Bushwalkers Transport

Walking Holidays

Adventure Activities

BUSH WALKERS TRANSPORT AND
OUTDOOR ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES

Transport Service for walkers, canoeists, cyclists.

As there is a lot of information on the following page we suggest you download it so you can read it at your leisure

WHO IS SERVICE FOR?
Bush walkers, back packers, cyclists, fisherman & outdoor enthusiasts.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?
A non scheduled, “on demand” service. Our Service caters for:

Extended Bushwalking Expeditions - you have a choice of one way or two way transport from the same location or a different location several days later.

Examples :

• Pickup at Airport – drop off at Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre
• Pickup Launceston – drop off at Cradle Mountain, pickup at Lake St. Clair seven later and return to Launceston Airport or onward to Hobart.

Day Walks Transport -
if you do not want to return to your starting point, this option opens up many possibilities for drop off at one location & be picked up at another (remember the more there is in your group the cheaper it is)

Examples :

• Drop off at Ben Lomond Ski Village – pickup again at Storys Creek
• Drop off at Greens Beach – pick up at Bakers Beach.

Canoeists & Cyclists Transport
- very similar to our ‘Day Walks Transport’ except you may wish to be picked up at a different location on the same day (see separate heading later on this page) or several days later.

Examples :

• Four canoeists drop off at Avoca – pickup at Evandale three days later.
• Four mountain bikers pickup Launceston, drop off at start of Ben Lomond descent track, pickup again several hours later & return to Launceston.
• Two keen fly-fishers, pickup Launceston Airport, drop off at Great Lake, pickup again several days later

WHEN IS IT AVAILABLE?
Providing we are not already booked, it is available at any time, even at short notice, however forward booking is strongly recommended, particularly in our busy period October to April to secure our services on the day you want.

IF BOOKING HOW MUCH NOTICE IS REQUIRED?
As much as possible, as we are very busy over the summer period.

WHERE DO WE GO & HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
Most of our “Standard” (fixed price services) are ex-Launceston, however we also offer a service to Hobart from Lake St.Clair & from other areas by special arrangement. All the fares shown below can be paid by credit card, or cheque in advance or pay a deposit of $25.00 per passenger and the balance paid later. If you want to save some money please ask for our special cash prices which can be paid by direct credit or in cash at the time of pickup.

HOW CAN I REDUCE MY TRANSPORT COSTS?
Firstly, please ask for our “Special Rates for Cash” & we will send you our price schedule. Secondly, if you are undertaking the Overland Trip, unless you particularly want to go to Hobart following your walk, it is actually cheaper to come back to Launceston (The journey time is approximately the same) this means you can fly in & out from the same airport. Finally, reduce your transport costs by travelling with others - see section: “How Does Our Message Board Work”

WHERE ELSE DO YOU GO?
We can take you to just about any location in Tasmania, but please bear in mind that we are Launceston based (central north) and that for individuals and small groups (4/5 people) it might be cheaper to travel from Hobart if you want to access walking tracks in the South West. For larger groups, however please contact us & we will give you a quotation.

HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST US?
The fee for this service is based on the number of kilometres from Launceston or where we agree to pick you up from, to your chosen destination

• Two Persons - 72 cents per km. each
• Three Persons - 58 cents per km. each
• Four Persons - 50 cents per km. each
• Five Persons - 44 cents per km. each
• Six and over - 41 cents per km. each

Examples :

• Four friends wish to go to Corrina (Tarkine) from Launceston Distance : 273 km @ 50 cents/km each. The cost would be $136.00 each. (Rounded down)
• A group of six wish to be picked up at Launceston Airport and taken to the start of the Cape Pillar Track (Tasman National Park) The distance to this destination is 290km. 290km x 41 cents/km = $118.00 each.

NOTE : The cost would be the same if you wished to do this journey in the reverse direction, if however you wished to be dropped off and picked up again several days later the whole journey would attract a 10% discount, providing it is paid in advance: i.e. $212.00 each (equivalent to approx. $106.00 in each direction)

WILL WE KNOW HOW MUCH IT WILL COST US BEFORE WE COMMIT OURSELVES?
Although the above fees are based on the distance to your chosen destination, there will be no nasty surprises at your journeys end with a fee far more than you had expected. We always give you an estimate of the distance & agree on the fee you will pay before you depart.

BRINGING YOUR VEHICLE TO TASMANIA
Although you can of course drive yourselves to the start of the overland track at Cradle Mountain, you will still need to arrange transport back to your vehicle at CM from Lake St.Clair.

There are several options for your return transport. Scheduled bus service (this runs on certain days of the week only) and private transport operators. In our experience, judging by the number of phone calls we receive, unless you can arrange your finishing date to coincide with a scheduled service, then this can be a difficult & expensive journey as most private transport operators are not based at Lake St.Clair and would need to travel a long distance to pick you up. An alternative to the above, rather than leave your vehicle in a public car park, is free secure parking at our property just outside Launceston. We can then provide you with return transport

THERE ARE ONLY TWO OF US, WE WANT TO GO TO CRADLE MOUNTAIN, BUT THIS IS GOING TO COST US $125 EACH, CAN YOU DO IT CHEAPER?
Yes, we probably can, firstly enquire about our ‘special rates for cash customers’, secondly check our ‘Message Board’ to see if we are already going to your destination on the day you want to travel or close to your date. OR book anyway with a good chance of others booking on the same journey through our ‘Message Board’ service.

