadier. I had at some point discovered that my pack cover (purchased in Santiago de Chile) was not waterproof, so I bunkered down with my tent fly over me and waited out the heavy stuff. After that finished I set off again... and the rain set in again. According to Chapman there is a campsite 'in the forest near Horsehoe Inlet some 300m to the west - there are no tracks to the forest'. Well he got that right, and without tracks, in the rain, it was a difficult task to even get there. So instead I bit the bullet and set out for Melaleuca instead.
I pushed hard to get there - it was a long afternoon. But being Tasmania in the middle of summer, it doesn't get dark until 10pm so I was able to make it with plenty of daylight left. It was a bit distressing to see the airstrip and 'eco-tourist' facilities there, but it could have been worse I guess. There were a few other hikers there, but only one in my hut. The hut was complete luxury actually. Out of the wind and rain, benchtops for cooking, mattresses, places to hang clothes and gear to dry and plenty of floor space to stretch on. I met the volunteer rangers and volunteer bird-watchers, who were lovely. Chris even offered me to take as much food as I wanted from the donation bin they had - hikers who were finishing at Melaleuca to fly back to Hobart leave their food with them... I got a couple of gourmet delights and some muesli bars. I'm posing there in front of the original Charles King Memorial Hut Chimney Flue from 1960. Also note the map of Tassie (P.S. I didn't see anyone else's map of Tassie the whole trip - I did see a pair of boobies though, and I don't mean the feathered variety ;) - pre-Pedder Dam. The west road finishes at Maydena and Strathgordon doesn't even exist.
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