12 School Mums take on the Overland Track | Hami's experience in Cradle Mountain

How would you sum up your experience on Cradle in a sentence or two?
It is so hard to sum up in words our experience on Cradle Mountain. It was breathtaking, magical, challenging, inspiring, a complete mind and body reset and an attunement of the senses to the world around us. 12 school mums—walking together—completely present in the world around us. We came for the peace and solitude but we found the perfect company. We came to Tasmania for the scenery and adventure but we ended up finding ourselves again. We were surrounded—for 4 days and 3 nights— in wild and rugged nature and we found the type of nurturing we all needed and deeply deserved.

How did you feel at the end of your trip vs the beginning?
When you get 12 school mums together (mothers who have left little children and partners at home, hit the “out of office” button at work or have paused work on their own businesses) there was definitely an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement at the beginning of the trip. But over the four days—as we hiked along the Overland Track together—there was an overarching feeling that this is exactly what we all needed, and most importantly what we all deserved. A break from the organising, a pause on all the daily planning, a deliberate slowing down from all the rushing. Collectively, by the end of the trip, we felt reset and recharged but most importantly, we felt ourselves again.

The "young mums demographic" wanting to go on group hikes is not all about fitness but a response to the fatigue we all feel (the one million questions we answer a day, the hundred decisions we have to make, the craziness and exhaustion of having little ones, the schedules etc). The hiking experience—all the set up and scaffolding Tas Walking Co does—eliminates all that decision and mental fatigue for us. It truly was a break for us and one we were all in need of.

What struck you about the landscape and nature you walked in? Any wild weather?
The ever-changing landscape and terrain we walked in over the four days was breathtaking and completely captivating; you’d be walking across open boardwalks surrounded by rugged mountains in every direction then navigating roots and rocks through the most magical moss-covered terrain to emerge into a landscape of pines, button grass plains and pathways lined with pandanis—it was truly the most magical landscape to be a part of.

How did the guides contribute to the experience?
I have no doubt that most people who have hiked with Tas Walking Co will speak incredibly highly of their guides; their knowledge, their passion for the environment around them, their culinary skills and wildlife expertise. This was absolutely the case with our guides, Milly and Charlie. However, what really stood out was their connectedness and relatedness to us as a group of 12 mums. They saw us, listened to us and had the insight to encourage all of us to do what we never really give ourselves permission to do; to rest, to slow down, to be quiet, be present and stop rushing. It was like they knew what we all needed and they gave us the time and space to do so.

How was your experience with the food and accommodation on your trip.
There will never be a more grateful group of people than 12 mums who are served up the most delicious and nurturing food for breakfast, lunch and dinner (plus morning tea and dessert) and who arrive “home” each night to a warm fire, an (uninterrupted) hot shower and a glass of wine-this experience each day and night was deeply humbling and appreciated in SO many ways.

What is the first thing you are telling friends/family when they ask about the trip.
The amount of “school mums” who are considering and looking into a hiking trip in the Tasmanian wilderness—to experience a challenging hike whilst actually having a break and reset with other mums/friends—is quite phenomenal. We are hearing so many of these conversations and the first thing I tell them is “just book it.” Tas Walking Co create not only a hiking experience that has absolutely everything considered and covered but they offer an experience that leaves you feeling restored, recharged and incredibly grateful for this wild and precious life we get to live.

What was an unexpected pleasure from the experience.
Zero reception meant we had no contact with others, no need to check emails or socials, or check in with the news around the world. We were in our own little world, for 4 days and 3 nights, and it was the greatest unexpected pleasure. We talked, we laughed, we walked in restorative silence; it was complete disconnection but a deepening of connection to one another and to ourselves.

Is there anything you would like to share that we could improve upon. Big or small!
To complete a trip and have nothing negative to say, no improvements to share or disappointments to voice, says everything about our experience on Cradle with Tas Walking Co.

What would you like your next TWC adventure to be?
If someone offered me a spot on the Cradle Mountain Signature Walk 7 days, I’d be there in a heartbeat.



Check out all the different ways you can walk Cradle Mountain here >>>

Last updated: 30 March 2026