For many adults, to hike the Overland Track is the challenge of a lifetime, walking for up to a week through the wild mountains of Tasmania. So how is it, then, for a child to hike Australia's most famous trail? It's not unusual, after all, to see kids on the Overland Track, and Tasmania's Parks & Wildlife Service has even published a booklet for children on the track.

When I walked it last summer, my hiking companion was my nine-year-old daughter, Kiri. Sure, the Overland Track is an enormous commitment for a child, but we didn't leap into it blindly.

Months before, I test drove Kiri with a three-day hike around the Freycinet Peninsula - two days along beaches and the coast, and one day in which we climbed through the mountains to gauge her capabilities. She was brilliant.

Nor was the Overland Track a random choice, for it has qualities that make it manageable for, and appealing to, a child. The daily distances aren't huge. The longest stretch between huts is 17 kilometres, with other days averaging less than 10 kilometres.

The huts provide places to rest and eat out of the weather, even if you're camping, and each section of the track has separate, distinct points of interest: waterfalls, mountains, fossils, wildlife and the white beaches at Lake Will.

Part of being kind to a child on the trail is being kind to yourself. The more you tire, the less you can provide mental support for your child. Minimising weight is important, although the hike requires carrying six or seven days of meals, so when we set out, I had 30 kilograms on my back. Kiri began with five kilograms, a load I adjusted each day according to the distance and difficulty of the terrain.

To hike with a child is to hike with a different perspective. As we set out from Cradle Valley at the start of the track, heavy mist lay over the land. Where I saw fog stealing the mountain views, Kiri walked with her hands in the air, trying to feel the clouds. At that moment I knew this would be a unique experience, not just for Kiri but also for me.

The toughest climb of the entire track is the first, to Marions Lookout. I had been concerned at how Kiri would manage this climb with a pack, but instead, with the disparate weights on our backs, I could barely keep up as she scurried through the chain-assisted climb.

Quickly she was at the top, looking down on to Dove Lake with the craggy escarpment of Cradle Mountain fanned out ahead.

Over the coming days, long sections of track passed in distraction. We composed a song about the Overland Track - We Will Walk You, sung to the tune of We Will Rock You - adding a new verse each day about animals, wind, scat, peeing in the bush and leeches.

Another day we renamed the entire ecosystem. Buttongrass became microphone grass, gum trees became chewing-gum trees, and waratahs, with their flowers like upside-down huntsman spiders, became spider trees.

A few months before we walked, Kiri had announced a second intention. She wanted to climb Mount Ossa, Tasmania's highest mountain, which can be scaled on a side trip from the Overland Track. With this in mind, I planned a rest day at New Pelion Hut, at the foot of the climb to Ossa. It had the double benefit of freshening us for the second half of the walk after our longest day on the track.

By the final climb to New Pelion Hut, about 13 kilometres into our third day, Kiri had slowed to a tired shuffle, but as we reached one of the few remaining patches of mud, delight brightened her eyes.

Through the bog, we sank almost to our knees, black mud licking at the tops of our gaiters. Kiri giggled and screamed her way through, suddenly rejuvenated.

Later, when I asked her about the best thing that day, the answer came without hesitation. "The mud," she said. "That was the best bit of my life."

After our rest day, it was time for the ascent of Mount Ossa, and Kiri beamed as though we were Hillary and Tenzing. At Pelion Gap, we dumped my pack and I took Kiri's, which I had packed the previous night with the gear we would need on the mountain - rain jackets, food, first-aid kit, compass and head torch in case of emergency - to save time at the pass.

The ascent involved some tricky scrambling on little legs, but soon Kiri was up, unbothered by the gymnastics. Two groups of walkers behind us later admitted they only persisted because they could see this small girl ahead, bounding from rock to rock.

As if on cue, the clouds began to clear as we rose to the summit plateau. Mountains suddenly appeared to the north - Cradle Mountain, Barn Bluff, Mount Oakleigh - and I reminded Kiri that she had walked past every one of them, although they seemed so far away now.

She shrugged nonchalantly, stepped onto the summit and proudly declared herself the tallest person in Tasmania. She had indeed reached great heights.

TRIP NOTES

GETTING THERE

Virgin Australia flies direct from Sydney and Melbourne to Launceston, the closest major airport to the Overland Track. Phone 13 67 89 or see virginaustralia.com. Tassielink coaches operate between Launceston and Cradle Mountain; the trip takes about 3½ hours. Phone 1300 300 520, see tassielink.com.au.

HIKING THERE

Between October and May, permits are needed to hike the Overland Track and, to limit environment damage, only 34 independent hikers are allowed to set out each day. See the Tasmania Park & Wildlife Service website for information and bookings. There is a fee of $200 an adult and $160 a child to walk the Overland Track. See parks.tas.gov.au.

MORE INFORMATION

discovertasmania.com.au.