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Back from Overland

Kah Kit has just returned from hiking the Overland track in Tasmania. It is a 6 day hike across Cradle Mountain-Lake St Claire NP, a UNESCO heritage area. Few would argue it to be the most rewarding hike in Australia. Despite the 8000 people who walk the track each year, the state has done a wonderful job of preserving its unique wilderness. It contains one of a handful of temperate forest in the world. Walking the track really transports one back in time. There are numerous mountains, all very old & hence not tall, Mt Ossa, the tallest in Tasmania being some 1600+ metres tall. What these peaks lack in height they make up in character. This landscape was shaped by 2 major phenomena. Firstly, the mountains are made of dolerite, a very common rock in Tasmania but quite rare elsewhere in the world. This was formed from molten rock being pushed up like needles into the softer rock above. Secondly, ice ages & glacial action have carved U-shaped valleys & left glacial lakes & tarns. The jagged peaks are dolerite that were not covered by glaciers. Over time, the softer surrounding rock have weathered away leaving this rock columns which eventually fall over leaving chunks of dolerite all over the place. The weather was unseasonably good in autumn for walking. Not a day of rain, and clear blue skies for the majority of the time. Leeches were not seen & the mosquitos failed to get a meal. Even the famously thick mud was absent. See the new photos in "Landscapes of Tasmania". Especially noteworthy is the first true macro shot in the portfolio, "The Frosted Garden".