Matt Down Under

Route: Dixon’s Kingdom - Solomon’s Throne - The Temple - Solomon’s Jewels - Launceston

The night at Dixon’s Kingdom was very stormy. Strong winds and a lot of rain. I was lucky to have pitched my tent in a sheltered spot behind some bushes and pine trees.

I still wasn’t sure about what to do, but I had a feeling it would be my last day of the trip. I got up early, packed up all my equipment and moved it into the hut, just so I was prepared for any weather changes. I took a lot of time with breakfast and I decided to leave my large backpack in the hut, while going on a day walk to climb Solomon’s Throne and the Temple.

Read more

Route: Lake Ball Hut - Dixon’s Kingdom - Mt Jerusalem - Dixon’s Kingdom

I don’t know why, but I slept very well — something that doesn’t happen very often when I sleep on my camping mattress. I got up at 6am, after a possum had made a lot of noise at the hut, then ran away like crazy and fell over one of my tent lines (bloody possums!). I was afraid it might have managed to get inside the hut and steal some of the clothes I put in there for drying.

Read more

Route: Junction Lake Hut - Lake Meston - Lake Adelaide - Lake Ball Hut

After the 10h walk on the previous day and a short but warm night at Junction Lake, I felt incredibly weak. Everything just hurt. Like on most days the weather in the morning didn’t look predictable, with the occasional raindrop, so I quickly packed up and moved everything under the roof of the hut before I had breakfast.

I really had no idea how far I would be able to walk that day. I could imagine walking as far as Dixon’s Kingdom, but I wasn’t sure whether I could even make it to Lake Meston. I left at 8.30am and just walked on to see.

Read more

Route: Windy Ridge - The Never Never - Junction Lake Hut

Despite the hot day before, the night at Windy Ridge was very cold and I had trouble staying warm in my sleeping bag. I remembered in 2008 I also spent a very cold night here, it appears the location of Windy Ridge is so sheltered that the temperature is dropping significantly at night.

Like at Narcissus before, I woke up to the calls of the Yellow Wattlebird — impossible not to hear, but I love it. I knew I was facing a potentially long day so I wanted to leave early. In the end I didn’t manage to leave until 9am however. I filled both my water bottle and hydration bladder before I left. The additional weight offset any weight I had lost in my backpack through eating the heavy food I had carried, so my pack was rather uncomfortable again.

Read more

Route: Pine Valley Hut - The Labyrinth - Pine Valley Hut - Windy Ridge

Despite the crowded hut and what must have been a record-breaking snorer next to me, I got a fair bit of sleep. I was among the first to get up and I quickly finished breakfast. At 8.45am I was ready to go and check out the Labyrinth. Before I left I also prepared my hiking backpack, so upon my return I could walk right on to Windy Ridge.

Read more

Route: Pine Valley Hut - The Acropolis - Pine Valley Hut

I hardly got any sleep in the hut. I always need a few days before I can sleep well on my hiking mattress. But what was worse, during the night a mouse ate a hole into my food bag. For some reason I had assumed it was safe to place the bag just next to my mattress, instead of storing it inside my backpack like I normally do. I’m still wondering how I didn’t notice the mouse so close to where I slept, since I had probably been awake for most of the night. This means that after having my previous food bag destroyed by animals in the South West last year, I can now buy my third one before I go hiking again.

Read more

Route: Narcissus Hut - Pine Valley Hut

7.30am, rain. #*%$^&!. I don’t like packing up a went tent. But I was only going to walk 3h to Pine Valley, so I wasn’t in a hurry. I started moving all my gear inside the hut so it could dry up a bit while I was having breakfast and prepared to leave.

I cooked tea inside the hut and by the time I left around 10am, I was the only one left at Narcissus. The weather kept changing and I was wearing my rain jacket. After a few minutes I stopped and changed again. In the end I would get wet anyway — from sweating. So wearing a rain jacket seemed pointless. It wasn’t cold anyway, actually it was quite warm because of no wind, so I decided to rather use the jacket to protect my camera bag.

Read more

Route: Hobart - Lake St Clair - Narcissus Hut

Recently I spent 8 days hiking in the Cradle Mountain / Lake St Clair National Park and Walls of Jerusalem National Park here in Tasmania. I hadn’t done any hiking or traveling in a while and I was long looking forward to getting out there again. I had a terrific experience on the Overland Track in 2008 and I wanted to visit the area again, but just walking the Overland Track again seemed boring, therefore I came up with a slightly different route by walking out via Walls of Jerusalem, a place I always had wanted to visit.

I was planning to walk from Lake St Clair to Hartnett Falls on the Overland Track, then cross the Never Never into Walls of Jerusalem and walk out via Dixon’s Kingdom on the Walls of Jerusalem track. Depending on how things go, I thought about then walking back to the Overland Track via Lee’s Paddock and Pelion, and out to Cradle Mountain. In the end I ended my walk in Walls of Jerusalem after 8 days — similar to my previous week-long hikes I simply felt exhausted after a week, and I’ve had so much luck during that week that I didn’t want to push it.

Read more