Two Weeks in Tasmania

Date: 23 February - 10 March 2013

I first visited Tasmania in 2008 with Maree. We spent a week touring in a campervan and we loved the place. I've been wanting to get back there ever since and this year I'll be lucky enough to get down there twice. The first trip was with Tom and we spent two weeks walking and climbing at Ben Lomond, Freycinet Peninsula and Mt. Field.

Note: As usual be sure to click on the photos to see the full resolution version. They come out a bit blurry when reduced in size.
Note 2: This is a fairly extended trip report so it might be best to grab a coffee first. ;)

Girraween in July

New Boots (16) with Wattles at Turtle Rock

Date: 23 - 29 July 2012

After a busy first half of the year I was really looking forward to a bit of time off from work. The frequency of my bushwalking posts has diminished this year mainly because the majority of my spare time has been taken up with rock climbing instead. It is just another way to enjoy the bush and the outdoors and often includes walking as well. So basically it's win win as far as I'm concerned.

So during the last week of July, Tom and I decided to get in a solid few days of climbing at one of our favourite places no matter what the activity: Girraween.

Mt. Matheson Circuit

Date: 9th June 2012


Looking to make the most of the long weekend Maree and I decided to head out for a walk. We decided on a circuit starting at Spicers Gap on the Main Range heading up Mt. Matheson. The walk started from the picnic ground next to the Spicers Gap campsite and was built by the National Parks Association. The track is nice and wide most of the way and had some really interesting features and a different outlook of the surrounding area.

Mt. Cougal

Date: 6 April 2012


This walk had been mentioned numerous times on the bushwalking forums and the views had always looked great so we finally got a chance to do this in April. The drive from Brisbane took  a while but once you leave the highway and head into the Currumbin Valley it is very pleasant.

Starting up hill immediately the walk follows the border fence nearly the entire way to the peak of the mountain, making route finding extremely easy. The track wasn't maintained though and the first section passes through some very overgrown grassy sections covered in cobblers pegs. I would recommend wearing full gaiters.

Overgrown track

Before long you are greeted with some great views back up the valley and across to Mt. Cougal and Mt. Tallebudgera

First view of Mt. Cougal and up Currumbin Valley

Binna Burra: Lower Belbird Circuit

Looking across to Ships Stern

Date: 28 Nov 2011


After having our Girraween trip cut short by rain the week before we wanted to get out for another walk while we were still on holidays. Trying to avoid the heat somewhat we headed for higher altitude and shady rainforest at Binna Burra. We decided on the Lower Belbird Circuit which I remembered as a highlight of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk.

Girraween Again

Sunset behind Mt. Norman

Date: 21 - 22 Nov 2011

Maree and I have started a bit of a tradition of taking holidays during this week over the last few years and we weren't going to skip this year. After our previous trip to the park in September we decided that we'd like to go back and explore it in further detail without the limitations of a single weekend. The highlight of the trip was definitely an overnight walk taking in Mt. Norman and Twin Peaks.

Warbonnet Blackbird

I have been curious about camping with hammocks for a couple of years. Their supporters claim many advantages over more conventional tent camping methods including:

• More comfortable for sleeping
• Dual use as a chair
• Lighter weight
• Quicker to set up
• Easier to find a spot to set up camp

A recent flurry of interested on the Bushwalking Australia Forums prompted me to have another look and after some (fairly brief for my standards) research I ordered a Warbonnet Blackbird Hammock in double layer 1.1oz/yard ripstop nylon. I ordered it with the adjustable webbing suspension and picked up a pair of Petzl Ange biners to get it up and running. This hammock comes with built in bug netting and a structural ridge line to aid in set up. I also ordered a ZPacks Cuben Fibre Hammock Tarp which is still on its way.

I received it at the start of last week and was burning to get out and give it a test run somewhere for the rest of it. My back yard is lacking any strong enough supports to do this easily. The picnic area at the base of Flinders Peak provided the perfect spot to do this and I had it up in no time (copping a few wierd looks from onlookers in the process). I'm sure there is plenty of room for tweaking, but getting it up and hanging was very easy.

Hanging in a creek bed