Easter Hike

Last year we'd earmarked going to the Easter Orienteering carnival in Tasmania but when we went to look into options of flying v's driving we discovered that Easter was 2 weeks before school holidays. Wanting to explore Tasmania while we were there, we realised that it was unrealistic to take 10 days off and then cope with the school holidays so instead we stayed put....well almost.

The weather forecast looked great for an overnight hike. After some research we settled on a walk in Namadgi National Park. Our aim was to hike up to Split Rock - a 20km return trip from the old Orroral Tracking Station. We convinced Aoife, Cath and Eoin to join us. Jessica and Gareth we going to come too just for the first night but had a last minute change of plans.

The short hours long drive had us arrive at the tracking station in time for a picnic lunch. Great to get fuelled up before we started! After signing our intentions on the bushwalking register, we began. The first few km's were easy walking along the fire trail in Orroral Valley. There was a little bit of stop starting as everyone adjusted to the weight of their packs.

Keeping in mind we wanted to keep this walk fun for everyone, we had originally intended to camp in the valley with the thought of walking and summiting split rock the next day minus our packs. However we found ourselves arriving at this intended campsite within an hour. We sat down for a snack and had a group discussion on options before voting. The outcome was to continue walking and see how far we could get knowing that native bush and area didn't allow for many choices in camp sites.

The fourth km was slow, climbing steeply (100m vertical climb) resulting in a detour off the trail to explore the looming granite boulders whilst providing a break from the hard walking. It was a beautiful spot for a lolly rest break on top of the boulder whilst enjoying the view of Orroral valley below.

We couldn't pause too long as our destination called. On we continued cresting the hill, ambling leisurely and happily along the top until we reached the Australian Alps Walking Trail sign indicating the turn off onto a lovely single track. The bush was thick with banksias and the walking was easy. We were all hoping the creek, our next landmark would quickly appear soon and eventually it did.

Packs were dumped, shoes and sock pulled off before paddling and exploring began. The girls had forgotten how tired they were and were engrossed in the natural environment. We, the adults, pondered about the closeness of the our intended campsite.

From the creek, the next km up was tough. A 15% climb with loaded packs was hard going on everyone. We played celebrity heads with the girls to keep their minds (and ours) off the slog. Thankfully the hill flattened out and emerging from between the trees was Split Rock perched high up on the peak. Andy and the girls scouted ahead to find the best camping spot. Unfortunately a couple had beaten us to it. Suitable areas clear enough for several tents were hard to come by with all the thick regrowth, however we did find an established spot for our campsite.