Melbourne2Hobart
March to May 2004
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CITY2CITY UPDATE - 23 Feb 2004
Hello All
I can't believe it is now less than 3 weeks until I depart Flinders Street Station in Melbourne on 14 March and head for Hobart on the final City2City journey. 3 weeks to the start, perhaps 13 weeks to the end of a little project that began 25000km and nearly 7 years ago also leaving Flinders Street Station to head for Sydney.
Since the last Update the route has firmed up and attached is the latest Route Plan. There's 70 days of real outdoor adventure there and I think I'll break my record 'between hot showers' with 37 days!
Due to some changes at Geoscience Australia, the Commonwealth Government Mapping Agency, and one of my sponsors, the City2City website that they hosted for the last 5 years, has had to be discontinued. We have now placed the site on my business website at www.wildhorizons.com.au/city2city and it will be refined in coming weeks.
There will be quite a few people joining in different stages of this journey. I think this is partly due to it being the last one and partly because, in the scheme of things, Tasmania is pretty accessible. Many of these people are those who have helped along the way over the years.
I will again be raising funds for 4Wheels4Sean, the charity I set up some years ago to originally fund the purchase of a special vehicle for a friend made a quadraplegic in a MTB accident. Having achieved that goal, the charity continues to provide for any Australian severely disabled as the result of a cycling accident. Full details on www.wildhorizons.com.au/4w4s. Any support you can offer would be most welcome. An amount per day, an amount to complete the journey (and the project!), number of sunny days, rainy days, blisters.................
More later
Regards
Huw
CITY2CITY UPDATE - 6 April 2004 - Windows of opportunity
Hello All
The window is open for a short period so you go while you can, knowing it will close very soon. I'm now in Tasmania having enjoyed a magnificent crossing of Bass Strait with Rohan, Lippy and Greg. We arrived at Little Mussleroe Bay on th NE tip of Tasmania on Sunday 4 April, completing the final crossing of the notorious Banks Strait in interesting conditions to be greeted on the beach by Wendy, Marie-Clare and Jenny with champagne, garlands and a strip of red carpet!!
It had taken us 5 days of paddling from Melbourne to Wilsons Promontory then 16 days to get across Bass Strait. The paddle to the Prom was interesting in it's own right. It started with a 3 metre White Pointer shark being pulled into the jetty at Stony Point 5 minutes before we put on the water. Then that 'easy' planned day turned into a 11 hour 60km paddle as we were unable to get in anywhere due to a huge pounding surf. We were starting to contemplate a night rafting up together at sea when just on nightfall we weaved a route between some sizeable bombies to land. The trip was on!
For 7 years I knew that Bass Strait would be the key that opened up the opportunity to continue onto Hobart. It did not disappoint as a journey. What soon became apparent was that if you missed an opportunity, a window, you might not move for days or weeks. There were never 2 days of good paddling weather together. Indeed if we had not paddled from Deal Island to Flinders Island 11 days ago on the day we did there is absolutely no doubt we'd still be there waiting today.
So we crept across the strait with a day here and a day there, sometimes cheating the forecast. For example the day after we arrived at Whitemark, the 'capital' of Flinders Island, it was forecast to be 25knot winds. We had spent 7 hours in our first, only and last pub of the trip, certain we'd have a lazy day or 2 to fix any hangovers. At 4am I woke to mirror calm conditions. Should we go? Of course, so with certain members nursing sore heads and emptied stomachs (not seasickness) we were away and made it to Preservation Island, 40km away, before the storm hit. A pod of 10 dolphins accompanied us across Franklin Sound in the only millpond conditions of the trip.
Indeed, whilst it would have been 'good' to have had settled weather and an easy passage, I'm so glad we got 'stuck' on little islands giving an opportunity to explore the stunning landscapes of the Bass Strait islands - soaring cliffs, sloping granite slabs, tiny white lighthouses, penguins, wallabies, muttonbirds and seabirds of many 
varieties. So in the end, of the 16 days, we paddled 8 and were stuck 8. It was slightly frustrating when we were nearly 4 days on Preservation Island, only 30km from the end. But as 45 knot winds swept across the 4km long island we consoled ourselves with the thought that the survivors of the Sydney Cove, wrecked on Preservation Island in 1797 with it's cargo of rum from India, were stuck for 6 months before being rescued. We found no rum but we did find a hut that made the stay more pleasurable.
Arriving some days later than hoped for has meant I'm now having to catch up some days on the bike. This has entailed riding a more direct route to Cradle Valley and the start of the Overland track. Today, 6th April, I'm in Longford just south of Launceston (Yesterday rode thru Perth which ment I've now gone from Melbourne2Perth, which was not on the original City2City plan!!)
