The Overland Track is an Australian bushwalking track, traversing Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It's walked by more than nine thousand people each year, with numbers limited in the warmer months. Officially the track runs for from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair however many choose to extend it by walking along Lake St Clair for an extra day, bringing it to . It winds through terrain ranging from glacial mountains, temperate rainforest, wild rivers and alpine plains. There are several well known side tracks, including walks to the summits of Cradle Mountain and Mount Ossa, the tallest mountain in Tasmania and a group of tarns called The Labyrinth. Known for its pristine environment and beauty, the Overland Track is listed by Lonely Planet as one of the best treks in the world. The walk can be done independently, with six main public huts maintained by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife and five private huts for commercial groups only. Bushwalkers usually complete the track in five or six days, usually from north to south. The record time is seven hours and 25 minutes, achieved by Andy Kromar during the Cradle Mountain Run. History Use by Aboriginal Nations The Overland Track spans the boundary between the Big River and Northern Tasmanian Aboriginal nations and may have been used as an access route. Several artifacts and campsites containing various stone types and tools have been discovered between Pelion Plains and Lake St Clair, and early surveyors reported huts in the area. Aboriginal Tasmanians were persecuted by the European settlers upon their arrival, and the last free Aboriginals in the area were seen between Barn Bluff and Lake Windemere in 1836. Early European Development Europeans first explored Cradle Mountain in 1827 and 1828 with Joseph Fossey and Henry Hellyer surveying for the Van Diemen's Land Company. Lake St Clair was sighted by surveyor William Sharland in 1832, with George Frankland leading an expedition to it three years later. During the late 19th century there was an effort to build a railway to the west coast of Tasmania, which at the time was only accessible by boat. Railway engineer Allan Stewart began surveying a route which led up the Mersey Valley up to what is now the middle of the Overland Track, but ran out of money before it could be completed. Parts of his trail were