Enjoy a glass of wine after a day's trek along the Overland Track | Great Walks of Australia

Cradle Huts Kia Ora lodge

Trekkers walking along the boardwalk on the Overland Track | Great Walks of Australia

Mealtime on Cradle Mountain Huts walk | Tim Hughes

Delicious meals and wine are served each evening on the Cradle Huts walk | Great Walks of Australia

Cradle Huts Overland Track

Trekking the World Famous Overland Track in comfort.

Australia

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200 reviews

7 Days from

$3590 USD

Trip Code: CHO

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Essential Information

Extra trip options & supplements

*Prices listed are per person

Single Supplement - standard season departure 25/26 season

$3110 USD

Single Supplement - standard season departure 26/27 season

$3180 USD

Single Supplement - high season departure 25/26 season

$3250 USD

Single Supplement - high season departure 26/27 season

$3320 USD

Duration

7 Days

Activities

6 days walking with medium sized backpack

Accommodation

5 nights private hut accommodation, 1 night hotel accommodation

Meals

6 Dinners
6 Lunches
6 Breakfasts

Difficulty Grading

5 / 10

Moderate

Carbon Footprint

20kg of CO₂-e PP per day

(122kg of CO₂-e PP entire trip)

Trip highlights

Cradle Mountain Huts Overland Track is a trip of the Great Walks of Tasmania
Discover the rare beauty and extraordinary diversity of Tasmania’s world heritage-listed Cradle Mountain - Lake St. Clair National Park
Enjoy a steaming hot shower and fresh-baked afternoon tea, then enjoy the simple pleasures of life in a bush hut
Views into the heart of the World Heritage Area

Overview

This seven-day walk along Tasmania’s iconic Overland Track is designed for walkers who value the adventure of the wilderness - with the added comfort of hot showers, soft beds, and chef-prepared meals at the end of each day.

Beginning in Cradle Valley and finishing at the southern end of Lake St Clair, this fully guided journey follows a variety of spectacular landscapes within Tasmania’s World Heritage Wilderness Area. Expect glacier-carved valleys, rainforest-cloaked ridgelines and alpine meadows alive with native wildlife like wombats, wallabies and Tasmanian devils.

By day, you'll walk with just a light daypack, immersing in the natural beauty while your guides handle the logistics. Each night, retreat to a private ecologically-designed hut or standing camp tucked just off the trail. You'll be welcomed with a hot shower, fresh-baked afternoon tea and the warmth of a potbelly heater. In the evenings, a hearty three-course dinner with Tasmanian wine is served around a communal table - the perfect place to share stories and unwind.

Twin-share rooms with comfortable beds, drying rooms for your gear, and low-impact design features such as composting toilets and solar power mean you can enjoy a lighter footprint without sacrificing comfort.

This trip is ideal for those who want to experience the legendary Overland Track without the need to carry a heavy pack, pitch a tent or prepare their own meals - making it the most comfortable way to explore one of Australia’s most spectacular alpine walks.

Itinerary

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Arrive in Launceston and make your own way to the Red Feather Inn for check-in from 2pm, your accommodation for the night. Please arrive no later than 5:00pm. There will be a briefing with your guide at 5:30pm, for introductions and a gear check - your guides will go through your gear thoroughly to ensure you are well prepared. This will be followed by dinner full of seasonal and local produce, cooked by the in-house chef.

Meals: D

After an early breakfast, we drive to Waldheim in Cradle Valley. On the summit of Cradle Mountain in 1910, Austrian-born Gustav Weindorfer proclaimed, "This must be a national park for the people for all time". It's fitting our walk begins at Waldheim, where Weindorfer's story is told. We will have morning tea here then set off on the track by 11am. By lunchtime we have walked through our first section of ancient temperate rainforest, have witnessed the dramatic glacially-carved Crater Lake and the steepest section of the whole Overland Track is behind us. The steep section is mostly stepped and takes us about an hour. It gets us onto Marion’s Lookout (1,250m) which hopefully offers famous and spectacular views of Cradle Mountain with Lake Dove at its base – worth every step. If the weather is fine, we stop for lunch by the peaceful Plateau Creek before continuing for about another 4 hours around the base of Cradle Mountain, out along the edge of a spectacular glacial cirque, then dropping into Waterfall Valley which we cross before arriving at our hut at the base of the towering Barn Bluff. Several hours of this day’s walk is over exposed alpine plateau which allows great views on a clear day, but in rough weather the wind howls over the land making for exciting, and sometimes challenging, walking conditions.

