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#TAS2012 Trip Blips 7, 30 May 2012
Finally kicked myself out of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, after three hours in there and still there was more to see.
Before leaving, this somewhat creepy locked down merry-go-round popped up.
Trip Blips
Did I say seven days? Being this high up, still got 3G signal, sooooo enjoy.
Ehh… Snow. No way, yes way. Just kept climbing and climbing, then it a was level with me. It’s quite mild up here, I think the snow will melt away before noon.
Edit 30 May 2012: Turns out that when you’re hiking with a 20kg plus on your back, you’re so physically strained that you put out enough heat for me to get away with one wool thermal and a poly-cotton overshirt and still feel cosy stomping over snow at 0°C air temperature at Kitchen Hut.
#TAS2012 Trip Blips 6, 30 May 2012
The Japanese Garden at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens; yes, yes, a garden inside another garden.
Too bad Queen’s Domain is surrounded so closely by major road, cargo rail and maritime traffic. Think Welshpool truck and train rumbling while walking through Queen’s Park in Perth.
When I do entirely stop taking photos at the botanical gardens, I’ll be jumping over the hill again to have a look at Sweet Envy in North Hobart for late morning tea in the late afternoon.
#TAS2012 Trip Blips 5, 30 May 2012
Walking to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens on Queen’s Domain just outside the Hobart CBD by the hard way across and over the hill from Zum Bakery.
#TAS2012 Trip Blips 4: 28 May 2012.
I’m alive!
Also did I really say seven days? Well I’m out of the wilderness tonight five days later; well semi-out, I’m staying overnight at the Lake St Clair Lodge with intermittent mobile coverage from Derwent Bridge.
The last three says have been packed with epic treks of their own unique terrain. So today is Day 5; in summary on Day 3 was always going to be a tough 16.5km scramble through mud and root hell at 1-2km/h; Day 4 was a 19km sprint over two high level gaps between mountains, to escape the root hell of the Pelion region; today was a 27km charge through the limits. I ran out of food, snacks, and water before dragging my arching body for another hour through the dark. Even with three meals today, instead of the one or two usually, I could feel my body just starting to hit the wall.
So I’m here sitting in a foil blanket since this room doesn’t have linen beyond a bed sheet and a pillow, with an oil radiator heater that is barely working with wet gear clusterfucked around it, no food or even a vending machine to stuff my face with simple carbohydrates.
Two days recovered, to add to exploring Hobart instead of what would have been an overnight pass through.
It seems tumblr lost my post from above Marion’s Lookout.
See you’all in seven days.
The last day before I start the Overland Track, and fall incommunicado for seven days.
The weather has been wet, wet, wet; but thankfully it’ll stay ‘mostly’ dry when I’m out field, tomorrow there may be snow when I’m above 1200 metres above sea level on the Cradle plateau. The temperature here is quite nice actually, but that’s before we factor in wet clothing, wind chill and increased altitude. At least the average temperature mean it don’t have to put too much effort keeping fresh food chilled.
Tomorrow will be late start at 0900 instead of the usual 0730 pre dawn start, to catch the Cradle Mountain Shuttle bus to save in 7.5 kilometres extra walking on asphalt, in addition to the 10.5 kilometres already needed to cover on day 1 on the Overland Track.
Photo: Cramping in a big lunch at Discovery Holiday Parks, Cradle Mountain; before a light dinner, and rationing out field. Mash potato, sauteed mushroom, minestrone in the packet, Maltesers, and diahoerria prevention tablets.
Trip Blips #TAS2012 1: Day 1 - 4, 19-22 May
Photo: The intricate water fountain at Prince’s Square, Launceston. Unfortunately I got too ambitious with the phone’s camera capabilities in low light, I’ll get this post updated with camera-camera photos at Launceston library or a Melbourne public library. And those long exposure camera-camera photos look awesome, you’ll just have to wait to get a peek.
It has been a wet start in Tasmania but with temperatures not as bad as Canberra, the wet weather forecast is looking like it will ease up when I start in the Cradle Mountain region on Thursday 24 May.
The forecast for the Cradle Valley looks to average with a minimum of 0°C and a maximum of 7°C with heavier precipitation periods falling as snow above 1000-1200 metres above sea level.
Since I also dumped my gaiters during panic-packing, I bought hair bands from the supermarket to use as trouser blousing keep snow, water, and mud from entering my boots.
TAS2012 updates
4 days until lift off!
All flights have been booked and paid for.Tasmanian accommodation all sorted, but Victoria and New South Wales needs to get finalised.Instead of the initial idea of plucking two days in Sydney to add to Tasmania, and now has been added to Victoria.A three day trip to Lorne, Victoria is in the works now depending on my ability to finalise accommodation to this little coastal town. I may not be the biggest fan of beach holidays, but why not.
Well that doesn’t matter really does it, considering I’m already on said holiday. This draft started saying “Ten days to lift off”, now that I’m on my forth day into the said break.
After coming home from working extrasat 5 PM, worked through the night and morning panic packing and preparing rations for the nine days out field on the Overland Track. This included the last hour or two before leaving for the flight, panic throwing out the canvas swag in exchange for the nylon/polyester dome tent which I had only thirty minutes more set up and pack down experience with and with less bulk. Having to choose between food, ease of use but bulkiness of the swag, or compactness and mattressless dome tent was absolutely heartbreaking. Also threw out one waterproof fleece jacket, which I regretted that I could have stuffed in the bedroll where I had stuffed the Gore Tex shell jacket for the trip. Left behind the pump action water filter, which I eventually would have space for as I had time in Launceston to effectively halve my ration bulk, now I’ll either have to boil my water, suck it through a Life Straw, or wait two hours for the water purifying tablets to take full affect.
There was no neatness or glamour to panic-packing, no folding, no grouping; just near blind grabbing fistfuls of material and jamming in every available void.
If the post looks a tad funky, it just means the the html tags do not translate too will over tumblr mobile.
The picture at the to of the post is of my planning spreadsheets where I attempt to turn all the red unbooked boxes, green.