There’s no better introduction to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area than the Overland Track, the world-famous 80 km walk from Cradle Valley to Cynthia Bay on Lake St Clair.

Extensive maintenance and track hardening has transformed the Overland in recent years. Many muddy sections remain, but the track is well-formed and easy to follow with long sections of boardwalk. You’re still in the middle of nowhere though, so don’t worry about it detracting from the wilderness nature of the experience.

Unless you’re stuck with constantly overcast weather, spectacular views over jagged, glacier-carved mountains and alpine lakes will greet you from day one on the Overland Track, Australia’s most popular multi-day bushwalk.

Snow-capped 1559 m Barn Bluff rises out of the endless moorlands of buttongrass.

The track turns east and descends steeply through rainforest towards the Mersey River at the D’Alton and Fergusson Falls – well worth the 1-2 hour side trip.

Deep snowfall over the highest section of the track at Cradle Mountain is an exhilarating experience for our group. Another benefit of going off-season in early October is that you run into very few other walkers along the track.

Thick fog shrouds gum trees a short walk from Cradle Cirque.

Frequent signposts and orange way-markers mean it’s difficult to stray very far from the track, even in difficult weather conditions.

Lichen- and moss-smothered boulders provide unlikely splashes of colour in the green expanses of buttongrass moorlands

Honeymooners from Sydney, Glenn Price and Kirstene Shrubsole, walk through one of the endless alpine buttongrass meadows.

Topped with a puff of cloud, 1559 m Barn Bluff rises out of the endless moorlands of buttongrass.

A classic scene on the Overland Track.

Overland walkers – (from left to right) Anna Reddington, Patrick Horan, Kirstene Shrubsole, Glenn Price, Sue Cory and Joann Williams – take a well-earned rest after a brief but taxing climb to a saddle near the peak of 1340 m Mt Doris.

Battered-looking wooden pathways – and knee-deep stretches of mud – are part of the rustic charm of walking the Overland Track.

Imposing cliffs on the Overland Track, Tasmania.

A Bennets wallaby on the Overland Track, Tasmania.