Meals: B,L,D

The walking today is undulating with a few sections of exposed moorland. There are no large hills and the once notoriously muddy Pine Forest Moor is now a duckboard path over the mud! We travel across plains where glaciers once sat and slowly moved, scouring out shallow tarns. Now we see plains of button grass with ancient Pencil Pines sitting with their roots in the water. Rising from the moors, the peaks of Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff are behind us to the North, and the stately Mount Pelion West directly ahead. We offer an optional side trip today to Lake Will if you are looking for an additional challenge. Keep an eye out for gravel mounds along the way, remnants of Joseph Will’s coal mining efforts in the 1890s. Further along the track, Lake Windemere offers an opportunity for an invigorating swim. This evening, at Pine Forest Moor Standing Camp, enjoy dining with views out towards Mt Oakleigh.

Meals: B,L,D

Today we venture through gorgeous myrtle-beech rainforest as we begin with a long, slow descent around the base of Mt. Pelion West down to the Forth River before it plunges into the Lemonthyme Valley. After a break at Frog Flats by the Forth River, which happens to be the Overland Track's lowest point, we have a long, gentle ascent out of the valley onto the beautiful Pelion Plains with uninterrupted views of Mount Oakleigh. There are many side trips in the Pelion Plains area with mountains all around, some excellent swimming holes, abandoned copper mines, or simply peaceful and humbling spots to rest quietly. This evening we'll be nestled amongst dry sclerophyll forest at Pelion Plains Hut.

Meals: B,L,D

Today begins with a climb of almost 300m to Pelion Gap through beautiful rainforest. Pelion Gap is a plateau stretching between Mt Pelion East and Mt Ossa, affording fantastic views to the South as well as back to the North. There’s plenty of time for side trips from Pelion Gap including the option to summit Mt Ossa. At 1,617m, it is Tasmania’s highest peak. There are other less challenging climbs, including to the Japanese Gardens on the slopes of Mt Doris. It’s a further two hours of gentle downhill from the gap to the hut, so a moderate day with the option to make it more challenging. Once we arrive at Kia Ora Hut, enjoy a Tasmanian drop with spectacular views out to Cathedral Mountain.

Meals: B,L,D

This is a day of icy-flowing waterfalls and majestic forests. We depart Kia Ora Hut and walk about an hour to Du Cane where a 1910-built hut remains from the long-gone days of animal trapping. This is a fine spot to rest in the native gardens planted by trapper Paddy Hartnet’s wife during her long stints in the bush with her husband, overlooked by the spectacular Du Cane Range. From here, we wander through some of the oldest forest in the National Park with King Billy Pines as old as 2,000 years. Here we are above the Mersey River, which descends steeply Northward towards the Bass Strait. There are three major sets of waterfalls and we opt to visit one or more of these, choosing the best to have lunch beside depending on the conditions. During the afternoon, we make our way over Du Cane Gap then descend beside the spectacular Falling Mountain to Windy Ridge Hut. Tonight is a celebratory one, our last evening on the track.

Meals: B,L,D

Lake St Clair is Australia’s deepest natural lake, and as with most of this area, has been shaped by glaciers over 2 million years. The walk is mainly through cool temperate eucalypt forest, and birdsong is all around. We arrive at Narcissus at the Northern end of Lake St Clair in time for lunch before boarding the Lake St Clair cruise boat for the spectacular 17km cruise back to Cynthia Bay. There is a visitor centre at Cynthia Bay, and we usually have about an hour to look around. The return trip to Red Feather Inn is through the trout fishing mecca of the highland lakes, descending the rugged Western Tiers to the broad plains of the Northern Midlands, and passing through the rural townships of Cressy and Longford. You should arrive at Red Feather Inn by around 5pm. There will be a shuttle bus departing at 6m which goes via Launceston airport at approximately 6:15pm, arriving back at Chalmers Church Launceston at about 6:30pm. If you are staying at Quamby Homestead, a shuttle will be organised.

Meals: B,L

Map

Elevation

The map and elevation chart are for illustrative purposes only and meant to provide general guidelines.

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What's included?

Included

6 breakfast, 6 lunches and 6 dinners
Professional guides
4 nights twin share accommodation in private huts, 1 night twin share in a standing camp, 1 night twin share hotel accommodation
Non-alcoholic beverages and a limited selection of Tasmanian wine
Transport by private minibus
National Park and Overland Track passes
Boat transfer across Lake St Clair
Use of a backpack and Gore-tex jacket for the duration of the walk
Sleeping bags, pillows and a comfortable mattress at each hut
Sleeping sheet and pillowcase to carry with you

Not included

Travel to and from Launceston
Travel Insurance
Items of a personal nature - car parking etc
Snacks
Accommodation before and after the trip

Reviews (200)

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Extra trip info

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The Great Walks of Australia are an exclusive collection of the best multi-day walking experiences in Australia. Each walk is an independently owned guided walking experience that enables access to some of Australia’s most iconic landscapes. All of the Great Walks of Australia can be viewed on their website - www.greatwalksofaustralia.com.au

To qualify as a great walk, each walk provides exceptional guided walking experiences in high-value natural areas for small groups. These experiences include outstanding accommodation, food & wine.

