Well, there’s 6 weeks to go until the Six Foot Track marathon in the Blue Mountains of NSW and I must say that I swing through a range of thoughts and emotions in thinking about it. I guess that like anything you go into “blind”, there’s a certain amount of apprehension and anxiety just because of the unknown...too true!! But there’s also excitement around challenges – new or old, big or small. They’re a little bit like a stage performance where you’ve practiced so much and now you just want to get out there and show off everything you’ve learned.
So with the Six Foot Track there’s been times where I just can’t wait to get up there, out of Sydney and into some new territory that I’m sure I’ll love. Even better that we get to run through the bush, along the tracks, across the creeks and up and down the hills. I suspect I’ll be sorry to be racing it since there’ll be so many photo opportunities along the way.
But don’t forget the fear of the course. There’s a lot of uphill...and even more downhill (it’s a net downhill race). Each of these is sure to take a toll of my legs, not to mention my little old heart. Since my goal is to race it every physical aspect will be magnified – for better or worse. I’m going to take a real beating...and I expect it’s going to take some minutes to get out of bed the next morning!!! Hello stiff, sore and tired muscles...
Training has been going well. A friend asked me last night when do you start ‘training’ for the race; in all honesty, training is on-going, but it was back in about mid-December that the realisation occurred that I need to start heading to the hills in preparation. Not just some gentle undulations, but serious hills.
Melbourne itself is not all that hilly. Yeah, we have some hilly streets but nothing like those in the Six Foot Monster!! So real training means heading into the surrounding mountain ranges in search of steep, long trails to train on. At this stage I’ve only gone so far as the Dandenongs mainly because they’re closest by, and they’re a popular place to run, let alone how people head out there to walk.
Home base for the weekly long run has been the Upper Ferntree Gully picnic ground, better known as the starting point for the famous “1000 steps”, which is a ruse since there’s actually only about 890 or so!!! The 1000 steps serves as a memorial to the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea, with some plaques and information signs. I’m not sure if many people actually stop to read them (I haven’t yet, either!!) since the majority, i.e. 99% of people, make a bee-line for the steps with a steely gaze of determination for walking the steps.
I could write a whole other post about the 1000 steps and associated visitors, but I try to steer clear of them and keep to tracks around the slopes of One Tree Hill, which is at the top of the steps.
So far I’ve made four trips out for training runs, running a range of routes and tracks around One Tree Hill, plus heading off into the distance and through places like Belgrave, Kallista, Ferny Creek and Tacoma. It’s just wonderful running along beautiful tracks, under a constant canopy of trees and other vegation. Time passes quickly in these surrounds – it’s a complete world apart compared to training on the roads around home.
I can’t forgot to talk about the steep tracks…oh my god!!! Although I’ve just run over a small area of the Dandenongs, so far I’d rate the steepest tracks as follows:
View Trk – I’ve only run down this one, and nearly fell flat on my it’s so steep...which makes up the shortness.
Tyson Trk – also short, but also very steep.
Chandlers Track – not quite as steep but it’s 1km long with the steepest part at the end.
Anyway there’s more training runs in store out in the Dandenongs. Here’s a map – and elevation – of today’s run. 41km in 3:16hr with about 1700m ascent (my goal is to do a run with 2000m ascent!!). Love the run!!
Start spreading the news, I’m leaving in November I’m gunna be a part of it - New York marathon These running shoes, are longing to stray Right through the very heart of it - new york, new york
I want to wake up in a city, with fast running streets And prove I’m not over the hill – still at my peak
These Melbourne town blues, are melting away I’ll be on the starting line - in old new york If I can run fast there, I’ll run fast anywhere It’s up to you – my nike shoes nike shoes
New york, new york I want to race through five boroughs, on city streets And know I’m a runner too, on my own two legs, to Central Park A runner too
These Melbourne town blues, are history today I’m gonna be best I can be - in old new york And if I can prove it there, I can boast about it everywhere
The Australian Open tennis is in town at the moment, and as is the case each year, Melbourne comes alive with the daily - and nightly - excitement of close matches, super star players, hot weather, glamour and more. It's not just limited to the two weeks of 'the Open', but starts with the new year with lead-in tournaments and exhibitions pushing all other sport from the front pages and even making its way into the headlines itself. Just imagine if Australia actually had some genuine contenders!!!
I've always loved tennis, from playing as a young kid in primary school to the first tennis team at Geelong Grammar and later for my local club - tennis has been challenging and tormenting, but ultimately enjoyable and rewarding with good times and good friends. Unfortunately as life has moved on and become busier, tennis has slipped from my list of recreation...so that when passing a tennis court I have a lingering look at whoever is playing, and sometimes stopping to be mesmerised by the skill and athleticism of even just suburban tennis competition. I've always thought that if I could be professional in any sport, it would be tennis - the skill, athleticism, combat, money, glamour, and more!!
