Swap the daily grind for 4 days of jaw-dropping wilderness and amazing hiking in Tasmania on the Overland Track highlights tour! Ever shared a trail with a wombat? At Cradle Mountain, you’ll find yourself pausing to let them amble by as we walk on boardwalk paths surrounded by native flora. There’s something about this place that just pulls you in, from the quiet of Weindorfers Forest to the thrill of catching a reflection of Cradle Mountain in Dove Lake. In the meantime, our experienced guides aren’t just going to lead the way—they’re also going to cook some tasty meals, served up in our cozy cabins at Discovery Parks. Wombat sightings, cascading waterfalls, ancient rainforests, and views that will blow our mind—by the end of it, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done this sooner.
Lace up for 4 days of Tasmanian wilderness that’ll knock your hiking boots off. On this Overland Track highlights tour, we’ll wander ancient forests, scramble up peaks, and discover lakes so stunning they beg for a double-take. From Cradle Valley’s lush boardwalks to the jaw-dropping views at Marion’s Lookout, every trail has its own wow-factor. We’ll cross paths with wombats, trek through twisted landscapes, and soak up mountain vibes that make the everyday world feel a million miles away. We’ll end it all with a sweet loop around Dove Lake, and in the meantime, we’ll be staying in cozy accommodation, enjoying amazing food prepared by our experienced guides.
The trip departs out of Launceston at 7:45am from the Hotel Grand Chancellor. Our initial drive takes us into the Mersey River valley, and along the base of the Great Western Tiers before we stop for a morning tea break. At Cradle Mountain village, we’ll have lunch and head out on our main walk for the day—the Cradle Valley Boardwalk. This easy walk takes us along the course of the Dove River and features a vast assortment of native flora.
Once at Ronny Creek, we go searching for wombats before looping around to the historic Waldheim Chalet. We’ll enjoy a short walk through an ancient forest of myrtle beech and king billy pine before meeting back up with the bus for afternoon tea. In the afternoon, we’ll head back to near the entrance of the park and take part in a series of short walks that showcase old-growth rainforest, waterfalls, and more mature stands of king billy pine. Then it’s off to our accommodation, and a delicious dinner out at a local restaurant.
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Hiking: 9 km / 5.6 miles
Walking time: About 4 hours
Accommodation: Cottage/cabin in Discovery Parks
After breakfast, we’ll depart for another scenic walk, this time taking in the park’s eastern highlights. Starting from Dove Lake, we will take the Lake Rodway track up and over Hansons Peak. Once over the other side, we pick up our return route via the Twisted Lakes and Lake Hanson. Later on, we will find ourselves a nice rocky outcrop for lunch whilst we soak up the views.
If energy and time permits, an hour and a half extension can be made to visit the eastern face of Cradle Mountain, and the reflective waters of Artists Pool. We loop back to the Lake Rodway Track completing the circuit and reverse our inward journey, returning to Dove Lake to meet the bus. At night, there is a great opportunity to visit the Devils at Cradle, a world-class wildlife conservation facility. Here you can encounter Tasmanian Devils in a sanctuary up close and personal. This is an optional extra at guests’ own expense.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hiking: 10 km / 6.2 miles
Walking time: 6 to 7 hours
Accommodation: Cottage/cabin in Discovery Parks
Starting at Dove Lake, we’ll walk past Lake Lilla and Wombat Pools on our way to Marion’s Lookout. The ascent to Marion’s is an exciting, steep, and rocky section of track where we use chains to assist our climb. If time and safety permit, we may walk further on from Marion’s Lookout along the button grass plains to Kitchen Hut at the base of Cradle Mountain.
From there, we’ll descend back towards Wombat Peak and turn onto the world-famous Overland Track towards the glacially formed Crater Lake. As we near the end of our day’s journey, we’ll pass the magnificent Crater Falls, a series of waterfall drops cascading their way through the beautiful rainforest. In the afternoon, we return to our accommodation to relax and eat.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hiking: 7.5 km / 4.7 miles
Walking time: About 4 hours
Accommodation: Cottage/cabin in Discovery Parks
On our last day, after breakfast, we’ll head out for our final walk, the Dove Lake Circuit. This is one of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks and a must-do for anyone visiting the park. We’ll visit the much-photographed boatshed on the shores of the lake, and encounter more local species of rainforest plant that only grow in the wettest of conditions, including native plum, sassafras, and the aptly named “horizontal.”
