Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley
Overland Track
Directions - The Overland Track starts in the northern side of the national park at Ronny Creek, but walkers must have booked their hike online when the season opens (usually early July but check Tas Parks website for more details). Before heading down to Ronny Creek via the shuttle bus, check in at the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre to complete a safety briefing, where you will also be presented with your Overland Track Pass.
The Hike - Well, I'm finally here. One of the most iconic multi-day walks in Australia, the Overland Track had been on my to-hike list ever since I started overnight hiking on the Bibbulmun Track, and it was finally going to happen to kick off my 2024. Having done the hiking equivalent of trying to purchase Taylor Swift tickets, I logged into the Tasmania Parks website on a chilly July morning and joined the thousands of other hoping to book a spot on their preferred date. As I was looking at doing it in peak season, I needed to be right at the front of the queue when the booking system opened, but unfortunately my starting position was in the 3000s.
After a stressful few hours where the system crashed several times, including at the payment stage, I had secured the last remaining slot on the 1st of January 2024, and would be joining 34 other hikers leaving Ronny Creek that day to start a week on the Overland Track. With airlines not exactly being the pinnacle of reliable service in recent years, I arrived a few days early in Tasmania, with the goal of exploring the Great Western Tiers if my flight didn't get canceled or delayed. Enjoying my time over three days in the area surrounding Deloraine, I did spend one of those days traveling to Cradle Mountain, just in case the weather was not great on this day you are reading about now. As it turned out, the weather would be almost perfect today, while that visit was cold and wet, but oh well, these things happen. Having explored Liffey Falls and Meander Falls as part of that section of the trip, among other hikes, I spent New Years Eve in some cheap accommodation in Launceston, buying supplies, eating pizza, and doing last minute preparation for the Overland.
After a bit of a restless night, I awoke early to pack everything up and double check I hadn't forgotten anything. I was the first one being picked up by Overland Track Transport, and it was an exciting and nervous time wandering out to meet the driver. With a long drive out to Cradle Mountain, along with picking up the other hikers, we wouldn't be starting the first day until after 10am. Traversing the city, it was a nice reminder of my 2019 visit here to do the Bay of Fires Lodge Walk with the Tasmanian Walking Company, and I would have loved to have stayed for longer. With a full bus, we left Launceston and made our way to the breakfast spot at Sheffield. Enjoying a coffee and picking up a treat for later in the day, we soon departed for the twisty drive up to the start point. Arriving at Cradle Mountain, we unloaded our heavy packs and set about checking in at the front desk, ready to be briefed by one of the rangers, and watch a safety video about getting hypothermia. There was a scale in the room and just for funsies we all weighed our bags, with one of the other hikers, Max, coming in at 35kg for his (more on this in future posts).
Eager to get going, I wandered down to the shuttle bus, where I joined the queue of tourists who were all probably wondering why some of us were carrying such large packs. The bus driver let everyone know, and was a fun solo cheer squad as we got off at Ronny Creek. I like that the Overland Track starts here, and not at Dove Lake, as it's a lot quieter, and you won't get the same number of tourists for the first section. Applying some sunscreen, and waiting for a small child to finish having a tantrum at the Overland Track signage so I could photograph it empty, I was finally ready to get going on this week long adventure I'd been waiting since July to start. The weather today was looking perfect, with light clouds and relatively warm conditions for alpine Tassie. The bus driver a few days prior had mentioned that Ronny Creek was wombat central, but unfortunately that was only in the afternoon, so as I headed along the boardwalk, no fluffy bowling balls appeared in the buttongrass plains.
With a leisurely 14 kilometres to hike today, and it being near the summer solstice, I could afford to take my time and really savour the experience. With day one regarded as the toughest day (if you just stick to the main track and don't do the mountainous side trips), the climb up to Kitchen Hut was going to be about the most difficult physical challenge with a full pack. I did have plans to tackle several of the side trips, so this would be more training for the legs ahead of some steeper climbs, albeit with only a day pack for those. Enjoying the buttongrass plains, and the stunning skies ahead, I crossed the bridge over Ronny Creek and started the three kilometre climb up to Marions Lookout. Leaving the wildflower filled meadows of buttongrass behind, I entered some light forest and started ascending the first of many staircases. The day was warming up and in the back of my head I kept reminding myself to slow down and enjoy the process. Reaching a shadier section of forest lining Crater Creek, the bright sunshine wasn't the best for photography but I made the best of it.