One great friend who shares my enjoyment for tennis is Darren, with whom I used to share many closely fought 'social' matches, fighting tooth and nail for the upper hand while pretending it was all just in fun. Haha. As if!!! We've also shared an annual pilgimage to the home of tennis that is Melbourne Park for over 10 years now, booking our tickets months before and waiting for our time to rendezvous in the stadium...always hoping for good seats and great matches, but only occasionally getting either. Nonetheless, we love the occasion and reminisce about years and matches in the past, including our grand adventure to the US Open in New York in 1999.
The middle weekend of the Open is when we usually go, this year with tickets for Friday night and all-day Sunday. For the first time we gave up on trying for Rod Laver Arena seats for either session through continued frustration about poor - and expensive - seats and went for HiSense Arena where we've had good seats in the past. Our faith was rewarded on Friday with great seats only 15-20 rows back behind the court - fantastic!!! And with the scheduled matches looking good on paper, we were pumped for a good night. Sadly it was a bit of a fizzer...
First up was Kim Clijsters vs. Nadia Petrova. Kim is a Australian crowd favourite...even after she dumped her Aussie boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt years ago. Now she has even greater 'court cred' as a mum who won the US Open last year in a return from retirement. She's a little like Nicole Kidman who went on to greater things after splitting from a famous partner (Tom Cruise). Nadia Petrova is somewhat of a Russian 'journeyman' of womens tennis, with legs up to her armpits and shoulders like a swimmer. To cut a short story shorter, poor Kim was wiped from the court 6-0 6-1 and couldn't get a shot in. So a flat start to the night of tennis. The second match between two Croatian players was quite dull and dour, with Ivo Karlovic moving with the speed of galcier but serving like the giant he is, at something 6 feet 13 inches tall (ie, long and gangly!!). We left after a couple of sets with a sore bum from hard seats.
Sunday's schedule looked good, with two womens matches and mens match. But the story of the day for us was the sun - our courside seats were in it, and remain so for the whole day. Oh no. We've never had this before, even though the angle we were watching from was great...almost at court level, right on the baseline. From here you could really see the speed and angle of the shots, and just how athletic the players are. This where live action is so much better than on TV.
Some people grumble about womens tennis as being boring, and yes, there are boring matches just as with the men (like we saw on Friday night). But the women have it all over the men in the looks and fashion stakes - especially the European women - case in point being the first match we saw on Sunday morning. As I sat down I commented to Darren how good the seats were (apart from the sun), and he replied saying "Yes, especially when the pink dress is down this end." Need I say any more?? She also played pretty good tennis, Alona Bondarenko, but not enough to win her match, dammit!! So while the winner waltzes into the next round, the loser pick up their prizemoney and slide out of town to the next tournament - it doen't seem quite right after the glamour and hype that accompany them in the lead-up. As a spectator, I'd be interested to hear from the loser also...after all, there's often more to learn from failing than succeeding.
The next womens match proceeded without us in our seats as we left to cool off outside in the beer garden, still in the sun, but at least on grass, with some breeze and not having to stay quiet all the time!!! The Open has a great outdoor space with big screens, deck chairs, tables, catering and more...just perfect for relaxing and socialising. We didn't miss a thing on court courtesy of the big screen, and while it was a good match, there was no pink dress in play...alas...
The final match, a mens match, was a classic. Nbr 4 seed vs nbr 13 seed. Argentina vs Croatia (we saw a lof of Croatian players!!). The play was high standard, the intensity was hot, the crowd was vocal...and the sun was still burning our seats. Just as it moved behind the roof a little...the wound the roof back further to keep the court - and our seats - in sunshine.
It was ding-dong match, trading shots and sets until I was sick of the sweat and sunburn and sore bum, and left...catching some more on TV when I got home. It seemed a shame to leave what turned into an epic 5 set match, but you can only take so much of a good thing. There's still another week to go, with the very best in the world still to face each other. I've got my favourite couch TV watching position worked out ready to watch and appreciate the best on the planet. Next year we'll be back again...it's an annual institution not to miss.
Along with some big goals, I've made a bit of a resolution this year to do some different things, like going to places I never been before, doing things I've never done before and so on. Fitting nicely in with this is to enter events I've never done before on the basis that they meet two aspects of my resolution at the same time!! So recently I've been on the lookout for destinations and events to fulfill these desires - Tasmania trip was just the first expedition of many to come.
