Walking the Overland Track in Winter

Walking the Overland Track at any time of the year is a fantastic experience.

In April around Anzac day you have the "turning of the Fagus" where the green leaves of the Deciduous Beech Trees changes colour to red, orange and gold and it is only here in Tasmania that you will experience this.

From December to January is when the Alpine plant, the Mountain Rocket flowers, blooming from a white to a pale pink colour.

Happy Campers

Winter is a different experience to other seasons on the track as it is more tranquil and the trail is quieter.

The peaks and passes are often dusted with snow, lakes are frozen and the air is fresh and crisp.

To walk this alpine landscape in winter is an amazing experience and very photogenic.

At Adventure Seekers, in winter we run our tours a little different to summer. We utilize the huts instead of camping, or the more hardy can choose to camp if they wish.

We add an extra day to the tour as a contingency (7days) and move at a more leisurely pace as we shuffle along in our snowshoes through this magical landscape.

Winter tours run from the 21st July through to the 15th September 2014. You can book online here or just give us a call.

Have you walked the Overland Track before & when? Do you think that you would be up for a snowshoeing adventure? Please get in touch by commenting below.

Do it Easier on a E-Bike

Now you can experience the freedom and fresh air of cycle touring with ease on Tasmania's very first e-bike tour.

Adventure Seekers has chosen to use the Ezee Electric Bicycle brand as used by Glowworm Bicycles in their epic Cape York to Sydney tour.

In just one weeks time Maurice and Abraham from Glowworm Bicycles along with the CEO of Ezeebike, Wai Won Ching will ride their Ezeebikes from Perth to Sydney.

Adventure Seekers has chosen the Ezeebike brand to use on their tour because of  their reliability, toughness and quality components.

We wish Maurice and the team a safe journey and we look forward to their blogs.

Adventure Seekers E-Bike In Top 15

Ride On magazine recently recommends the type of e-bike that Adventure Seekers use on their e-bike tours of Tasmania.

This is what Ride On had to say about the "Ezee Forza"

Only brand to offer throttle concurrently with pedal assist mode (meaning you can ride in pedal assist mode but boost with the throttle any time)

Most powerful acceleration and maximum assisted speed of approximately 32km/h (this is not restricted with a 200w motor)
Proprietary motor, battery and controller

Top quality components obviously thoughtfully chosen: Shimano Deore derailleur set-up and Shimano mechanical disc brakes.  

    
Function 38/40         Quality  40/40           Price 9/10   Appearance 6/10

Most powerful and best e-bike for those who like to control their ride.

Ezee Does It!

I met Maurice from Glowworm Bicycles in Tasmania this year and discovered that he distributes Ezee brand of Electric Bicycles throughout Australia.

As we talked I was immediately impressed about his road trip form Cape York to Sydney on an Ezee Electric Bike.

His epic journey got me thinking whether an electric bike would be suitable as a support vehicle on our Maria Island Guided Walk in Tasmania.

Currently we use a conventional mountain bike and Bob trailer as support to the tour in moving group gear and supplies a distance of 11km down the island.

I was pleased to know that there was a supplier of the Ezee Electric Bike in Hobart and duly went in to see Ahmet of Eco-Bikes to check the models out.


The idea of an electric bike seemed like a easier and more efficient way to move our gear but we were unsure whether it would stand up to the terrain on Maria Island. Finally we chose the Forza, rear wheel drive as the likely candidate and were eager to put it through its paces.

The attached video shows the type of terrain ranging from hard dirt to patches of soft sand which the Forza makes an easy meal of.

On average we do 2 trips to our base camp (33km) and then one return trip to our origin (11km) before we choose to recharge the 20A/h battery.

After 44km of riding, towing 30kg in the Bob trailer, 20kg on the rack plus the rider and a 15kg back pack we have 2 lights of power left on the controller. Average load = 140kg.

Modifications to the Forza are heavy duty pedals and puncture proof Schwalbe tyres.

After 500km of riding on the island the only problem that we had had with the Forza was a total power loss due to loosening connectors on the base of the battery (mainly due to the terrain). In summary we are very pleased with the Forza and the support from our supplier.

Overland Track Anniversary Walks 2012

December 2012 marks the 100th Anniversay of "Waldheim" meaning forest home, a lodge that was built in Cradle Valley by Gustav Weindorfer to house his guests.

The site of Waldheim sits above Ronny Creek which is at the start of the Overland Track in Tasmania.

Gustav was a Botonist and a Guide. He had numerous guests to Waldheim between 1912 - 1932 and he thrived on guiding his guests around Cradle Mountain and interpreting the landscape for them.

