I went bush walking over new years, a nice change from the typical high paced outdoors adventures. We tackled the Du Cane traverse over 5 days and were granted one of the best possible weather windows Tassie has to offer. It made for an enjoyable trip with spectacular views and pleasant conditions. I spent the bulk of my time and energy crafting a video to capture the experience, so the write-up below is a bit more ‘lean’ than usual. Be sure to check out the video for the full story, I think it’s the best way to see what makes this part of the world so special.

🎥 Watch Below ⬇️

🗺️Route Map and Itinerary

📋Du Cane Traverse: Trail Stats

🚶‍➡️The Journey: Day by Day

Day 1: The Approach

This is not the ideal way to start such a walk but we were trying to avoid paying for a ferry and reducing the length of our walk into the Labryinth. Lauren had work till 530pm so we didn’t depart Hobart till after 6pm. Then we had to turn around and head home when we realised that Kate had left her boots behind. Eventually we were on the road destined for a late night on the trails. We arrived at Lake St Clair at around 930 and promptly hit the trails aiming for Echo Point.

The lake section was calm and still. The walking was enjoyable but monotonous. We all became sick of it and felt the tiredness building. Reaching Echo Point at around 1230am we promptly setup camp. Even with the quick setup it was after 1am before we were getting to sleep. I managed to sleep quite well just not enough. Kate on the other hand was kept awake by a rat rummaging around her tent. This site is known for it’s rats, there is a large steel rat proof box to store all bags containing food.

Day 2: Into the Labyrinth

We woke up sleepy and cold but the sun was shining. We got going and had a great walk through to Narcissus, then to Pine valley and eventually climbing up into the Labyrinth. We were so thankful for the late night walking to break up the day. By the time we reached Lake Elysia we were spent.

Jemma and Dan had wisely kayaked up the Lake then walked into the Labyrinth. They were waiting for us at Lake Elysia. We set up camp, had a swim, then ate dinner and played cards as the sun set on 2025. It was a glorious way to end the year and we were all in bed far before midnight trying to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Day 3: The High Traverse

The most technical day but also the most fun. We first made our way up to near the Du Cane high point then opted for a side trip down to Lake Helios and up Hyperion. We left our bags behind and ran towards the mountain, when we caught glimpses of the lake we decided to take a direct route down. This route was riddled with scrub and made things difficult. When we reached the lake we consulted the Abels notes and attempted to follow them up Hyperion. More scrub bashing and treacherous climbing ensued.

We started to stumble upon rock cairns and made our way to the top. It was such a fun mountain to climb. Some fairly airy exposed sections kept things exciting. On the was back down we could both see the easy path out of Lake Helios and the easy route back down the mountain. The rock slabs lead almost directly to the northern side of the lake, see the screenshot below showing the correct and incorrect routes.

We had lunch at Lake Helios then headed back up to grab our bags. We had to scamper up the Du Cane high point to bag the Abel. Then we proceeded down Big Gun Pass and along the boulders to Mt Massif. Despite being an ‘off track’ section of the hike, the route had extensive rock cairns to follow, this was a common theme for the whole traverse. This was probably the most challenging section of the walk. Lots of climbing and scrambling but I loved it. And the campsite at Mt Massif was majestic. We were blessed with the best mountain conditions you could imagine. It could be a very dicey camp and route in bad conditions.

Day 4: Big Day of Boulders

Our longest day by far. We attempted to get going a bit earlier anticipating a big one. The late night start on our first day really messed with our sleep patterns. I scampered up to the Mt Massif summit to bag another Abel, then we made our was along the mountain range towards Falling Mountain and Castle Crag. It was slow going with more large boulders and snow drifts to contend with but the conditions were idyllic yet again.

Eventually we made it to the saddle on Falling Mountain where we sat for lunch. Dan and I went to the Falling Mtn high point then across to Castle Crag. Then we began our descent towards Du Cane gap. We were apprehensive about this being a dense scrub bash but we followed the cairns most of the way down and never had too much trouble with the scrub. Near the bottom we lost the cairns but were able to bee-line towards the Overland track without too much difficulty. It was after 4pm when we arrived on the main track and we had to get to Narcissus to camp. We still had a long walk ahead.

