Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain is one of Tasmania's premier attractions, which draws hikers and tourists from all over the world. It's jagged peaks, lakes and fauna are a fantastic place to explore and experience Tasmanian wilderness which has been unchanged for millennia.

We started our day in Tasmania's most western town Strahan, a small seaside village with a few shops and a lighthouse. We left early and drove cross country to Cradle Mountain National Park. The drive over supposedly had fantastic views and scenery but as it was raining so hard we could barely see 10m down the road in front of us. At one stop we braved the weather for a look at a scenic overlook but were quickly driven back to the car with little success. When we eventually got to the visitor centre it started raining heavier than ever, so torrential that we didn't get out the car till it had calmed a little. Inside the visitor centre we bought tickets and were given a map of the park. As it was low season we were informed that we could drive into the park rather than take the shuttle bus which we were grateful for given the weather.

Our first stop in the park was Ronnie's Creek, or wombat creek as it is affectionately nicknamed due to the likelihood of spotting the cuddly creatures. The rain had thankfully eased so we started down the boardwalk hoping to see some wild wombats. Not fifty meters down the track we heard a snuffling to our right and there eating it's heart out was a sizeable wombat. It really didn't seem to mind our presence and carried on happily eating, even later on crossing the boardwalk we were walking down. On our short walk we saw 9 wombats of all varying sizes and coloured from light grey to dark brown, we even saw a mum and her cub.

After our wombat success we headed towards the star attraction - cradle mountain. We decided to take the most popular walk a 2-3h walk around dove lake, which gave spectacular views of the mountain towering above. The rain thankfully held off and it even made itself into a fine afternoon for our walk with the afternoon sun drying us out. The walk was enjoyable with great views, waterfalls, lookout points and even an old boat house to keep it interesting.

It was late afternoon by the time we finished our walk so we headed to Mole Creek where we heard there was a nice campsite. We arrived just as the last of the light was disappearing so we had to put the tent up by car headlights. Though the campsite was worth the drive as our site was beautifully situated on the side of a small brook with large shaded trees surrounded by the countryside. Each site also had its own fire pit and free wood which we made good use of. We whittled the night away in front of the fire watching the stars light the sky before the cold chased us into the tent.