No better time to take a hike

LATE snow on the mountain? Not this time. It was walking — not skiing — poles that energetic tourism operator Andy Crawford was handling at yesterday’s waterfront reveal of his new Sea to Summit stroll.

It is one of two guided walks launched in the state this week, with walking couple Sara and James Barnes today leading their first guests on a trek at Freycinet National Park on the East Coast.

Mr Crawford, of Hobart, launched his hiking business focused on kunanyi/Mt Wellington last summer, but he has been aiming for this centrepiece walk all along .

“I’m really excited about this tour,” he said yesterday at the waterfront launch.

“I think it could become Hobart’s iconic walking tour, a bit like the Harbour Bridge climb is for Sydney.”

Walk on kunanyi is the first tour operator to specialise in guided walks in Wellington Park, and it combines small groups with gourmet sustenance.

The Sea to Summit tour is about 18km long, with guests climbing about 1200 metres over the day. The first walk sets out today, with adult tickets costing $250 per person. Mr Crawford said that the walk is achievable for regular walkers of reasonable fitness.

“Unlike the fantastic Point to Pinnacle half-marathon race, the pace is slow, stopping regularly to hear about the hidden stories lurking in ruins and marvelling at unique plants.

“It’s unique in Australia to be able to walk through such a change in environments from coastal right through to alpine in one day, let alone from a beautiful city.”

The Freycinet Walking Tour with the Barnes’ Experiential Tasmania operation takes in Wineglass Bay, the Isthmus Track and Hazards Beach.

Catering for a maximum of eight guests, the walk sets out from the RACT’s Freycinet Lodge, and guests return to the lodge jetty at day’s end on the Freycinet Aqua Taxi.

I think it could become Hobart’s iconic walking tour, a bit like the Harbour Bridge climb is for Sydney

— ANDY CRAWFORD