Classic Trek: The Overland Track, Australia

by Kraig Becker on

Australia is a country with plenty of remote backcountry and an abundance of good hiking trails as well. It is an adventure travelers paradise, with opportunities to backpack your way through unique environments that include deserts, mountains, rain forests, and more. Perhaps the most famous of all of the Aussie trails is the Overland Track, located in the southern most state of Tasmania.

The 40 mile long Overland Track runs from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair, and is well known for its pristine beauty. Generally speaking, it takes roughly five to six days to complete the trek, which is mostly over moderately difficult terrain that can vary greatly in nature. In addition to the usual path, there are a number of extensions for those looking for a longer experience, including a loop around the lake and another that runs to the summit of Cradle Mountain.

While the Track can be hiked in either direction, most choose to go North to South, as it allows hikers to pass through the region with the most volatile weather first, and make no mistake, the weather can be volatile on the Overland. Because of its southerly location, backpackers will have to deal with consistently high winds, as well as regular, and often heavy rainfall. Winter hikers will have to face the potential for heavy snow as well.
But those that brave the weather are treated to amazing scenery that was carved by retreating glaciers during the last ice age. The results are sharply contoured mountains, rock gorges, and plenty of thick rain forest surrounding the trail. This mixture of alpine and jungle trekking helps to give the Overland Track a unique feel, although it is regularly compared to the Milford Track in New Zealand, which is also a well known trek.

Aside from the scenery, there is plenty of very unique wildlife to be spotted along the way too. Trekkers often spot large lizards, wallabies, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and even platypus along the way.

A series of trekking huts can be found at regular intervals along the route, offering those hiking the trail a place to sleep and escape the elements. The huts are unattended, and visitors can stay in them free of charge, although they are open on a first-come, first-served basis. They do tend to fill up quickly and because of this, trekkers are encouraged to bring tents with them just in case there is no room at the inn when they arrive.

The best time to walk the Overland is from December to May, as the weather is a bit more mild and consistent. Roughly 8000-9000 visitors hike its length each year, which means that it is mostly uncrowded, even during the high season. No matter when you come however, be sure to bring plenty of gear for all weather conditonis, as it can change quickly and can even be potentially dangerous.

As if you needed one more reason to visit Australia, add the Overland Track to your list of great treks of the world and then take the adventure for yourself. You’ll be rewarded with an experience that you won’t soon forget.

Update: It has been brought to our attention that there is a new system in place that requires anyone hiking the Overland Track between November 1 and April 30 to book their trek in advance and pay a facility fee before they set out on the trail. For more information on these requirements and the Overland in general, click here.

NY Times Discovers Peru’s Ollantaytambo

by Kraig Becker on

We told you about Ollantaytambo two months ago, and now the New York Times has picked up on the emerging adventure destination as well. This hidden gem in the Andes offers plenty of activities for travelers to Peru’s Sacred Valley, without the crowds found elsewhere.

The ancient mountain village has long been a stop over for those making the trip to Machu Picchu, the quintessential Peruvian monument. Most viisitors spend just a few hours there to take in the sights, but as the Times rightly points out, there is plenty to keep them occupied, including an Inca fortress that rivals Machu Picchu itself. There are plenty of other well preserved ruins throughout the area too, some of which can only be visited by taking a thrilling mountain bike ride through the Andes.

Ollantaytambo is still building amenities for travelers however, so don’t expect the same variety to the night life as you would in Cusco for instance. But, the article does recommend you drop by the Tapas Bar Cactus while you’re in town and grab a bite to eat at the Hearts Cafe, which donates its profits to children projects in the city. If you decide to stay for awhile, then the Hotel Pakaritampu gets the nod for its rustic charm and comfortable setting.

Traveling to Peru already offers plenty to see and do, but if you’re looking for something a bit different, add Ollantaytambo to your itinerary. You’ll get plenty of scenic beauty and adventure, with smaller crowds at most of the other sites.

Summer 2009 a record setting one for Yellowstone

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service has announced that it was a record setting year in Yellowstone, with nearly 2.3 million visitors crowding into the national park in June, July, and August. This is an increase of 124,000 over the previous record which was set back in the summer of 1999. Even more interesting, visitation to Yellowstone is up 8.1% for the year-to-date over 2008, and easily surpassed the record for those months as well. Back in 2007, 2,511,790 people went to the park between January and August, while this year that number stands at 2,654,378.

A number of factors are probably contributing to these increased numbers. For example, in the summer of 2009 we have enjoyed cheaper gas prices over 2008, which means more people are willing to drive for their vacation. On top of that, the global economic conditions have caused some travelers to scale back their plans to travel internationally, with many choosing to stay closer to home and travel within the U.S instead.

Of course, here at Gadling, we’d like to believe it was all of those reminders about the fee free weekends that we posted throughout the summer when every national park was free for one weekend in June, July, and August. Those weekends surely helped Yellowstone reach this new record as well. It probably didn’t hurt that President Obama took his famil on vacation there too.

Explorers discover ‘lost world’ in Papua New Guinea

by Kraig Becker on

A team of explorers from the U.S. and Britain, along with locals from Papua New Guinea, recently descended into the volcanic crater of Mount Bosavi, where they discovered a “lost world” with a host of new species that have been evolving in isolation for thousands of years. The crater is more than a kilometer deep and three kilometers across, and lacks the major predators that are often common in rainforests around the globe. The result, is that many creatures were able to adapt to living side by side in an environment that remains nearly completely cut off from the outside world.

In the five weeks that the explorers and scientists were in the crater they found a wealth of interesting creatures, including kangaroos that live in trees, a new type of bat, and a fish that makes grunting noises. They also discovered 16 new species of frogs, including one with a set of fangs, as well as a new breed of rat that my now hold the record as the largest in the world.

The scientists on the expedition were surprised and amazed at these discoveries, and are now making renewed calls for the preservation of rainforests across the planet. The amount of new species they found in just five weeks makes you wonder what else is out there, still hidden in the jungles, that we don’t know anything about. There is still a lot of this world left to explore and plenty of new things to discover, despite what we might think.

Afghanistan creates first national park

by Kraig Becker on

A few weeks back we mentioned that Afghanistan has been actively trying to build tourism in an attempt to bolster the country’s economy, and we even mentioned that the Bamiyan Province in particular was at the forefront of this movement. Now, the country has taken another step in that region by designating a UNESCO World Heritage Site as nation’s first national park.

The new park is located around the Band-E-Amir, a chain of six lakes located in the Hindu Kush mountain range. The lakes are well known for their natural beauty, as they are surrounded by rocky peaks and the water is said to be deep blue in color and plunge to an unknown depth. They have attracted tourists for years, and were even scheduled to become a national park back in the 1960’s, but due to political instability in the region, that plan was shelved, until now, when a $1 million grant from the U.S. helped to finalize the plans.

Band-E-Amir is roughly 228-square miles in size, and remains quite remote. There are no paved roads in or out of the park, and few in the Bamiyan Province at all. But the seclusion of the region is part of its draw, with adventure travelers making the journey to visit a place that remains well off the beaten path, while offering access to stunningly beautiful scenery and great opportunities for trekking.

Fortunately, Bamiyan Province also remains one of the most secure and safe places in the entire country. That security means that foreigners can travel throughout the area without fear, and seems more and more are taking advantage of that opportunity.