Cradle Mountain Huts Walk, 5 Days Waldheim to Lake St Clair with A&K

Day One

Waldheim – Barn Bluff Hut

After breakfasting at your accommodation Cradle Mountain Huts guests meet in Launceston at 6.45am at The Sebel Launceston where they are then transferred to our office at Quamby. If you have stayed the night prior to your walk at Quamby Homestead you need to make way to the stables for 7.20am (200 metre walk from the homestead). After introductions and a gear check we journey to Waldheim in Cradle Valley. We then set off on the track by 11am. By lunch time we have walked through our first section of ancient temperate rainforest, have witnessed the dramatic glacially carved Crater Lake and the steepest section of the whole Overland Track is behind us. The steep section is mostly stepped and takes us about an hour. It gets us onto Marion’s Lookout which (hopefully) offers famous and spectacular views of Cradle Mountain with Lake Dove at its base – worth every step. If the weather is fine we stop for lunch by the peaceful Plateau Creek before continuing for about another 4 hours around the base of Cradle Mountain, out along the edge of a spectacular glacial cirque then dropping into Waterfall Valley which we cross before arriving at our hut at the base of the towering Barn Bluff. Several hours of this days’ walk is over exposed alpine plateau which allows great views on a clear day but in rough weather the wind howls over the land making for exciting and sometimes challenging walking conditions. Some of the track is uneven under foot, however, we take our time to walk carefully and make sure we still look at the wonderful scenery all around

Day Two

Barn Bluff Hut – Pine Forest Moor Hut

The walking today is undulating with a few sections of exposed moorland. There are no large hills and the once notoriously muddy Pine Forest Moor is now a duckboard path over the mud!! We do offer an optional side trip to Lake Will. We travel across plains where once glaciers sat and slowly moved, scouring out shallow tarns. Now we see plains of button grass with ancient Pencil Pines sitting with their roots in the water. Rising from the moors, the peaks of Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff are behind us to the north, and the stately Mount Pelion West directly ahead. Take advantage of the viewing opportunities at several lookout points and complete the day through an enchanting rainforest.

Day Three

Pine Forest Moor Hut – Pelion Hut

Today we begin with a long slow descent around the base of Mt Pelion West down to the Forth River before it plunges into the Lemonthyme Valley. After a break at Frog Flats by the Forth River, we have a long gentle ascent out of the valley onto the beautiful Pelion Plains with outstanding views of Mount Oakleigh. There are many side trips in the Pelion Plains area with mountains all around, some excellent swimming holes, abandoned copper mines, or simply peaceful and humbling spots to rest quietly.

Day Four

Pelion Hut – Kia Ora Hut

Begin today with a climb to Pelion Gap where there are great views both back from the north and forward to the south. Today we allow extra time for the side trips from Pelion Gap. It’s a further few hours of gentle down hill from the gap to the hut, so a very relaxing day with the option to make it more challenging.

Day Five

Kia Ora Hut – Windy Ridge Hut

This is a day of waterfalls and majestic forests. We depart Kia Ora hut and walk about an hour of easy travelling to Du Cane where a hut remains from the long gone days of animal trapping. A fine spot to rest in the native gardens planted by trapper Paddy Hartnet’s wife during her long stints in the bush with her husband. From there we wander through some of the oldest forest in the National Park with King Billy Pines as old as 2000 years. Here we are above the Mersey River, which descends steeply northward towards Bass Strait. There are three major sets of waterfalls and we opt to visit one or more of these. We will probably take lunch down to enjoy beside one of the falls. During the afternoon, the group makes their way over Du Cane gap, then descend beside the spectacular Falling Mountain to Windy Ridge Hut.

Day Six

Windy Ridge Hut – Lake St Clair

Lake St Clair is Australia’s deepest natural lake and as with most of this area, has been shaped by glaciers. The walk is mainly through cool temperate eucalypt forest and bird song is all around. We arrive at Narcissus at the northern end of Lake St Clair in time for lunch before boarding the IdaClair cruise boat, for the spectacular 17km cruise back to Cynthia Bay. There is a visitor centre at Cynthia Bay and we usually have about half an hour to look around and perhaps grab an ice cream! The return trip to Quamby Estate is through the trout fishing mecca of the highland lakes, descending the rugged Western Tiers to the broad plains of the Northern Midlands and passing through the rural townships of Cressy and Longford.