6
Moderate to Challenging
Activities
  • 3 days packrafting
Accommodation
  • 2 nights camping
Meals
  • 2 Dinners
  • 3 Lunches
  • 2 Breakfasts

3 Days$1550AUD

View Inclusions
THIS TRIP IS
100% CARBON OFFSET
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Trip Code: CAP

Trip highlights

  • Experience the thrill of paddling through Tasmania's remote wilderness gorge.
  • Navigate both calm waters and exhilarating grade two and three rapids.
  • Camp in stunning, secluded locations under towering cliffs and starry skies.
  • Spot unique wildlife like platypuses and peregrine falcons along the way.
  • Learn packrafting techniques from experienced guides while immersed in nature.

Join us for an exhilarating three-day packrafting journey through a stunning gorge in Northern Tasmania. Packrafting has quickly become a favorite way to explore Tasmania’s wild landscapes, and this trip offers a perfect balance of adventure and natural beauty. Using small, lightweight inflatable boats that provide excellent stability and performance, you'll experience the thrill of paddling down remote rivers while immersed in nature.

The trip kicks off with a scenic drive from Launceston to the Mersey River, where we begin our journey. Over the course of three days, you'll navigate a mix of calm stretches and exciting rapids, including opportunities to improve your paddling skills with the guidance of experienced instructors. The gorge itself is a breathtaking sight, with towering cliffs, rich wildlife, and significant cultural sites that add depth to the adventure.

In addition to the paddling, the experience includes camping in beautiful, remote locations, where you’ll have the chance to unwind and soak in the tranquil atmosphere of the Tasmanian wilderness. This packrafting adventure is ideal for anyone looking for an immersive and challenging wilderness experience.

Activities:

Itinerary

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On the morning of your trip, we’ll meet you at Aspire Adventure Equipment, located at 136 York St, Launceston at 8:30 am. There’s convenient parking out front where you can bring your gear inside. At the shop, we'll ensure you have everything you need for the trip and answer any last-minute questions. If you're missing any essentials, Aspire is the perfect place to pick them up, or even rent gear like sleeping bags. Once ready, we’ll hop into the bus, and you can follow in your car to a nearby free parking area where it can stay during the trip. After a coffee stop in Deloraine, we’ll arrive at the Mersey River, where your guides will give you an introductory lesson on packrafting. Around midday, we’ll launch into the river, paddling downstream into the wilderness. From this point, we’re fully committed to the adventure, as there’s no easy exit until we reach the end of the journey. The first 10 km offers gentle grade one rapids—perfect for practicing your paddling skills—before we reach our first campsite, nestled at the head of the gorge with stunning cliff views.

Meals:  L,D

Day two is the most challenging, as we spend the entire day paddling through the awe-inspiring Alum Cliffs Gorge. You’ll navigate thrilling grade two rapids, with some pushing into the grade three range. Along the way, we’ll pass peregrine falcon nesting sites and areas of cultural significance to the local Indigenous community. That evening, we’ll set up camp deep within the gorge, surrounded by its towering cliffs.

Meals:  B,L,D

On day three, we continue paddling through the gorge, including a memorable passage through "The Chasm," a narrow section of the river and one of the trip's scenic highlights. After emerging from the gorge, the paddling becomes easier as we approach the take-out point, where our bus will be waiting to bring us back to Launceston. We typically return around 4pm, wrapping up three days of adventure after two nights camping in the heart of the gorge.

Meals:  B,L

Inclusions

What's included

  • All equipment needed including a life jacket, helmet, wetsuit, shoes, spray jacket and dry bags
  • 2 professional packrafting guides
  • Return transport from Launceston
  • 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners & snacks
  • Group camping equipment including all cooking & eating equipment
  • Camping tent
  • Emergency communications & group first aid kit

  • Travel to and from Launceston
  • Accommodation before or after the trip
  • Sleeping bag and sleeping mat
  • Travel insurance
  • Items of a personal nature

Accommodation

Wilderness Camping

A highlight of the trip is the amazing campsites. Both are right next to the river, with platypus often seen doing laps a stone's throw from us while we eat dinner. Night one is at the head of the gorge and night two is right in the guts of the gorge. There are no facilities at the campsites. Everything we need for the three days we carry in our boats. We want to have a minimum impact on the environment, and we carry everything out - including toilet waste. Each guest gets a tube for that. It's not as scary as it sounds and the guides will show you how to use it! The 'poo tube' is a wonderful way to minimise your impact on the environment!.

Suitability

Moderate to Challenging

6

This is a physical three days and people are usually worn out by the end! For maximum enjoyment of this trip you need a good level of fitness. You don't need to be an elite athlete, but if you regularly get out cycling, swimming, hiking, or something of that sort, you will have the sort of fitness that makes this trip more enjoyable. Some people find sitting in a packraft for five hours pretty hard work. As a test, sit on the ground with bent legs straight out in front of you. If holding your body up straight while doing this becomes very uncomfortable or difficult after a short amount of time, you might struggle with being in a packraft for a full day. You do need to be able to swim 25 metres without a stop for this trip. Core strength is actually the key to effective paddling, more so than strong arms. Anything that improves your core strength will make three days paddling more fun. Do a bit of planking or sit-ups in front of the telly in the lead up to the trip! Kayaking is the best training of all for this trip. You don't need any experience kayaking before the trip, but if you do have access to a boat to go out for a paddle in (flat water is fine) that will be great training for the trip. Swimming some laps at the pool is great too, if getting out in a kayak isn't an option for you.