Onward to the mountains...........
Cheers
Huw
CITY2CITY UPDATE - 26 April 2004 - FRANKLIN MAGIC
BIRCHES INLET, MACQUARIE HARBOUR
In 1987 the Franklin River wove it's watery magic over me ( so much so that I named my first house "The Irenabyss" after one of it's gorges). Now 17 years later, after 12 days on the Franklin (and Gordon), the effect has been no less. The heart stopping rapids, tough portages, deep gorges, noise, silence, snaking foam, isolation all go to make it a very special place.
Hard to believe that fools wanted to kill the Franklin, drown it under it's own waters in the early 80's. I thank again the thousands of passionate people who understood the true value of wild rivers, the hundreds who were arrested and who ultimately saved the Franklin. A river once famously described by the then Premier of Tasmania as nothing more than a "dirty brown leech ridden ditch"! Robin Gray has now moved on, in retirement, to sit on the board of Gunns Ltd, currently responsible for reducing to woodchips swathes of Tasmania's ancient old growth forests. Enough of the diatribe.....
Paddling the Franklin in late April had me expecting cool and wet conditions but Ant and I were blessed with a spell of generally settled weather. No major floods to contend with and the sun appearing pretty much on cue. We ascended Frenchmans Cap, one of Tasmania's finest mountains, from the river on a stunning day with cloud beneath our feet and views forever. We dragged, hauled, deflated kayaks and gear for hour after hour above the huge rapids of the Great Ravine- The Churn, The Cauldron, Thunderush.........- in dry weather. The sun came out as we came out of the Ravine to dry gear. No major dramas. I had 2 swims, Ant had none. As a newcomer to whitewater, it was a fact he loved to remind me of!!
After 9 days we came to the Gordon River, flowing much faster than expected. Again luck was on side as in the original planning of the whole trip I'd thought of paddling UP the Gordon as far as possible before taking to the banks to bush bash towards the Frankland Ranges.I wouldn't have got far and was pleased to turn right to go with the flow for 50km down the Gordon, out onto Macquarie Harbour and in rare millpond conditions headed south up Birches Inlet to where I am now, at a little hut built as part of a project to save the orange bellied parrot.
We saw no-one on the Franklin. Before that I'd walked the Overland Track, Australia's most popular multi day walk from Cradle Mountain to Lake st Clair. An opportunity for Wendy to join a section as well as marie-Clare, a good friend who had flown over from the UK to walk the track with us. It was another great week, another great walk. It did however bring home to me once more that bushwalking, so often held as the holy grail of outdoor activity is so very, very destructive of the environment through which it travels. All the more so in such a fragile landscape as Tasmania's sodden peat heathland and rainforest. Hundreds of thousands (millions?) of dollars spent on boardwalks, track stabilisation, huts and composting toilets. All flown in by helicopter. All in a vain battle. All to allow more feet to trample more landscape. If i had to give up an outdoor activity because of the concern I had for the environment, then walking would have to be it. The Overland or the Overdone Track?
It's day 44 since Melbourne and the realisation has struck that after over 500 days of wandering from City2City there's potentially only 25 days left. Tomorrow a charter boat will meet us here, bringing in Warren and walking gear and taking out Ant and paddling gear. 20 days through the wild South West of Tasmania ahead. The enjoyment of the relatively benign weather of recent weeks tempered by the knowledge such luck cannot hold. Could a benign April be replaced by a real South West May?
The rain falls steadily as I write.............
Cheers
Huw
CITY2CITY UPDATE - Saturday 8 May - 2 Weeks to Go?
Scotts Peak Dam, SW Tasmania
I'll keep it short, if only cos the hands are getting too cold to type! Warren and I arrived here at Scotts Peak (the end of a dirt road reaching far into the wild country of SW Tasmania) at 8pm last night after a 13 hour day - keen to reach a cold beer and a warm wife. Wendy, Kate & Chris had been here for 2 days waiting for us. It was good to make it, very good indeed, after some interesting travel of the past 2 weeks. Here we pick up another fortnight's supplies to head up onto the rugged Western Arthurs/Federation Peak for 12 days or so. As we passed under the Arthurs yesterday snow clung to the ridegtops, a legacy of some wild weather in recent days.
