Apologies for the long wait on the next blog. We’ve been busy exploring Tasmania for the last 5 weeks. Now back on mainland Australia I’ll do my best to get a new post up every week.
Am currently sitting at a cafe in Sydney airport – yes, I had to do a daytrip to Sydney to renew my passport!! More about that another day… – and am recapitulating our amazing trip to Tasmania. There will be a few blogs about this trip as its too much to squeeze into a single one. So here we go:
Cradle Mountain
Straight from the ferry we drove to Cradle Mountain National Park. Still a bit sleepy we forgot to stop at a decent grocery store and ended up in the bush without proper food. So, we treated ourselves to a buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was delicious and got us back on track.
After checking in at the caravan park where we spotted our first wombat, dashing across the track, we went to explore the surroundings, doing some of the shorter walks around the interpretation center and got rewarded big time!
It was not only a stunning scenery with the little Pencil Pine waterfall, beautiful forest and mossy clearings. We spotted quite a few wallabies who seemed very used to humans walking past. Bennett wallabies and Pademelon wallabies, some with babies, were feeding completely uninterested in us intruders.
Hoping to see another wombat too, we were a little disappointed but not for long! At the end of our walk, we got to a pond near Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge where there were several Platypus diving around. So many rivers we have checked, even in Queensland last year, and never spotted a Platypus!
And this wasnt all! Back at camp we went for a stroll through the caravan park just before dawn. Outside the park we encountered a Wombat! Unfortunately that attracted other people and it felt like leaving. I couldnt believe my luck, it walked straight past me – literally 1m from me – but I was so excited that I didnt realize that I stopped the video instead of starting it and I missed that bit of footage. It went into a tunnel (a drainpipe that goes under the road) – how smart to know a safe road crossing!
What a fantastic first day in Tasmania!!
Yes, I left some info out… after the Great Ocean Road I picked up my partner in Melbourne for our Tassie adventure we were looking forward to since a long while. We got the ferry Spirit of Tasmania in Geelong in the evening and got to Devonport the next morning (its an approximately 12hrs trip).
The next day we got up early to tackle the Cradle Mountain Summit. We took the shuttle bus – private cars are not allowed in the national park – to Dove Lake.
The shuttle costs $15 per adult and is valid for 72hrs – a pretty good deal. Even better, you can walk from the caravan park to the bus stop.
From Dove Lake we hiked up to Marion’s Lookout – had to do this just for the name’s reason 😉 – past a few smaller lakes and a view I couldn’t get enough of.
From the lookout we walked to the summit track. Being a bit unprepared we did not quite know which peak will be our target and the 2.5hrs return on the sign seemed a lot standing at the bottom.
Halfway up the track turns into a field of big boulders to climb over, which then give way to piles of rocks you have to climb up which later turn into cliffs.
Our hike turned into a full body workout! I think we were climbing and scrambling up and over rocks for a full hour!
The weather forecast was rain in the afternoon and a possible thunderstorm. The clouds came and went, and we were very lucky, to get a 360 degree view when we finally made it to the top.
With the rumble of distant thunder as company we started our way back down.
We made it in time before the rain started but then had to shelter in a creek to avoid being exposed to lightning as the storm was right above us. We were very glad we had our wet weather gear with us! While it was a bit scary being in open landscape during a storm in the mountains, it added to the experience, and we thought it rather fun afterwards.
Can’t stress enough how important it is to check the weather forecast, prepare for all weather options and not risk being exposed to lightning or high winds while in the alpine section of any mountain.
The Cradle Mountain Summit hike is 12.5km long, by the time we made it back to camp we’d walked close to 25km as we added another hike on the way down trying (and failing) to find the quickest way off the mountain during the storm.
That evening was very cold, and we got to test our gas heater for the first time. It was almost as cozy as a campfire.
The following day we enjoyed the sun in the lower section of the mountains as we walked around Dove Lake – an easy 6km loop hike with beautiful forest and lake views. Most of the path is a nice board walk with only one uphill section on a gravel path.
An adrenaline packed experience I had along this walk: a very close encounter with a Tiger snake – highly venomous!!
It being a well frequented track with walkers just ela few minutes ahead of us I didnt expect to see a snake. I only noticed it because it moved. Looking at her sitting in the shade of a shrub she looked ready to attack – or did she just strike at me but missed? Either way it was an important reminder to be always aware of snakes, even on busy tracks. We always carry a snake bandage, fortunately never had to use it.
There are a few nice beaches along the walk where you can swim, picnic, or just have a rest.
We visited the interpretation centre, where we found it was mainly about the interesting history of the area, there was not much about flora and fauna. A short walk with information signs starts from there. Would recommend doing it.
After treating ourselves to a drink and meal at the Pepper Cradle Mountain Lodge we spent another evening with our outdoor gas heater which I named “Toasty” because he makes me feel toasty 😉
The next day we left the Cradle Mountain area. I will pack that into another post.
Thanks for checking in and reading my blog.
February 2025
Your partner looks very strong and handsome, is he a professional guide?
The best travel partner you could wish for!
fabulous blog Marion, so exciting, love your adventures.