The Blue Montains are up in NSW and are basically the northern extension of what we Victorians know as the Great Dividing Range. They run kind of parallel to the coastline, a hundred or so kilometers inland from Sydney. I must say that I'm a little naive (or ignorant?) about the Blue Mountains and what their main features are except that they are rugged, spectacular, beautiful and more. We did a family trip there when I was very young with no memories apart from visiting the Jenolan Caves - the name had a ring to it that's stuck in my mind ever since.
I first heard and read about a running race in the Blue Mountains a few years ago, which piqued my interest but was dismissed due to competing in triathlons at the time. The race is called the Six Foot Track Marathon, and is 45km from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves over tracks and trails, up and down mountains, through creeks and over fences. It think it was the combination of all these things that stuck in my memory, and perhaps a sub-conscious desire to get off the roads and into nature. It began in 1984 and the popularity is such that the 850 field limit fills up in less than 12 hours after entries open - the history and legend of the event builds each year.
The Six Foot Track was planned as a shortcut to Jenolan Caves in the late 1800's, with the first recorded passage of the completed bridle track from Katoomba to Jenolan was by the governor, Lord Carrington, in September 1887. But by the 1930's, lack of maintenance had resulted in the track no longer being suitable for bridle use, however in 1937 is was named Six Foot Track, referring to the original tender specification for a width of six feet. The track was reopened in 1984, following reconstruction work. Some of the track passes through a World Heritage listed area - the part within Jenolan Caves Reserve.
This single event ticked so many boxes on my resolution list that, indeed, I resolved that in 2010 I would do it; to line up on Saturday 13th March at Katoomba and head into the hills on what, to me, was an unknown journey. So training is underway - lots of running up and down the Dandenongs each weekend (these runs are eipics!!), which itself is a fantastic change from the routine routes in Melbourne. I'll post updates on how training goes...
The World Cross Country selection trials were held yesterday here in Melbourne. Well not exactly Melbourne central, but at Brimbank Park in Keilor which is best described as being under the flight path for Tullamarine airport!! Brimbank Park has a long history as a cross country venue for Athletics Victoria races, with the grueling 10 mile XC race held there for many years and featuring a tough hill, up a rough, narrow, rocky, dirt track where spectators would line-up to jeer / cheer you as you ran up. It was classic course and great setting for true XC races...the only negative being the recent lack of rain, and thus lack of much grass.
Anyway, this event served as the selection trials for the Australian team to compete at the World XC championships in March at Bydgoszcz, Poland. As such, it was a very elite field that lined up in the junior and senior, mens and womens events, where my involvement was not as competitor but behind the scenes in helping put the event on. And it was fun!!
Last year I was fortunate to be invited to join an Athletics Victoria (AV) committee for the winter season, called "XCR", by Tim Crosbie who works with AV and who has a hand in many different aspects of athletics as an administrator, coach, and more. He's a nice guy who I've got to know reasonably well, and I've been really impressed with how he manages things, from the bigger picture to the small details. So I went along to the meetings, attended (and competed) in the events and learnt a lot through the process, including an appreciation for the amount of effort and dedication that goes into the sport and XCR events by AV staff, officials, volunteers and more. As an athlete it's easy to be oblivious to the details behind the scenes.
So as our Relay For Life event last December finished up I could forsee myself getting a little more involved in the behind the scenes aspects of the sport, with the staging of the XC trials race being a great event to get an introduction at. AV was to stage the event - the course and logistics - while Athletics Australia (AA) would run it. Tim was going to be away on the weekend of the race (last weekend) so he asked myself and Kevin Richardson to fill-in...in reality, it takes 2 regular people to do the work of Tim anyway. Tim had done the leg work in mapping out the course, and the 3 of us did a final reconnaissance just before xmas with final tips and advice for setting up the course before Tim flew out for a few weeks holiday.
Last week Kevin and I mapped out our plan of attack for setting up the course, benefitting from the work by Michelle from AV who had done the liaison and coordination with Parks Victoria for us to actually be there. Course set-up requires quite a wide range of equipment, from flags to bollards, tents, tables, generators, ropes and more, which was all packed in the Aths Vic van ready for us to pick up. So on Friday afternoon I picked up the van and got behind the wheel with a bit of responsibility, not just for the vehicle but for us to actually set up the course.
Our plan was to meet at Brimbank Park at 5pm on Saturday and do as much set-up as possibly before the park closed at 8pm. It was a little like fronting up to a blank canvas with an idea in mind to turn it into a work of art, except our canvas was a patchy grass, tussocky, undulating area of the park. Where do you start??? - we weren't even completely familiar with the gear in the van let alone the best process for setting things up.