We’ll finish our loop atop the impressive formation of Glacier Rock, which provides us with a final vista across the landscapes we have explored for the past four days. After lunch, we’ll jump back on the bus and start our return journey back to Launceston. En-route we will stop by in the lovely little town of Sheffield, where we should have ample time for a break and a wander around the muralled streets.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Hiking: 6 km / 3.7 miles
Walking time: About 2.5 hours
I booked with Park Trek so that I could experience incredible hiking trails, comfortable travel / logistics and accommodation, and knowledgeable, professional guides. I got all of this and so much more. The company owner, Charles, also is very hands on and I felt invested in with individual care to my queries. The guides however made this trip as exceptional as it was. Lorinda and Sandra, and their local trail knowledge offered many learning opportunities and insights including to hiking beyond these trails. We were superbly taken care of from dawn until dark and I felt that we were in the hands of absolute consummate professionals. I would follow them into the wilderness anytime.
Everything about this experience was exceptional from the personality, professionalism, team work, knowledge, and talent of guides Sandra and Kurtis, luxury accommodation with whales and wombats at the doorstep! The track and walk paced to suit with views you will not find anywhere else, I highly recommend you try this.. life is too short to do it any other way 🙂
What you get on this adventure:
What’s not included:
In order to fully enjoy this Overland track tour, good fitness and previous hiking/bushwalking experience is recommended. Over 4 days, you’ll cover around 35-40 km (22-25 miles). Check out day by day instances in the itinerary.
Some parts of the trek are graded moderate to challenging—bushwalking experience is recommended, and tracks may be long, rough, and very steep. For instance, Day 2 is a challenging day with lots of variation in elevation, and at times can be quite rough and wet underfoot. But keep in mind that this doesn’t apply to the whole trail, as there are also lots of easier parts with gentler hills. Easier options are also available, so please feel free to discuss these options with your guides.
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Essential items
Optional extras (recommended)
Main bag (please bring your gear in a soft (rather than hard) bag)
The food served on tour is designed to be healthy, hearty and home-style. The menus seek to showcase regional produce, including local cheeses, yogurt, fruit, vegetables and meats.
Each night, cheese, dips and crackers will be offered as pre-dinner nibbles, while a trail mix selection will also be provided at the start of each day. The tour does not include alcoholic beverages but guests are most welcome to bring wine/beer along with them. If you are bringing bottled wine, please pack this well in your main bag to avoid breakages.
We’ll be staying at cozy cottages or cabins in Discovery Parks. If you choose to book a single supplement, this means you will have one bedroom in the two-bedroom cabin and could be sharing the cabin with one or two other guests. Please note that a single supplement on this tour has limited availability.
Group sizes and pricing
Hiking in Tasmania can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements
If your group has hikers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
The starting point of your Overland track tour is Launceston. To get there, most people fly into Launceston Airport. From there, you can take a shuttle service, public transport, or rent a car to reach Launceston.
Make sure to reach Launceston at least a day prior to Day 1 of the tour, as you’ll have to meet your guide early in the morning for a transfer to your first stop of the tour. Once you’re there, you will meet your guide at 7:45am in Hotel Grand Chancellor – Launceston. More information will be provided by the guides before the tour starts.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both medical and travel protection. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, simply choose Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner!
Redpoint tailors their protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations. Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.
Once your booking is confirmed and your trip is paid in full, you will be offered to purchase Redpoint’s protection. If you need any help or require more information, let us know and we will be happy to help!
Deposits
You can secure one of the set dates with a 30% deposit upon booking. The remaining 70% of the trip price is to be paid 90 days prior to departure, at the latest.
Cancellations
Booking fees are non-refundable in all cases. During checkout, however, you can choose one of 57hours’ flexibility options:
Basic
Flexible
Super Flexible
The walk and the Park Trek significantly exceeded my expectations in every aspect. The scenery, food and accommodation as well as the two guides Grahame and Peter were excellent and the organisation was first class. I highly recommend this for anyone thinking about it.