The walking was so much easier on the Overland track but we were feeling the fatigue from a few big days of boulder scrambling. It dragged on and on with some of us struggling towards the end, Kate especially was having a hard time. I lent her my poles and Lauren got me to tell a historic story as a distraction from the pain. I recounted the story of the Donner Party and their survival hardships made our struggles seem insignificant.

Thankfully we made it to Narcissus with a little daylight allowing us to get setup and have a much needed swim. While everyone else was feeling fairly cooked I felt elated, I must have cracked through to the euphoric stage of tiredness. I was stoked after such a great day in the mountains.

Day 5: The Home Stretch

At Narcissus it felt like we were pretty much done and the walk back down the late was just a formality. But the lake section has the ability to warp time. It feels like it goes on forever, especially so when hiking rather than running. The signage suggests 5 hours and you won’t get much change out of this. In the end I put headphones in and charged off ahead finishing before the girls. I went in search of a Du Cane beer and was sad to find that the Lake St Clair lodge don’t stock them. We ate some chippies and I settled for an inferior and less fitting beer to finish our great few days of walking.

⚙️Gear Spotlight: Favourite Pieces of Gear

Here’s some of my favourite pieces of gear from this trip, some of them new, some old faithfuls:

• Nnormal Tomir Trail Runners: I have always been a trail runner hiker because I like ankle dexterity and light weight footwear. These shoes were particularly good because of the firm foam in the sole being supportive and great on the boulders. Plus they are a more robust trail runner that held up well. They will be getting their final test on the Western Arthurs next weekend before their retirement. The Western Arthurs has a way of finishing off trail runners.
• Smartwool Socks: Not sure the exact model, but they were the semi-padded running sock. These paired with my trail runners were perfect. No blisters or hot spots for the whole walk.
• Nemo Tensor Regular Sleepmat: A new sleep mat gifted to me by Lauren, super comfortable and I love the extra inflation bag which I have dubbed the ‘inflatey matey’
• Nemo Osmo Dagger 2p Tent: A recent addition acquired by Lauren. Super spacious and well designed tent. Really great first impression, although it didn’t really get tested since the weather was pretty much perfect.
• T8 Commando Undies: Got these for Christmas. They are lightweight and help prevent chafe. They are so light they can easily be rinsed after a swim and they will be dry by the next day.

And I have a single dishonourable mention:

• Trekology Inflatable Pillow: My inflatable pillow was deflating every night. Despite already being patched up in multiple places. When I returned home I put it under water and found four leaks. This pillow is destined for the bin.

General Update

While we were out walking I was in a goal setting mood, but rather than set a new years resolution I decided to choose a word for the year. My word for 2026 is ‘prolific’. I plan on being prolific at generating written and video content, prolific at work and continue to be a prolific runner. Kind of a vague goal but the word is kind of like a mantra and a theme for the year.

As such I hope to get more blog posts and youtube videos out this year than last. This is my 70th blog post, I hope to crack 100 by the end of the year. I have released 9 youtube videos, I plan to more than double this.

My calendar of events for the year is gradually filling. Beginning next weekend with a possible full Western Arthur’s traverse supporting Piotr Babis who is planning to link up the Eastern Arthurs, Western Arthurs, Port Davey track and South Coast track in one go, see the map below. For those who have read my Wildest Trails post, he is linking two of them together making it even wilder somehow. It’s a monumental mission that makes our little Western Arthurs section seem not that crazy. I’ll be bringing the camera to document the epic.

Then for the rest of the year I have these events either locked or penciled in:

• Maybe Gone Nuts 101km, will wait and see how I feel after the Arthurs epic
• Buffalo Stampede Ultra Grand Slam (10k, 100km then 42km races all in one weekend 😅)
• Diverge Skyruns 50km, the new event on the west coast of Tassie
• Considering Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100km later in the year

Another exciting year ahead. Thanks for reading!! If you like the content subscribe to the mailing list and you’ll be notified of all new content of which there is much to come.

Joseph Nunn: An avid trail runner based in Hobart, Tasmania. He loves getting out for big days on the trails with mates or racing against them.

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