So we began at the start, literally, drawing a line in the dirt where the start - and finish - lines would be. Then we pegged out the chutes the runners would run through, taking care to follow our layout map and also consider what would be the best configuration for everyone. The start / finish area looked pretty good, although would really come to life once ropes and bunting tape was strung up, which left the next - and biggest - task being to put little flags in around the 2km course, and measure it to ensure it was accurate. This was tedious.
With blue flags on the right, orange flags on the left we marked out the course as was planned while at the same time measuring it with the wheel and adjusting it to make up distance. In the end it ended up being accurate within 5m per 2km lap...all of which took a lot of walking!! We wound up just before 8pm, park close, and covered in dust packed up the van and headed home, due back at park opening at 6:30am on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning was race day, with the first event at 7:30am leaving only 60mins to finalise the set-up. The AA officials descended on the area en masse, which was fantastic since they knew exactly what to do and helped do the final markings of the course, finish area, admin area, and more. I think we were all ready to go with about 15min to spare - great team work - which meant Kevin & I now had the luxury of being able to simply spectate as the best runners in Australia ran around to win selection on the Australian team.
To really condense the races down, they ran fast and well, making our course look easy. There were some great performances, and perhaps some athletes who left a little disappointed. A particularly heartening performance was the senior womens winner, Benita Willis, who was one of the runners that came down to the course on Saturday evening to check it out and was happy to share a friendly chat while we pegged things out - a prior world XC champion with some grace and style.
The last race finished about 9:45am and within 45mins the place was cleaned up, equipment packed, the van was loaded and it barely looked like we'd been there. It was great teamwork and a job well done by everyone. In the footnotes of Australian Athletics history it will note the results of the World XC trials at Brimbank Park; a mere checkpoint in time where a suburban park came to life for a few brief hours.
The new year period is often a time of hangovers...some that seem to last for days. I've felt just like that this week after getting home from Tasmania, except my hangover is not an alcohol fueled one...I'm just exhausted!!! But the good news is that today, Friday, I'm starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel and my legs are feeling less like concrete blocks. Thank god for that...
But the thing is that I wouldn't have changed anything - it was a great getaway, and the running trails and tours were fantastic. It's opened my eyes to real trail running and how enjoyable it is - it's much like my triathlon friends who found their salvation in mountain biking; for me it's trail running.
Unfortunately there's very few trail running races around (if any?), with the ones that do exist tending to be ultra marathon events...albeit along some amazing routes. I'd love to see some get established, and have even put forward some ideas and concepts to a couple of event organisers. We'll see what comes of that - I think there's some great potential for these races to be really popular, and around Melbourne there's some great venues to hold them. In the meantime, I'll be making a more regular bee-line into the nearby ranges for training runs, starting tomorrow.
So running this week has been abysmal. In fact anything physical has been dismal...on Monday morning I nearnly drowned at swimming. But on a positive note last week was the most running I've EVER done in a week - 155km - and I knew I'd be tired. Just not this bad. Now things are looking up a bit...and I'm looking forward to having some spring back in my stride again.
During this week I wrote a article about the Tas running tour and submitted it to Run For Your Life magazine, who are keen to publish it complete with some photos and stuff. So that will be exciting to be up in lights a bit. The YouTube videos have had quite a few people watching them and one friend even suggested to produce a running calendar from the best photos throughout the year - a great idea - so stand-by for more pictures coming up!!!
I'd love to get some more writing opportunities ahead - I'm still working on a 'style' which strikes the kind of balance I'm aiming for, which is hard to identify. In meantime I think mum has bookmarked this blog, so there's one reader, hopefully...
Often the best memories and experiences come when the unexpected happens, whether you're ready for it or not. So how good is it when you go somewhere not really expecting much, but come away absolutely inspired and uplifted by what you've seen and experienced? Fortescue Bay and Cape Hauy delivered in spades with a pristine beach, spectacular coast line and breathtaking sea cliffs - it provided a highlight from a wonderful week in Tassie.
It was the day after the Mt Wellington ascent, and a great pizza shared with some wonderful visiting QLD friends at downtown Salamanca Place in Hobart - I really like the city - and I headed out towards the Tasman peninsula before travelling up the east coast for the final National Park visit at Freycinet Peninsula. The Tasman peninsula is better known as home to Port Arthur, the well known convict settlement from the 1800's. It's a spectacular area joined to mainland Tasmania via two narrow stretches of land, first at Dunalley and then at Eaglehawk Neck. Back in history, Eaglehawk Neck was permanently guarded since it provided the only land-based escape, providing a very secure area for a convict colony.
