Day 8 – Windermere Hut to New Pelion Hut

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I suspect I’ve found myself in what’s known as a bubble. A bunch of people who aren’t walking together, but are doing the same walk at the same time. Almost everyone who was at the hut seems to be on their third day, having stayed at Waterfall hut. They all will head for New Pelion Hut today.

There’s rain forecast, so I don’t dawdle too much getting going. It’s 16km to New Pelion Hut, and parks gives it as 5 hrs while Chapman has it at six! That’s pretty slow for a flattish formed track. (Edit: it ended up taking me 4:20)

As I’m loitering to take photos I get overtaken by a guy from the UK named Ali. We leapfrog each other over the next few hours.

The sky is a moody tantrum in pastels.

From Windermere you head out over buttongrass plains with gorgeous views of Oakleigh and Pelion and beyond, and the scars of recent bushfire, before descending into myrtle forest.

It’s in and out of buttongrass and forest. The skies grow gradually darker, and distant thunder rolls subsonically across the hills. I deploy my pack cover; an ancient ritual to ward off rain.

It only works for so long. The tea tree smells lovely in rain. I put my head down and head for the hut. I have to keep reminding myself to look up and appreciate my surroundings.

It’s good to have a dry destination on a wet day. New Pelion Hut is strategically located on the edge of a large buttongrass plain, with a broad veranda overlooking fantastic views of Mount Oakleigh and West Pelion.

I sit and chat with Ali while the others trickle in. A hiker from our bubble named Elise comes down from the mountain. She’d done a double day yesterday. A group of trail runners stop by, doing the whole Overland in a day. One of them asks if anyone has any gastro-stop, as one of their number has picked the wrong day to get the shits. I’ve heard horror stories about gastro on the overland, and had packed a spare few tablets, which I hand over. I hope that this gesture will be putting karma it into the world, and not come back to bite me in the bum.

A patch of blue opens in the sky, and I decide to go for a little walk to check out Old Pelion hut. As I’m walking back, I decide to trust my instincts over the forecast, and have a go at Oakleigh. It’s supposed to be a four hour walk. I’m not the only one with this idea.

At the hut I hurriedly arrange my pack for a day walk and head off. Ali comes too, and Lachlan has gone ahead. The track is muddy to begin with, then becomes a step climb.

The day is warm and humid from the earlier rain, and I’m pushing hard to get up the hill, wanting to make good time. Ali just has a litre of water and little else. As we near the tree line he announces that he doesn’t like the look of a dark cloud approaching, and not having any rain gear with him, and will head back. I continue on, and meet Lachlan, shirtless and running, coming back the other way. He’s run the track having drunk a heap of water before leaving and brought none with him. I offer him some, but he’s fine.

I push on and reach the first view point, only to have Ali join me, having been convinced by Lachlan to continue. We head down a valley and then up, following an uneven route through impenetrable waist deep scrub to the lookout. The view is well worth the climb.

It’s crazy to think that the precipitous cliff we’ve been looking at all day is right below. The actual peak is another 700m walk, but as far as I’m concerned, this mountain has been climbed. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to peruse the missive detailing my reasons which I left in a cache up there.

Ali spots a tiger snake on the way down, and we have a discussion on the finer points of elapid venom and Australian snake bite first aid.

Nearly back at the hut, I am viciously mauled by a giant bumble bee. Nonetheless, I make it back in time to make a very nice tuna mornay for dinner, which I gratefully devour, then walk out to try and get some photos of the dying light again.

Being in a bubble is nice. Though we’ll only know each other for a few days, there’s a sense of camaraderie in the shared hardship of the track and the shared enjoyment of its beauty. I’m struggling to learn and remember names.

While everyone settles in for the night, I string my hammock up across a corner of the veranda and do the same.

Not such a big day tomorrow. It seems like everyone plans to climb Mount Ossa (Tassie’s highest peak) on the way to Kia Ora. the forecast is currently saying the next three days will be good. Then a cold day with 15mm of rain. I may have to adjust my plans around this.

For the first time in four nights, I am not molested by a possum.