Departure dates


Priceper person from

$1550AUD

Options & Supplements*
    *Prices listed are per person

Essential Information

Ready to book? Make sure you download and read the detailed Alum Cliffs Wilderness Packraft trip notes which contains all the essential information you need to know before booking. Once you’ve booked, we will supply you with a Pre-Departure document which contains a detailed gear list and other important information to help you prepare for your adventure ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Packrafts are inflatable kayaks. They are called packrafts because they roll up small enough to fit in a pack. Our packrafts also feature an air-tight zip, allowing us to pack all the gear we need in the tubes of the boat, meaning no gear getting in your way on the deck. On this trip you paddle your own craft. A guide will always be near by, showing you the way, but they can't stear the boat for you. Packrafts are easier to paddle and more stable than traditional white-water kayaks, and people usually pick it up quickly.

We are heading into an uncontrolled wilderness environment, so there are always some risks. You will have two guides with you though. Both guides will be experienced river guides, trained in Swift Water Rescue and Wilderness First Aid. You will be equipped with a life jacket, helmet and river shoes that probably have better grip on wet rocks than anything you have worn before. If you listen to the instructions of your guides, you will stay safe out there.

This is a physical three days and people are usually worn out by the end! For maximum enjoyment of this trip you need a good level of fitness. You don't need to be an elite athlete, but if you regularly get out cycling, swimming, hiking, or something of that sort, you will have the sort of fitness that makes this trip more enjoyable. Some people find sitting in a packraft for five hours pretty hard work. As a test, sit on the ground with bent legs straight out in front of you. If holding your body up straight while doing this becomes very uncomfortable or difficult after a short amount of time, you might struggle with being in a packraft for a full day. You do need to be able to swim 25 metres without a stop for this trip. Please give us a call to discuss physical requirements if you have any questions.

Anything that improves your general fitness will help. Core strength is actually the key to effective paddling, more so than strong arms. Anything that improves your core strength will make three days paddling more fun. Do a bit of planking or sit-ups in front of the telly in the lead up to the trip! Kayaking is the best training of all for this trip. You don't need any experience kayaking before the trip, but if you do have access to a boat to go out for a paddle in (flat water is fine) that will be great training for the trip. Swimming some laps at the pool is great too, if getting out in a kayak isn't an option for you.

When you sign up, we'll send you a packing list with everything you should bring. In a nutshell though, you bring sleeping bag and mat, camp clothes, toiletries and head torch. Sleeping bags and mats are available for hire if required. We provide a tent, all food from lunch on day one to lunch on day three, camp kitchen including cutlery etc and all packrafting gear - packraft, paddle, wetsuit, paddle jacket, river shoes, life jacket, helmet.

We start and finish at Aspire Adventure Equipment in Launceston. We meet at 8:30am and are usually back by about 4pm at the end of the trip. You can park out the front and then follow our bus to the place we leave cars after the briefing - and hop in our bus from there.

Not at all but we do ask that you are open with us about anything that could become an issue on the trip. As we are not doctors, we may ask for a medical certificate to attest your ability to complete the trip for some conditions.

No! Leave your phone at home and enjoy a few days of peace.

Epic! A highlight of the trip is the amazing campsites. Both are right next to the river, with platypus often seen doing laps a stone's throw from us while we eat dinner (don't throw stones at platypus please). Night one is at the head of the gorge and night two is right in the guts of the gorge. There are no facilities at the campsites. Everything we need for the three days we carry in our boats. We want to have a minimum impact on the environment, and we carry everything out - including toilet waste. Each guest gets a tube for that. It's not as scary as it sounds and the guides will show you how to use it! The 'poo tube' is a wonderful way to minimise your impact on the environment!

We have predictable flows due to a dam upstream that releases a consistent amount of water. It is very rare that there is either too much or not enough water. Flows are generally a bit higher due to inflow from tributaries up to the end of Dec and then from roughly mid-march. Those extra flows do make the rapids a bit more fun. On the other hand, it is warmer in Jan and Feb, which is very nice in the gorge.

Mostly grade one and two on day one (that basically means easy). There are a couple of rapids on day one that are a bit more challenging, but this day gives you a great opportunity to learn to drive the boats. When we get into the gorge early on day two, we step up a grade, with a lot of grade three rapids. Grade three is super fun, but manageable for beginners in packrafts. Day three starts with more gorge paddling with grade three rapids. After we emerge from the gorge, the rapids drop back a grade for another hour or two before we get back to the bus. There will be one or two short portages on day two (where we carry the boats around a rapid).

Trip reviews

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Alum Cliffs Wilderness Packraft Adventure

Positive Impact Travel

By joining this trip you are directly supporting positive impact projects in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We’ve offset the carbon emitted by this trip by purchasing credits that support important projects that address the UN’s seventeen SDGs, like reducing poverty, affordable and clean energy, reducing hunger, clean water and climate action.

Proceeds from this adventure purchase carbon credits through the world’s largest and most awarded carbon project developer, South Pole, which are invested into projects accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources in developing countries.

Supported projects are based on internationally recognised standards and are third-party audited. They entail a series of positive impacts on the ground, which benefit local communities and ecosystems, that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.