Of course these days there's lookouts for people like me to stop at, where at one lookout two rocky outcrops off in the distance caught my attention. Known as The Lanterns they sat as two small but very abrupt islands just off the end of a point that jutted out into the ocean. They looked spectacular but I accepted the only way to see them would be via boat, such was the ruggedness of the terrain along the coast.
Anyway, while on the Tasman peninsula I wanted to do another run, and checked my map for likely places, also remembering some suggestions my brother had made - I was looking for more trails to run along. A place called Cape Hauy tweaked my attention and sounded familiar, so I found the turn-off and headed down a dusty, dirt road for 12km in the Tasman National Park until I arrived at Fortescue Bay on the easy coast of Tasman peninsula.
Fortescue Bay has a pristine beach at the inner end of quite a large cove, surrounded by dense bushland, mountains and rugged coastline. A camping area was directly adjacent to the beach, and a little further along a boat ramp where a few "tinnies" and other fishing boats were launched from...which is a shame since their very presence - and the bogans who drove them - destroyed the serenity of the area. Nonetheless, it was beautiful and was the starting point for a tour out to Cape Hauy.
After Cradle Mtn I was quite used to trail running, and this track was no different - rocky, hilly, rough - it had it all. Fortunately, it didn't have any snakes, since they would have scared the sh*t out of me!!! The trail was marked as 4hrs return for walkers, and for a long way I couldn't see much through the trees but was going upwards so was sure of a view sometime soon. And then, after a turn and emerging from the bush I started to see where I was running to - the coastal view took my breath away.
I was at the top of the spur looking down on Cape Hauy - a narrow point out in front of me - and with ocean on either side at the bottom of very high sea cliffs. On either side I could see the equally rugged coastline stretching off into the distance, with small inlets, points, rocks, blowholes and more all the way along. It was like having a front row view of to an amazing nature show, and to make it better it was blue sky and a calm ocean - picture postcard stuff.
There was a lot more very rough and rocky trail to traverse before I got the Cape Hauy, in some places going along the top of a sea cliff with a good 100m vertical drop downwards. And all the way out to the point the view got better and better as it opened up and I could see more of the coastline is each direction. I was awestruck at everything I was seeing, and gob smacked at how beautiful it all was - how lucky was I to be there, and on such a perfect day.
Eventually the track stopped at Cape Hauy and there, literally a stones throw away were the The Lanterns - two small islands that looked like rock columns reaching 100m or more above the sea. From where I stood I looked directly across at the top of them, and some scant vegetation growing on top of them. But it was the sheer cliffs of rock below my viewpoint that made it spectacular, plus the ocean view up and down the coast. In a strange kind of way it was exhilarating being in the midst of this rugged beauty, centre stage, on a perfect day. How good was this!!
The return trip was no easier, and the view was still just as good. Running back to Fortescue Bay the clean white sand came into sight on the beach, which was overwhelmingly inviting for swim when I got back - it was a warm day and the water was crystal clear. The end of a fantastic run like this was a great feeling. Finally the reward was a swim. In I ran with every intention of diving under and enjoying the refreshing water…until I saw hundreds of goddam jellyfish!!! Oh my god, I hate these things, and quickly stopped in my tracks and got out. I did eventually get in for a swim, still getting a few "tickles' from some jellys - it was worth it!!
So the final stage of the trip was a stop-off - and another run - around at Freycinet National Park, home of the famous wineglass bay. It was nice, but perhaps I was on a little bit of a down after the highlight of the previous day…and after endless trial running I was just plain tired!!
Tasmania was an amazing trip, and there's still lots of things I didn't see. But as the slogan says - a world apart, not a world away, so I plan to go back again and see some more. It's a beautiful place.
Running the Cradle Mtn National Park was a treat in every way - for the senses, for the beauty, for the challening terrain and more. It had a bit of everything and met all my expectations…and some more. Far from being very tired at the end, I was energised and humbled by being able to complete such a great running tour, compressing a 1-2 day hike into just a few hours. Health and fitness is a gift in these scenarios.
The next running tour was a little more brutal, with only a smidgen of beauty. I was going to run from Hobart to the summit of the 1270m Mt Wellington - the huge beast of a mountain that looms very large over the city. It looks big, it looks scary and imposing, with a huge antenna on the summit that looks like a rocket pointing high into the sky.
My older brother who recently visited Hobart, and drove to the summit, called me at the time to question whether I actually knew what I was getting myself into. I didn't, but was determined nonetheless, fueled in part by his doubts and also the accompishments of some friends who competed in - and completed - the annual Point to Pinnacle running race about 6 weeks earlier. Running from Wrest Point Casino to the Pinnacle, it covers the half marathon distance, 21km+ of pure uphill running. So I wanted to know what they achieved, to an extent.
