From the Vaults II: Wylds Craig
Following on from my earlier “From the Vault” post, here is a “historic” selection of photos from one of my first overnight bushwalks in Tasmania – Wylds Craig in the Florentine Valley. Again this was in the pre-digital days, and on this trip I had a roll of Fuji Velvia in the trusty ol’ Pentax MZ50.
Morning View up the Florentine Valley, Tasmania
After a relatively late start we climbed through a very steep section of tall, wet (actually very wet) forest including beautiful rainforest and some incredibly tall pandanis. We made it to a relatively flat section as the day’s light faded and set up our camp on a very fragrant area of lemon scented boronia – I still remember the fragrance from that night, even though at the time I had no idea what the plant was called!
View to the rocky summit from our campsite
The next morning dawned fine and clear and we enjoyed magnificent views deep into the Wild Rivers National Park, and along the Florentine Valley. We viewed the summit with wisps of cloud dancing around it and headed for the top. It was barely another hour from our campsite and soon we were in the cloud on the rocky summit. The cloud came and went offering tantalising glimpses of the Florentine Valley.
Walking into the clouds on the summit. Wylds Craig.
It had been a tough climb the day before, with many fallen trees blocking the track and requiring us to repeatedly remove our packs and squeeze through tight spaces on the way up. The weather on Day 2 was fantastic however, and we spent a little while on the top before retracing our steps back to camp, and heading down again.
View from between the clouds on the summit
In those days my tripod was a cheap and nasty plastic bit of equipment, and after a night on Wylds it was a complete wreck. Obviously being attached to the outside of my pack it had banged and smashed against the large trees over the track on the way up, and it was a complete write off after that. These days I use a trusty Manfrotto Tripod