The schedule says '2 weeks to go to Hobart'. 2 weeks to the end of City2City. But the Fat Lady hasn't even gone to her dressing room yet let alone rehearsed the songs she hopes to sing. This fact was brought home to me only 2 days ago. For 10 days previous to that, previous to reaching a place called Settlement Point on Port Davey, the 2 of us had followed untracked country along the south west coast. Alternating buttongrass plains, scrub bands (the typical Tassie variety - a wall of vegetation that sneers at you and says 'C'mon then; try and get through me') and rugged rocky coast with occasional 
sandy bays. Long days. A violent weather system came through and whipped the sea into an angry mess and us with hailstorms. The radio weather news gave Coastal Storm Warnings, Road Weather Alerts, Bushwalker Alerts, Sheep Graziers Alerts (I won't bother to to explain to you non Aussies!). The ABC news gave reports of 20cm of snow on Mt Wellington in Hobart and storm damage to the Sydney to Tassie ferry. We swam and waded a number of icy rivers and as this rotten weather came through thoughts turned to our 250metre swim across the Davey River at Settlement Point. It seemed a crazy thing to have to do in May in Southern Tasmania.
We arrived at Port Davey, at our crossing point, as the storm blew it's final breaths. It was early in the day but the gusting wind meant it was too risky to cross. We camped and hoped the morning would bring better conditions. It did - marginally. But the swim had to be swum. Down thru the scrub to the waters edge. Blow up our 'rucsac transport devices' ($10 inflateable pool rings from Clark Rubber). Tie heavy packs aboard. Attach tow line to body clad only in shirt and fleece leggings. We wished each other Bon Voyage and stepped into the brown waters.
My diary:
To start, all felt OK. I was breaststroking and the pack followed obediently on it's raft. Within 50 metres I realised the cold was affecting me. I stroked but the strokes became weaker. Less a stroke than pathetic little pushes with the arms. And what were my legs doing? Shit. Get the message from the brain to the body - work you bastard! I needed support and pulled the inflateable ring towards me and grasped it, my lunge capsizing the thing with my pack now upside down in the water.I managed to right it and with one arm around the ring sidestroked further towards the far bank which WAS getting closer. I took off for a swim again but soon the strokes became useless paws at water that seemed oily thick. I don't want to drown, to freeze to death. Don't panic Huw; the bank IS getting closer. You WILL make it. I glanced back and across at Warren. How was he doing? I went back to the ring for support and sidestroked some more. The bank is NOT far. Keep swimming. KEEP swimming. The feet hit mud that feels like a red carpet, a welcome rug to a safe house. The adrenaline that hadn't fired on the swim now kicked in. The adrenaline that had offered unknown strength in previous close calls was now only useful for shouting 'C'mon Warren. You're nearly there, you'll make it'. He came ashore and we hugged. We hugged hard.
My body felt numb, not even shivering but knew there was still some danger.We pulled warm clothing from our packs. The water temperature we now measured. At 9 degrees, it matched the air temperature. Madness!
Luckily the sun came out for the first time in days and we walked and warmed our way across to the Port Davey Track.
So with full packs, we head off again. Perhaps only 2 weeks to go. Then bring on the Fat Lady!
cheers
Huw
Latest News
CITY2CITY UPDATE - Sunday 23 May 2004 -The Fat Lady has sung!
Hello All
What a wonderful city Hobart is; the combination of mountain, river and sea a fitting end to a magical series of journeys. Tasmania, the full stop on Australia is indeed the full stop of City2City after 7 journeys, 543 days and over 25000km. I can't believe that I was able to complete such an undertaking without a 'journey stopping' injury at some point or some other block in my way.
I paddled into Watermans Dock at 4-30pm on Friday as the sun dipped below the clouds around Mt Wellington on Day 69 from Melbourne, on the day the schedule scribbled months before said I would (something childishly pleasing about such things!). And what a wonderful welcome. A group of 20 or so friends, all with special City2City tee shirts, had flown in from Sydney, Melbourne etc. Many who over the years had played various roles in City2City. And another big surprise, my parents had flown in from the UK. Cheers and tears, champagne and beers. A stereo boomed out the Fat Lady singing. A victory eskimo roll - one final cold water soaking.
The final 2 weeks of the trip offered everything that City2City was about. The traverse of the Western and Eastern Arthurs/Federation Peak is generally acknowledged as the most spectacular and rugged mountain traverse in Australia - twisting ridges, soaring rockfaces, deep mountain tarns. Where for much of the way hands are as usefully employed as feet in scrambling up rock (or vertical mud!), where limbo is a technique often practiced as hour after hour of tree roots block the 
way ahead. Warren and I saw no-one else and day after day we counted ourselves as 'lucky boys'. In a part of the world known for it's wet and windy weather in summer let alone winter, we, in May enjoyed remarkably benign conditions. Sure there was rain and mist at times but when it mattered most we were rewarded with clouds beneath our feet and sun above our heads, with nights where the only sound was the rustle of our own sleeping bags. Views afar to country I'd traversed in the weeks before. I was even rewarded with only my third ever Brocken Spectre, where the rising sun projects your own shadow for hundreds of metres over the cloud beneath, complete with rainbow halo. Only small snow patches lay from the blizzard of the week before.