So at 8am on Thursday I set off from the hostel, to first run to the casino starting point, and then the journey up the mountain. Knowing there was about 21-22km of running ahead, I was little worried when it took 6km to just get to the starting point at the casino…still no closer or nearer the actual top of the damn mountain. So it was with some relief that I turned around on Sandy Bay Rd and headed upwards.
The thing about running up such a prominent mountain is that it's constantly in your face, staring down at you just teasing you with it's size and awe. With the rocket-like communications tower on top, Mt Wellington was more like a school yard bully…but I was determined. David vs. Goliath!!!
From Sandy Bay Rd it was a left hand turn up Davey St and then pretty much straight onwards and upwards. The lower stretches were through the suburbs, through what appeared to be a very well-to-do area with some large and impressive houses…of course, the higher up, the better the view. At a few points I got a clear look myself down on Hobart below, and sould see the appeal of this location, with the perfect weather and sun glistening off the Derwent river.
A little further up and the road started emerging from suburbs and into more mountain side terrain, with trees alongside the road and guard rails instead of footpath. I ran right on the edge of the bitumen and gravel, sometimes having to take evasive action as cars approached!!! There was still a public transport bus route up here, with bus stops amongst clusters of houses, but mostly it was the trees and nature that took over. And although I was only 8-9km from the start/casino - about a third of the way - it was almost as if I hadn't got any closer to the top, such was the imposing sight of the summit above.
About half up from the casino the summit road turned off the main road, which meant that there was no other option than the pinnacle now. It also coincided with a subtle but noticable increase in the gradient of the road…and very kindly, distance markers painted on the road, starting with "10", meaning 10km to go…and it still looked like I had barely any closer to the top!!
There were no more houses along the road now - the sides were too steep - and the bush was thick in parts but on occasions, opened up enough for a glimpse down over the city. At one particular point, on a corner, there was a lookout which gave a breathtaking view to the south of Hobart. I stopped for a drink from my backpack here, and kept on going…I think this was at about 7km or so still to go…
There were a few little streams trickling down, under the road, and then further down the mountain. I noticed that the air temperature was getting distinctly cooler - I later read that it's about 10 degrees cooler at the summit than in Hobart. But the beautiful day, and clear sunshine took the edge from the cool air.
I'd earlier seen on a sign that the Wellington Chalet was about 3-4km from the summit, so as I approached I was preparing for some classy, stone built mansion in the best location and a café, bar and restaurant to boot. So imagine my surprise when I saw that it was barely bigger than a BBQ shelter, tucked right beside the road and none of the expected glamour to be seen!!
From about 2km to go the trees thinned out and there were a lot more rocks, big boulders alongside the road. This was above 1000m altitude by now, so I guess we were entering an alpine area, above the tree line. It was a little eerie, but also cleared the view in every direction, which was spectacular. Tasmania is just full of mountains, and with the clear day I could see for miles.
The final approach to the summit is tortuous...not any steeper, but just a long gradual road that sweeps around a slight bend so that you can't quite see what's ahead. Lucky for the rocket antenna and the distance markers, but it seemed they were an illusion since the last bit took forever. Then, finally, was the painted line on the road indicating the summit, right beside the visitor centre and adjacent to the rocky cairn on the highest point, 1270m in the air.
No, I didn't jump around, there were no cheers from the visitors already there (whom all drove past me on the way up!!), or anything. It was simply that I'd made it to the top and could now stop to enjoy the view in almost every direction - it was breathtaking. Quite a photos, some video, a quick call to my brother (he was impressed!) and then it was time to go back down. A friendly couple from Townsville gave me lift back to Hobart, and upon getting out of the car I took a look upwards knowing that the beast wasn't so scary afterall!!
When you're on holidays you see things differently, and you see different things around you. Holidays put you into a different mode, a kind of a Jeckel and Hyde transformation…to an extent. You're no longer just living as usual, you're a traveler, a tourist, a backpacker, a holidaymaker, a visitor, and more. You ask for directions rather than giving them. It's an escape from reality where time loses some dimension.
While in Tasmania I've really enjoyed my journey around the island, not just travelling from A to B, but taking in the surrounding area with all my senses wide open. I've noticed contrasting terrain both within the same National Park and across the island. I've seen big lakes, little streams, bright flowers, ancient trees, grassy plains and wooded mountains. I've heard the eerie quiet of a windless view, and the whistling wind of clouds blowing. And so much more.
Throughout the trip I've become a sucker for a great view; the beauty of nature in the raw, to appreciate the spectacular formations and angles that surround you here in Tasmania. To that end, a small alarm goes off whenever I pass a great viewpoint. "Lookout, lookout"…and I'm compelled to pull over, alter my course to see what the view is.
