TASMANIA : DAY 5 : OVERLAND TRACK : Kia Ora Hut to Windy Ridge Hut (9km, 4 hrs)

Weather : mild at first, snowy and cold

 

 Kia Ora Hut to Windy Ridge Hut ( near Bert Nicholls Hut)



 

Sunrise over Mt Oakleigh, clouds clearing

  

 

Swallows who live under the eaves of the hut

  

 

 

 Rob, our guide, nicknames this peak 'The Nipple'

  

 

Myrtle beech forest

 

Du Cane Hut built by a trapper, Paddy Hartnett in 1910.

He lived here with his wife, Lucy, and their 7 children.

 

 

Inside the hut, there is a huge fireplace where the possum, wallaby and wombat pelts were dried. Very primitive conditions for a large family in freezing temperatures.

 

 

Ingenious toilets dug through tree trunks near the house.

 

A wallaby in the scrub nearby

 

 

Trees in the oldest part of the forest

They have found that some of the King Billy Pines are 2000 years old

 

 

A highlight of the day. We were walking adjacent to the Mersey River which runs north into the Bass Strait. We visited 2 major waterfalls.

  

 

We climbed carefully down the slippery track, interlocked with huge root systems, and were amazed at the beauty and verocity of the D'Alton Falls.

 

 

Majestic gums - colour heightened by the rain

 

 

Light snow fell as we left the waterfalls.

Walking through Falling Mountain, which felt like emerging from the wardrobe into Narnia.

 

 

A special meal for our last night. 'Bearded' pumpkin soup as starters

 

 

A demonstation to see how echidnas hear

 

 

The happy crew after a beautiful day's walking, delicious meal and

original entertainment

 

 

M&M