HOW DOES OUR MESSAGE BOARD WORK
Our ‘Message Board’ service is our way of endeavouring to make your journey more affordable. Firstly check to see if we already have a bus going to your destination on the day you wish to travel, failing this we suggest you make a firm booking ($25 per passenger deposit). Once you have booked for a particular date & destination we will publish this on the internet, via our ‘message board’ (also known as “scheduled departures”) that we have a confirmed bus movement to the destination you have chosen. Other clients can now see online when a bus movement will occur and how many passengers are already booked and thus are encouraged to also book on this date to save themselves money.

Note: Obviously we cannot guarantee to get extra passengers on a particular day, we therefore recommend that you check with us no later than 21 days prior to your journey. If we have failed to get extra passengers you will have the option of going ahead at the applicable rate or cancelling without loss of your deposit. However, we often get extra passengers, sometimes as late as the day before your departure. If this is the case your fare will still be less.

WHAT IS OUR SPECIAL RATES FOR CASH CUSTOMERS?
To make your journey more affordable, we can also offer substantial discounts for cash payments on the day of departure, this also allows for the possibility of you over paying for your transport i.e.; if we have additional passengers travelling on your day of departure, your journey will now being cheaper than the originally quoted price. This, we feel is a win-win situation, we save on costly bank charges & you pay less for your transport. We will send you full details of this discount upon making an enquiry.

GROUP BOOKINGS
For educational groups, special interest groups and bush walking clubs over eight persons we will give you a custom quote.

IS THERE A SPECIAL BOOKING FORM
Yes, you can book online or we can send you one by e-mail, post or fax.

CAN YOU PICK US UP AFTER OUR WALK
Yes, providing you make the arrangements in advance. Please be sure you arrange your pickup time realistically, making a generous allowance for your walk taking longer than you expected. We cannot make refunds if you fail to turn up – if you are undertaking your walk in the winter months (June – September) please advise us, as special booking conditions apply. In addition we can make suggestions that may help your planning.

CAN YOU DROP US OFF & PICK US UP AGAIN ON THE SAME DAY (EVEN AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION)
For clients requiring a pick up & return on the same day, either from the same or a different location there is a small proportional increase in the one way fee depending on whether this increases the return distance and if practical the ‘waiting time’ involved to pick you up again.

Waiting time up to two hours: no additional charge. Thereafter $18.00 per hour divided between the number of passengers. See below for a working example for a group of ramblers visiting the Narawntapu National Park ( Asbestos Range)

Example :
A group of eight ramblers from Launceston want to walk from Badger Head to the Rangers Station at Bakers Beach. They require outward & return transport.
Launceston to Badger Head is approximately 70 km. Based on a per km charge for five or more clients the rate is 44 cents/km, therefore $30.00 each. In order to pick the group up from Bakers Beach the journey involves an additional 28 km, therefore $12.00 each. The group is dropped off at 10 am & wishes to be picked up at 4 pm, the waiting time is therefore 6 hours. The first two hours wait is free but thereafter 4 hours is charged at $18.00 per hour ( giving a total of $72.00) The $72 is divided equally between the eight ramblers giving an additional $9.00 each.

The total per person fee for the return journey is therefore $51.00 each (rounded down)

ASK ABOUT OUR SPECIAL RATES FOR REGISTERED WALKING CLUBS

WHERE CAN WE BE PICKED UP FROM?
Providing we are able to park safely we can pick up from all Hotels & Guest Houses in Launceston City & Suburbs. We can also pick up from Launceston Airport or the Launceston Transit Centre. We can pick up at other locations by special arrangement

Special conditions apply for pick up from “remote locations” such as Lake St. Clair

LAST MINUTE FOOD REQUIREMENTS
Most fresh items of food (vegetables, dairy products & meat) cannot be brought into Tasmania. As we know that most folks need to purchase these items after arrival we usually make a short shopping stop en-route to your destination. This is especially helpful if you are being picked up at Launceston Airport & are going to Cradle Mountain. We can stop at Deloraine or Sheffield en-route for this purpose.

FUEL FOR YOUR COOKING STOVE
If you need fuel please contact us or add to ‘other information’ section on booking form.

EQUIPMENT HIRE
We have a limited range of essential equipment for hire, including cooking stoves. We can also give you details of other independent businesses who can hire tents, rucksacks, sleeping bags etc please let us know if you want details.

ACCOMMODATION BEFORE & AFTER YOUR WALK
We will be delighted to send you details of accommodation options to suit your budget ranging from campsite to five star hotels. See our ‘links’ page for details of budget & other accommodation in both Launceston & Hobart.

LUGGAGE STORAGE
If you have arranged return or onward transport with us after your walk we offer a free luggage storage facility, providing this is limited to one medium size bag each (max 15 kg). We will arrange to have this waiting for you when we pick you up.

WHO DO WE CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION?
You can contact the owner/operator Paul Grigg for further information :

Ph: (03)6391 8249

Fax: (03)6391 8821
E-mail : griggpaul@hotmail.com
Mobile: 0408 918 249

DOWNLOAD THIS INFORMATION
As there is a lot of information on these pages,
we suggest you download it to read at your leisure.