Packrafting the Franklin and Climbing Frenchman’s Cap

(Unfortunately this video is no longer online, but you can see the screencaps below)

Courtesy Wild Oates Productions:

Mark discovered the joys of packrafting in 2009 and having previously kayaked the Franklin River and walked Frenchmans Cap thought that combining the two trips would make a classic Tassie packrafting circuit with the best of both worlds – a short and relatively easy trip on the Franklin and not having to walk both in and then back out of Frenchmans. Mark, Jen and Todd enjoyed perfect conditions as they completed the trip over the Hobart Show long weekend in 2011.

Packrafting the Franklin River and Walking out via Frenchman’s Cap from Wild Oates Productions on Vimeo.

This is a movie of Todd, Jen and Mark paddling down the Franklin River for two days to the Irenabyss and then walking out over Frenchman’s Cap in South West Tasmania for another two. An awesome piece of Tasmania!

We had one epic swim in Descension Gorge but apart from that a fantastic time! The walk out is beautiful although it is an 1100m ascent out of the river to the top of Frenchman’s.

Wild Oates Productions

---

Mark Oates of Wild Oates Productions is an Outdoor Education Teacher now based in Hobart who enjoys spending his time either having outdoor adventures with students, family and friends, or dreaming up ideas for more epic adventures. A keen whitewater kayaker of many years, Mark has turned to the darkside recently and these days he can frequently be found in or beside a packraft with rarely a kayak in sight. Originally from Victoria, Mark fell in love with Tasmania’s wild places many years ago but made the permanent move to Hobart with his wife Jen and their Border Collie Hamlet in 2010. In the last couple of years Mark has made the move to videophotographry to try and capture some of the stories of his, Jen’s and Hamlets ‘Wild Oates’ adventures.

---

Wild Oates Videos

---