Trek the Cradle Mountain Overland Track

Reiseverlauf 2026

1. Tag 1

   Launceston

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   Welcome to Tasmania! Or Lutruwita in the language of the Palawa people who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Tasmania is now located. Your adventure begins straight away with a pickup at 7 am in Launceston. Make your way west, through picturesque scenery, to start the Overland Track at Ronny Creek in Cradle Valley. Cross a small grass plain, passing Crater Creek and Crater Lake, making your way up to Marion’s Lookout for sweeping views. See the iconic Cradle Mountain and the curved Dove Lake. The track continues past the historic Kitchen Hut, with its unusual double story design, and the shoulder of Cradle Mountain, surrounded by Tasmanian snow gums. Over 700 million years ago, the ground here was shaped by glaciers grinding through the landscape. Continue to the Cradle Cirque, passing the turnoff to Barn Bluff, and descend into Waterfall Valley, where you’ll set up camp for the night.
   Your welcome meeting will take place at 3 pm the day BEFORE departure at the Aspire Adventure Equipment store in the centre of Launceston – 136 York St – so you’ll need to arrive a day early. It’s important that you bring your gear to this meeting, as our team will check the suitability of your gear for the trek. The welcome meeting and gear check will take around 90 minutes. At the pre-departure meeting you will also have the opportunity to pick up any gear you may need (extra cost), however please make sure you pre-book these well ahead of time on the Aspire Adventures website. A full list of available items and their prices can be found on their website. Pick-up on Day 1 will be at 7 am from Aspire Adventure Equipment. Please wear your hiking gear this morning, as we will head to the start of the track immediately. Your hiking distance today will be approximately 11 km (7 mi). Today's hike will take around 6 to 8 hours.
2. Tag 2

   Waterfall Valley

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   Waterfall Valley is, unsurprisingly, full of beautiful cascades, and you’ll pass them as the track undulates across moorlands scattered with pencil pines, myrtles and snow gums. Look out for Tasmanian Devils, echidnas and wombats – though you may see the latter’s distinctive cube shaped poop more often than the mammals themselves! For lunch, stop by Lake Will where you'll have the opportunity for a swim, before continuing to Lake Windermere in the afternoon. As you crest the moorland, you’ll get a view across Lake Windermere, whose dark colour is caused by nutrients and oils leaking from the surrounding grass into the water. Make your way around the shore of the lake to tonight’s campsite in a scattered forest.
   Your hiking distance today will be approximately 8 km (5 mi). An optional side trip to Lake Will will add approximately 3 km. Today's hike will take around 3 to 5 hours.
3. Tag 3

   Lake Windermere

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   You’ve worked your way up to the longest hike of the trip. Begin with a walk through lightly timbered forest, across buttongrass moorlands to the lookout at Forth Gorge. In the distance the peaks of mounts Oakleigh, Ossa, Pelion East and West, as well as the Du Cane Range, pepper the horizon. Follow some small ascents and descents into the forest glade of Frog Flats – a wet section of forest crossed by the River Forth, home to some beautifully coloured mosses and fungi. Climb through forest to Pelion Plains, where the Forth Valley Track diverts off to Old Pelion Hut, built by copper miners at the end of the 19th century. For the next 20 years, cattle drovers and trappers plied their trade here, before the area was declared a scenic reserve in 1922. Continue along the shore of Douglas Creek to New Pelion Hut – the largest of the track’s huts, which sits at the junction of the Overland and Arm River tracks. You'll set up camp nearby.
   Your hiking distance today will be approximately 17 km (10.5 mi). An optional side trip to Old Pelion Hut will add approximately 1 km. Today's hike will take around 6 to 8 hours.
4. Tag 4

   Pelion Hut

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   Begin today with a gradual climb up to Pelion Gap (1126 m). Here, the track hits a crossroads with Mt Pelion to the east and towering Mt Ossa – Tasmania’s highest peak at 1617 m. If the weather’s right, there will be the option to climb either of the peaks today. Both summits boast amazing views of the national park and beyond. From the Pelion Gap crossroads, the track passes through the glaciated Pinestone Valley and on to Kia Ora Hut, which sits on a creek of the same name below the Ducane Range. Set up camp in the mighty presence of Cathedral Mountain – this is a truly unique camp spot.
   Your hiking distance today will be approximately 9 km (5.5 mi), which will take around 4 to 5 hours. If you decide to ascend Mt Ossa as an optional side trip this will add approximately 5 km (3 mi) to today's hike, and will take an additional 3 hours.
5. Tag 5

   Kia Ora Hut

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   Leave Kia Ora Creek and make your way through myrtle beech rainforest to Du Cane Hut, built in 1910 out of King Billy Pine by a trapper as a base for his trade. Further down the track, you’ll take a side trip to see the falls of D’Alton, Fergusson and Hartnett, which tumble into the Mersey River. Back on the main track, the path climbs steadily to Du Cane Gap (1070 m), where Mt Geryon and the Acropolis (1471 m) of the Du Cane Range are the peaks that dominate the views. From here the track descends through eucalypt forest to Bert Nichols Hut at Windy Ridge, where you'll set up camp.
   Your hiking distance today will be approximately 10 km (6 mi). The side trip to the waterfalls will add approximately 2.5 km (1.5 mi). Today's hike will take around 4 to 6 hours.
6. Tag 6

   Launceston

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   Today is the final day of the Overland Track. Leaving Windy Ridge camp, descend the valley of temperate rainforest and eucalypt forest to the Narcissus River. Pass the path, which splits off to take walkers to the base of the Du Cane Range and Pine Valley Hut – the base for access to the Acropolis and the Labyrinth. Follow the track down to a suspension bridge over the Narcissus River and the end is in sight. Give yourself a huge pat on the back and your legs a rest with a ferry ride across the lake to Cynthia Bay. Jump back in the van for the ride back to Launceston, where your trip comes to an end, arriving around 4:30 pm this afternoon.
   Your hiking distance today will be approximately 9 km (5.5 mi), which will take around 4 to 6 hours. The trip comes to an end upon arrival back in central Launceston at around 4:30pm. Please keep this in mind when booking onward travel. Accommodation for tonight is not included.