I appreciate that lookouts are well located to see the best of what's on offer. While in one sense I hate that I'm just following the crowd and adding one more photo to the collection, just like everyone else, but that's why lookouts exist, so we tourists all try and beat our own path and destroy what we came to look at. Nonetheless, my favourite photos are the ones with my own little bit of flavour added to them…although that's hard to do!!!
Anyway, since Cradle Mtn I travelled down the western side of Tasmania through some incredibly wooded forests which, at times, almost enclose the road in a canopy with what looks like a hedge alongside the road. The roads went up and down, twisted and turned around as they wound through the remote wilderness of the western coast.
My initial plans were to camp in Queenstown…a name that conjures up a quaint, beautiful little village oozing with character and atmosphere. Oh my god, how wrong I was!!! I was a little worried approaching as I saw mountains cut with the lines of open cut mines - copper mines - with my fears confirmed as I drove through the town. A true mining town with crappy houses, cheap motels, and rough-as-guts main street. The only redeeming feature was the historic railway station from where a steam train runs down to Strahan. Otherwise, it was damn hole and I got out of there!!
I headed out to Strahan, on the shores of the enormous Macquarie Harbour, where the Gordon river empties into. By contrast to Queenstown, Strahan is a nice village built on tourism - cruise boats depart daily for the Gordon River - and fisheries. Located in Macquarie Harbour are several fish farms, and from Strahan the fish feed is loaded onto barges and taken out to the fish feeding machines (which look like UFOs!!). In the past wood milling was also big business, but with only a small demonstration mill still on site.
The façade of Strahan looks to have a lot of character, with period buildings, but I fear that they've been built that way in recent times. But Strahan was a much more welcoming destination for the night than Queenstown…and I just hoped I'd get through alive the next day as I pass through on the way to Hobart!!
So from Strahan I set my bearings for Hobart, a long drive but full of beauty as we passed through the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park (also a World Heritage Listed site), complete with numerous lookouts that I just had to stop at!!! Beyond the park boundaries were some more of the extensive hydro power stations, with networks of canals, pipes and electricity pylons across the countryside. These are amazing engineering achievements, even though they're dwarfed by the Snowy Mtns Scheme, and operate throughout summer such is the amount of water in the western side of the state.
As the roads left the mountains, the countryside became markedly drier, with little of the greenness, forests and river of western Tasmania. It seems to be a state of contrasts - west to east - with seemingly a rain shadow of sorts towards the east.
As Hobart approached it was easy to spot, based on the sight of Mt Wellington from a long way away. Mt Wellington rises 1270m above Hobart - with many other, smaller mountains in other directions - with a presence that looms across the city and surrounds. Hobart is one city I really haven't visited, so I was looking forward to developing my own impression of its personality over the next couple of days.
Cradle Mountain is a bit like a supermodel - it looks stunningly beautiful from whatever angle you see it from, everyone wants a photo with it, and you can get in a lot of trouble climbing over it!! Cradle Mountain is truly worth every postcard picture ever taken of it, with a sunny day bringing out the best of the mountain and the surrounding areas…interlaced with tracks, dotted with lakes, creeks running with fresh water and breathtaking views for as far as the eye can see.
The Cradle Mountain National Park is included in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area which is inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. It comprises one of the last great temperate wildernesses in the world…all of which means it is a very special place, and a priviliege to be able to visit it as I - and thousands others - do. I doubt we really recognise the significance of what this park is - it's a unique part of the planet.
There have been many thousands before me to have walked the tracks around Cradle Mountain - the Overland Track is world famous (and there's even a running race along it's length!!) - so it was with a detailed map in hand that I set out from the Ronny Creek Car Park along the Overland Track for a running tour along some of the more spectacular tracks, and over a few peaks. With a little research I'd mapped out a route which would usually rate as about a 1-2 day hike, that I planned to cover by about lunch-time!! There were no records to be set, just to slowly run and stop for photos along the way - I'd been looking forward to this run for weeks.
As always, the one thing you can't control is the weather, and dammit if the clear skies of the previous day weren't replaced by early morning low cloud, wind and cold. So with a couple of layers, gloves, cap (and more clothes in my backpack) I set off hoping the cloud would blow away while I ran…hoping, hoping…
My route took me along the Overland Track for a distance, alongside Crater Lake, up and over Marions Lookout, past Kitchen Hut before turning off for the Cradle Mtn summit. I then planned to run around the back of Cradle Mtn, down past Lake Rodway then up again and over Hansons Peak before heading back…roughly speaking!!! I had no idea of what kind of tracks lay ahead…but suffice to say that running laps of the tan wasn't great preparation…
After passing a couple of early groups of walkers on the Overland Track I was on my own with the only sound being my breathing and the wind, which grew stronger the higher up I went. Early on the track was good, a mix of boardwalk, sandy track and steps lined with low bushy vegetation and some trees. A smally but fast running creek ran alongside parts of the track, with some small waterfalls.