Gustav was instumental in the pursuit of making Cradle Mountain and the area around it a National Park and subsequently in 1922 the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair Wildlife and Scenic Reserve was proclaimed. This year marks its 90th Anniverary.

Gustav's life was cut short by a heart condition in 1932 and he his buried at Waldheim, which looks over his much loved Cradle Mountain.

Adventure Seekers is running 2 Anniverary tours of the Overland Track on 17th & 24th December 2012 to commemorate Gustav Weindorfers contributon to preserving the environment that we are walking through.

To make these aniversary tours much more special, Adventure Seekers has partnered up with Tasmanian Air Adventures to give you a "grand entrance" to your Overland Track Guided Walk.

You can choose to fly in a seaplane from Hobart, soaring over Lake St Clair, the Overland Track and Cradle Mountain and landing on a "secret" mountain lake or alternatively you will be transfered by shuttle bus to the start.

For information on these tours please contact info@adventureseekers.com.au or phone
Stan on 0400 882 742

Overland Track e-Book

THE OVERLAND TRACK – The Complete Guide is an eBook that will give you sound advice on how to prepare and plan your walk and help you identify the landscape as you travel through it.

Do you want the best advice?

This eBook is written by a Overland Track guide who knows all the best tips on how to plan your walk. The eBook includes a suggested itinerary, transportation, gear requirements, how to book the walk, accommodation, menu ideas, history of the track and much more.

What’s an eBook? – An eBook is an electronic version of a printed book. This eBook is read as a PDF or EPUB file and you can download it today at Adventure Seekers to your computer and start planning your walk straight away. Once downloaded you can save it and read it on your computer or print the whole document or individual pages of information.

The Author

JOHN ELLERM guides tours on the Overland Track and has walked extensively in Tasmania, New Zealand and Europe. As a guide John knows how difficult it can be to sort out the logistics of planning a walk on the Overland Track and recognized that an eBook would be a boon to those who wish to tackle this iconic walk. John is also a rock climbing and abseiling guide and also a keen mountaineer.

Save the Tasmanian Devil Program Appeal

John will donate $1 of every sale of this e-book to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.

A facial tumor disease threatens the existence of the Tasmanian Devil. The facial tumors make it difficult for Devils to eat which leads to starvation and death. In some areas of Tasmania up to 80% of the Devil population has been wiped out.

By purchasing this guide you will be helping The Appeal to conduct research and manage programs to preserve the species.

Photo Essay - Bushwalking the Western Arthur Traverse, Tasmania

Our Western Arthur Traverse was over 10 days with the guided bushwalking company, Adventure Seekers. It was a truly spectacular walk passing by jagged peaks and beautiful lakes. Spectacular!

It was a early departure from Hobart to the start of the track at Scotts Peak as we planned to reach Lake Cygnus on Day 1.

Fortunately for us the weather was fantastic which made our climb up Moraine A that little more enjoyable.

From the top of the range above Moraine A the views were amazing. The reflection of Mount Rugby in Lake Pedder was serene. You could of sat there for hours, just looking in any which direction at this amazing landscape.

At mid-afternoon on day 2 we had reached the descent down to Lake Oberon. From here the track drops steeply down to the lake and the campsite.

On day 3 we headed to High Moor. The track skirted around Lake Uranus (in picture) and sidled beneath Mt Capricorn. The weather was holding (just) and we arrived at High Moor, late afternoon in a  shroud of mist and light rain.

At High Moor it was comforting to have the tent platforms, but nessasary to protect the fragile environment. Tomorrrow we were to push through to Haven Lake, with our journey having many steep descents and climbs. We had a rest day at Haven Lake before moving forward to Promontary Lake (below mid picture). 

The weather was clearing, which made the walking pleasurable. The range opened out a bit as we passed Mt Scorpio and we could see the dominant Federation Peak to our south. We lunched above the track juntion of Kappa Moraine and had expansive views over the whole South West National Park.

Our walk from Promontory Lake to Lake Rosanne was predominately exposed ridge walking. The track headed south-east sidling below West Portal (the highest peak in the range). From the West Portal we followed a ridge line known as the Crags of Andromeda before dropping down steep gully to Lake Rosanne.

From Lake Rossane at the southern end of the range it was a 2 day 25km walk across the Arthur Plains back to Scotts Peak. We camped at Seven Mile Creek on our last night and we hit the sheets early as we had about 17km to cover on our last day. This walk was a fantastic experience made better by kind weather and good company.

PS: I recommend a bit of leg training before you attempt this circuit!