The way out from the mountains was purgatory (or hell?) - more mud and trees. But is is this ring of 'protection' that keeps Federation Peak out of reach of those who like a pleasant walk in! Now the weather came in again and the Huon River rose rapidly giving me a very fast run downriver paddle to Huonville, my first town since Longford 45 days before. Huw on the Huon! 40km on the bike through the hills to Kingston. A Kingston at Kingston! Then 2 hours of paddling up the Derwent to the finish in Hobart. Melbourne2Hobart was everything I could have wanted. For a project that for the most part was solo travelling, it was strange to have only (the final) 2 nights alone on this one but what great company I had all the way - Greg, Rohan and Lippy across Bass Strait, Jenny to Cradle Mountain, Wendy and Marie Clare on the Overland Track, Ant on the Franklin and Warren across the South West.
A few hundred people receive these email updates and have done throughout the journeys. A final email will be sent when I get back home and the dust of City2City has settled. For now I'll mention no individuals or specific companies but so many of you have been integral to the success of this project - as supporting individuals, as sponsor businesses, as participants, as amazing people met along the way who offered a beer, a bed or more, as friends, as local experts offering advice on best routes etc etc etc. THANK YOU so much for being part of it's success.
Forgive me the liberty of mentioning just one person in this email. One person who has been on a long journey with me, who has endured her own hardships whilst I had mine, whose strength and support gave me strength and support, who has been at the start and finish, who kept me going all the way from Melbourne2Sydney, from Melbourne2Adelaide, from Brisbane2Darwin, from Sydney2Brisbane, from Perth2Adelaide, from Perth2Darwin, from Melbourne2Hobart, from City2City.
Wendy - my love, my life, my wife
Have fun. I did.
Cheers
Huw
Route
|
Dates |
Days |
Section |
Approx km |
Mode |
|
14/3 |
Melbourne-Albert Park |
5 |
MTB |
|
|
14/3 |
1 |
Albert Park-Rickets Point-Canada Bay |
40 |
Kayak |
|
15/3 |
Canada Bay-Stony Point |
35 |
MTB |
|
|
15/3-18/3 |
4 |
Stony Point-San Remo-Cape Paterson-Cape Liptrap-Tidal River(Wilsons Prom) |
151 |
Kayak |
|
19/3-4/4 |
17 |
Tidal River-Refuge Bay-Hogan Island-Deal Island-Flinders Island-Cape Barren Island-Clarke Island-Little Musselroe Bay |
340 |
Kayak |
|
4/4 |
Little Musselroe Bay-Gladstone-Derby-Branxholme |
69 |
MTB |
|
|
5/4-7/4 |
3 |
Branxholme-Springfield-Perth-Longford-Liffey-Liena-Mole Creek-Moina-Cradle Valley |
260 |
MTB |
|
8/4 |
Cradle Valley-Overland Track Start |
8 |
MTB |
|
|
8/4-13/4 |
6 |
Overland Track-Cuvier Valley-Lake St Clair |
85 |
Walk |
|
14/4 |
Ride to Collingwood Bridge |
45 |
MTB |
|
|
15/4-25/4 |
11 |
Franklin River-(Frenchmans Cap)-Gordon River- Macquarie Harbour-Birches Inlet |
160 (+15 Walk) |
Paddle |
|
26/4 |
1 |
Birches Inlet Hut |
|
|
|
27/4-7/5 |
11 |
BirchesInlet-ElliotBay-BondBay-Settlement Point-Lost World Plateau-Port DaveyTrack-ScottsPeak |
169 |
Walk |
|
8/5 |
1 |
Scotts Peak |
|
|
|
9/5-19/5 |
11 |
Western Arthurs-Pass Creek-Federation Peak-Farmhouse Creek-Picton River-Tahune |
100 |
Walk |
|
20/5-21/5 |
2 |
Tahune-Huonville |
38 |
Paddle |
21/5 |
Huonville-Pelverata-Margate-Kingston |
44 |
MTB |
|
21/5 |
Kingston-Watermans Dock-Hobart-FINISH |
12 |
Kayak |
|
|
69days |
TOTAL - 466km MTB, 741km Kayak, 369km Walk |
1576km |