Dec 08 / Jan 09 saw old and new friends come together to undertake the South Coast Track in Tasmania.Jotted down in this account of the 8 day walk are some thoughts and reflections and photos from the occasion. Hopefully some of the information posted here will prove helpful if you're thinking of doing the track yourself.
Please note however, that this is a serious walk and that you should follow the advice given by the Parks and Wildlife Service! The information provided here consists of my thoughts only.....
We decided to walk from Cockle Creek to Malaleuca, although most people walk the track in the opposite direction. This was due to the fact that several members of our group had walked the south coast track in previous years and were keen to experience the walk in the opposite direction.
Whichever option you choose you should be aware that this walk necessitates a fly-in or fly-out requirement. Malaleuca is extremely remote and only accessible by sea and light aircraft - there are no roads in this part of Tasmania - so most people fly in to Malaleuca and then walk out to Cockle Creek where a daily bus service then connects back to Hobart.
Finishing the walk in Malaleuca as we did, means that you may be forced to wait an extra day or two before flying out as poor weather (which is common in this part of the world) sometimes prevents the plane from getting in. This is only a problem if you're running low on food and supplies!
The Team! Jonathan, Holly, Andrew, Myself, Dave, Dave, Pauline and Erica
It's a Difficult Walk
First up - let me say that the south coast track is is a difficult walk! I found it so anyway! Far more demanding than the Overland Track for example. Expect to be walking for 8-9 hours for most days (first and last days excepted) and visualize yourself carrying a 20kg pack through muddy bogs, up and down mountains, through rivers and along beaches. It really is a physical challenge but the rewards are well worth it! I would consider myself to be fairly fit - I run 8/9 km several times a week and I'm fairly active - even so - I was extremely tired on most days and generally crawled into my tent by 9pm at the latest!
I also managed to roll one ankle slightly, aggravate an achilles tendon and get some knee pain - I only mention this to give you an idea that the walk does give you a few stresses and strains and that it is a good idea to try and be as fit as possible before starting. I think that a few niggles are a given when you're walking every day with a pack - especially when a track incorporates a wide range of elements including rocks and boulders, mud, bog, bush, rain forest and sand!
As you will see though, walking the south coast track is certainly achievable and was a fantastic experience made all the better by the physical challenges that it threw up....
Well worth it!
There's not many places where you can remove yourself from the hectic nature of modern day living but south coast Tasmania is certainly one of them. Eight days without phones, cars, shops, work, or any of the other urban disturbances that become part of your normal everyday life is a wonderfully liberating experience. Each day is focused simply on that day's challenges on the track, getting your camp set up, getting enough fuel into your body and then having the chance to wind down and appreciate the natural beauty of an unspoilt wilderness - The outside world becomes meaningless and in some weird way the physical tiredness of the walk produces an almost meditative state where you feel at one with the environment - stresses melt away and an amazingly serene state of mind develops - well at least for me :-)
And then there's the amazing sights that you see in Tasmania - I won't bother mentioning them all here - but some of the photos posted further down should give you an idea of the diverse environments that you'll encounter. The landscapes are breathtaking!!
The days are long!
Apart from Cockle Creek to South Cape Rivulet and Cox Bight to Malaleuca, expect to be walking for 8-9 hours every day. Although fairly fit, our group was always on the upper end of projected times for each day. A lot of the days can be considered to be fairly hard slog. There's very little duckboard on the south coast track - except on the first and last days and you will be walking through a lot of mud - knee deep mud is common and if you're unlucky as I was - thigh deep mud when you walk into a hole! This type of walking environment really slows you down.
My advice is start your day early!! It was not uncommon to see people starting their day's walk at 9:30 or 10am, staggering into camp sites just as the light was fading or even dark. You do not want to be setting up tents in the dark - aim for an early start and finish and everything becomes easier. On the difficult Iron Bound Ranges day - we were up at 5:00am - left camp by 6am and got into camp by 5pm - utterly exhausted. It sounds like an extremely early start but you do have a 1000m climb and descent to make in one day. No one I talked too found it easy.....
Winter Gear in Summer
Ensure that you have your winter gear with you - even in summer. We were walking in peak summer time but still experienced a snow storm on top of the ranges - as well as several days of hail and heavy rain. I was very happy that I had a woolen beanie, gloves, thermals and appropriate fleeces!
Minimize Weight
Yes - you need to be properly equipped for the south coast track - please see appropriate guidelines here - but remember that a light pack is a great pack. Every kg that you can lighten your pack makes the walk up and down dale, that much easier and more pleasant - especially for your shoulders! My advice is to carry just that which is necessary. We saw two walkers at one camp who had massive packs (they looked to be 30kg+). When they brought out the fold-out metal seats, huge tarp and other goodies for the camp site - I saw the reason why! They had yet to tackle the Ironbound Ranges (in photo below) or any of the harder days - and I could only imagine how they would finish the walk so loaded down.
Keeping your pack trim will also help when navigating your way under fallen trees or through the bush - try not to have too much hanging off your pack - it will be caught by trees and scrub. I had my tent on the outside of my pack - my advice is to have a slightly bigger pack and incorporate the tent inside. As a guideline - my pack came in at approx 21 kg including water. I could probably have shaved a kg or two off by having a lighter tent - but I use the macpac celeste which sleeps two and which is a proven performer.
All equipment was lite weight including a titanium billy, the kovea titanium cooker, dehydrated food etc. I have to plug the Chefsway range of meals here - they were absolutely tasty and the best track food I've ever come across. They were large - approx 2000 cal per serve and set you up well for the next day's exertions.
The Water was Good
None of us bothered to treat the water or purify it in any way. Water was simply taken from creeks and river crossings along the route - preferably away from the camp sites. My understanding is that there has been some giardia found in this part of Tasmania - but we all risked it and were fine. Don't worry about the brown tinge to the water - this is just the result of tannins.
Reverse Direction
Walking from Cockle Creek to Malaleuca doesn't really present any problems at all - except from a logistics perspective - ie If you're flying out of Malaleuca then you are reliant on good weather so that the plane can land. In poor weather the service is cancelled, so you may have to sit out a day or two at the Malaleuca huts. This isn't too much of a hardship as you will be under cover and warm (compared to the camping conditions on the track which for most of my trip were wet and cold). The only issue is if you're running out of food at the end of your walk - so it pays to carry some spare food and fuel if walking this way.
Several walkers who had done the walk in both directions actually preferred the Cockle Creek to Malaleuca route as it meant an easier descent from the Iron Bound Ranges - coming down on rock steps instead of the mud and trees and root branches of the opposite side. I'm personally not sure on this one - I found the steep rock descent very tough on my knees - it was a case of braking the body on rocks for about 4 hours coming down....every step was agony by the end of that day.
Also - walking from South Cape Rivulet to Granite Beach on day 2 in this direction was a very hard day. Possibly even harder than the Ironbounds crossing - this was a bit of a surprise but feedback from other tasmania walkers confirms this impression - this is a very muddy, boggy, arduous day.
Final Thoughts
The south coast track was a fantastic experience - pushing you emotionally, spiritually and physically. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves the outdoors, wants to push themselves a bit or wants an adventure outside their everyday experiences.
The south coast track was the highlight of my year!Note: Photos above are courtesy of myself ( Tony Crawshaw ), Erica Izard and Jonathan Kilpatrick and are not to be used or reproduced for any commercial purpose.