Crater Lake was the first main feature to arrive at, named because of its likeness to a volcanic crater but actually formed by glacial action. Like several other lakes, right on it's shore is a very quaint, wooden boatshed - only in name as it was empty. If only it were a clear, sunny day as the view from this corner with the "crater" walls circling the lake would be stunning. But onward the track went, taking a distinct vertical turn upwards into the clouds and wind.
The previous day you could see people standing on Marions Lookout from Dove Lake, below. Today, all that could be seen from the lookout was a sea of cloud…and a cold, whistling wind blowing around the rocks. Dammit.
The Overland Track "flattened" out a little from here on, covering some old and rotten sections of boardwalk as it traversed over the Cradle Plateau. In places it was muddy, and in other places newer boardwalk was being laid - the track was easy to follow and made for nice running.
In various locations around the area are huts; small wooden structures that have the appearance of a boarded up house to withstand the extreme weather. They're there as emergency shelters for walkers but also act as landmarks along the way and good reference points for maps. It was at Kitchen Hut where the turn-off to the Cradle Mtn summit was…which was good because I surely couldn’t see the summit through the cloud/fog!!
The sign at the bottom said 2.5 hrs return to the summit - it was a steep and arduous clambour (it ended up taking me about 40-45mins). At first the track just a bit steeper, with small rocks and a deeply worn track to negotiate. Then it got a lot harder. I still couldn't see where I was heading to, only following the marker poles as they crossed rocks the size of small cars - a bit slippery in the fog, and a challenging climb. The wind was still blowing; whistling around some rocks, and then eerily quiet when in the shelter behind some bigger boulders. If only I could see anything…
Eventually I got to a point where I think I was at the summit…whoopty-doo!!! There were no breaks in the cloud so I couldn't see a damn thing, but I did have distinct sense of being totally alone without anyone else for a long distance around. Then I turned around and went back down…literally on hands and knees again over the rocks trying not to slip or be blown off, being relieved to descend a little to see the cloud clearing in the lower altitudes, and the view of the surrounding mountains coming into sight.
I rejoined the Overland Track as it went alongside Cradle Mtn, with spectacular views of peaks, spurs and valleys in the distance, and then made a turn around behind Cradle Mtn and down into a valley where Lake Rodway was located. This was a steep, steep descent down a track where the sparse bushes gave way to thick and damp bush. The track twisted and turned, and with each bend the vegetation changed, and the nature of the track along with it. It was a spectacular route down and down, dodging bushes, branches, tree roots, muddy bogs, until I finally came out deep in the shadow of "backside" of Cradle Mtn at Lake Rodway.
The cloud was generally clearing by now - although the summit was still mostly shrouded - and the views around this side of the mountain continued to be stunning. Mountain peaksas far as the eye could see, deep valleys, bush, occasional lakes and more. In the shelter of the mountain it was peaceful and quiet…not even many birds were flying around, so it was the odd trickle of a stream to break the quiet.
I was over halfway by now, but reflecting the difficulty of the terrain I'd only covered about 12km (by GPS) in the first 2 hours - I've never run that slowly before!! I had some uphill ahead as I came around and up from behind Cradle Mtn and then into view of Dove Lake. Up and over Hansons Peak with a great view of Cradle Mtn, across to Marions Lookout, and to the side were the Twisted Lakes. The path was now very loose rocks, and sharp edges to the mountainside rocks - you could easily imagine a rockslide tumbling down from here.
I was disappointed to see that Mount Campbell - the highest on the eastern side of Dove Lake - didn't even feature a track to it's summit. How disrespectful!!! On the flipside, at least it means the riff-raff won't go clambering it's pristine slopes!!
My running tour was nearing an end, as I pulled into the Dove Lake car park - several people asked if I was just starting out(!!) - and then headed back past Lake Lilla and onto thhe Cradle Valley boardwalk, which joins up with the Overland Track and back to the start point. But before doing so I made a short little detour along a bit of the Maryland Track, over some thick heathland, and across some mud bogs and streams.
Eventually I re-joined the Overland Track boardwalk back to Ronnys Creek car park about 4:30 hrs after I left, with a net running time of about 3:40 hrs covering about 25km. It was a slow run, but the quality and diversity of terrain covered was spectacular - it's a run I'll remember for a long time. Next time maybe the Overland track might be a great course!!!