8 x USB-A charging ports and 1 x 3-pin power outlet (Australian) are available in the common areas of each hut on the track to be shared amongst the group. There are no USB ports or power outlets in the bedrooms. If you use a CPAP machine for sleep apnoea, please note that we only permit 1 per departure and it will need to be powered by a battery that you can recharge in the common areas.

We provide a high quality 50L backpack. They contain good frames and multiple adjustable straps to ensure that the weight will be on the hips with only minimal weight on the shoulders and back.

No, as it is a commercial pass for the duration of the walk only, it does not cover you for your individual travel to national parks in Tasmania before or after the tour so you will need to purchase a separate national park pass outside of the tour. We suggest a "Holiday Pass" which covers all national parks in Tasmania for up to 8 people per vehicle for up to 2 months. This can be purchased in advance through Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife online.

Parking is available at The Red Feather Inn for the duration of the walk. Alternatively, you can ask your pre/post tour accommodation about car parking or there are secure carparks in Launceston where you can pre-book a spot.

Biodegradable liquid soap is provided, which is also suitable as shampoo, at each hut. We strongly recommend using the soap provided for bathing, as it is phosphorous-free and suited to our greywater systems.

Phone reception will be intermittent and limited during the walk and at the huts – the best carrier in the area is Telstra. It is more likely only text messages will go through rather than phone calls, if at all.

All facilities are in the one building at each of the nights accommodation with the exception of one night, where the bathroom block is about a dozen metres from the hut.

Our trips depart daily from 1 October through to 1 May each year.

We have gas heating in the common areas but no heating in the bedrooms. The bedrooms are located above the common area and a certain amount of heat will rise into the bedrooms, and we also provide extra blankets, but if you feel the cold at night you might like to take an extra jumper and pair of socks.

Yes, so you do not need to bring a Steripen.

Each trip requires a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 participants on each departure. All accommodation is twin sharing and if the group is full, you will be sharing with another participant of the same gender.

On the evening of Day 1, the guides will carry out a thorough gear check to make sure you don't carry any more than you need to and also to ensure you have suitable gear. Ultimately your pack and contents can weigh as little as 7.5kg though more likely between 8.5-9.5kg.

Each person must carry their lunch, wet weather gear, spare clothes for the hut, thermals, and warm clothing, plus any extras such as a camera. We will provide a gear list at time of booking.

You can leave it at the Red Feather Inn where you will stay on day 1 before heading off to start the trek. Your excess luggage will then be returned to you on the last day.

To join this departure, it is strongly advised that you wear lace-up boots that provide good ankle support and have a treaded sole suitable for rugged terrain.

Boots must be worn in prior to departure to minimize the risk of blisters.

Please note that elasticized footwear, runners, trainers, or similar styles are not acceptable. If you opt to bring walking shoes or trail runners, it is suggested that you have two pairs so that you can change into a dry pair in the event of wet weather. Please note that the final decision will be made by your guide at the briefing if they assess that there is an increased risk of injury due to extreme weather/other conditions.

It is a condition of booking a tour with us, and your responsibility to ensure that you are adequately insured for the full duration of the tour in respect of illness, injury, pre-existing medical conditions, death, loss of baggage and personal items and cancellation and curtailment. You must provide evidence to TEX that you have obtained personal travel insurance. You must ensure that your personal travel insurance covers all of the activities you expect to participate in.

Two guides accompany each trip. This allows plenty of opportunities for photos and rests and walking at your own pace.

The guides carry fresh meat & vegies and cook up scrumptious three course meals each night. We are happy to cater for special dietary requirements - please advise us at time of booking or notify your reservations consultant in advance. Fresh fruit is not provided. Some snacks such as biscuits and/or chocolate will usually be provided during morning/afternoon tea time. You may also wish to bring your own muesli bars. An example of the dinner menu served at Kia Ora Hut on Day 4: grazing plate on arrival at the hut, main course of forest mushroom and pea risotto with parmesan, dessert of Crème Brûlée.

We ask that you arrive at the The Red Feather Inn no later than 5:00pm, to meet your guides and group at 5:30pm.

Day 1 of the trip includes a night at the Red Feather Inn in Launceston. If you would like any additional nights in Launceston, please ask your reservations consultant for suggestions. It is not possible to stay extra nights at the Red Feather Inn as this accommodation is used only for group tour nights.

The weather is one of the attractions in this World Heritage Area. As in all mountain regions, conditions change rapidly and snow is possible even in summer. If you follow our gear list you will be comfortable, prepared for variations in weather and able to enjoy the many moods of this wild region.

Included in the trip cost is: transfers from and to The Red Feather Inn, all twin sharing accommodation during the walk, meals, the use of a backpack, sleeping bag and Gore-tex jacket for the duration of the walk, National Park passes, and two experienced guides.