This mind-blowingly scenic trip was about to crank up a notch when we departed Strahan for Cradle Mountain, one of the most renowned destinations in Australia. The journey took us via Zeehan to the Murchison Highway and on to Rosebery before turning right and travelling eastwards toward our accommodation at the Cradle Mountain Lodge. Nice though it was, I have no pictures of where we stayed. Perhaps that's because (a) it was getting dark by the time we arrived and (b) I departed early the following morning to take Bec for her hugely anticipated hike up Cradle Mountain. Alas for her, the mountain was shrouded in mist and she took a much shorter walk around the mountain's base. While that occurred, I drove the long way back to the Lodge, had breakfast, packed up our gear and headed to the beautiful Dove Lake ... some of my readers might be pleasantly surprised to find a famous lake named after them.
Anyway, our journey to Cradle Mountain, which started almost immediately after disembarking from our harbour cruise, took us through miles of mountain scenery and more thick rain-forest vegetation.
And early next morning Bec and I arrived at Dove Lake to find Cradle Mountain enveloped in thick misty cloud - not exactly enticing to mountain climbers.
Later on, the rest of us arrived on the shores of Dove Lake to see a National Parks truck attempting to go for a swim. At this point we met Bec returning from her early morning walk and she and Max headed off to the eastern side of the lake to do a spot of rock-hopping,something that Max loves to do.
I liked this sign which heralds the start of the overland track to Lake St Clair noted in an earlier post. I can't imagine what Wombat Poo looks like!
And this is the rock that Max and Bec climbed. I think the dude on the far right may be Max.
Meanwhile we walked past the boat-shed where the truck had vanished (under water?) and left a boat.
And we explored a few paths in the shadow of Cradle Mountain, which was still enshrouded in mist before meeting up with Bec and Max who were still intact. we drove back to the park's visitor centre parallel to Dove River shown here and we went for another short walk to see a pretty waterfall.
The track there and back went along a boardwalk through boggy and mossy terrain.
While we mostly encountered great weather during our Tasmanian visit, it was a shame that this day was dull and damp.
Just before driving to our next surprising destination, we visited a sanctuary for two iconic local animal species: the Tasmanian Devil and Spotted Quolls. The former are somewhat endangered and the latter are the second largest of the world's surviving carnivorous marsupials.
The Devils are cute little things and the Quolls are not far behind.
AS
Anyway, our journey to Cradle Mountain, which started almost immediately after disembarking from our harbour cruise, took us through miles of mountain scenery and more thick rain-forest vegetation.
And early next morning Bec and I arrived at Dove Lake to find Cradle Mountain enveloped in thick misty cloud - not exactly enticing to mountain climbers.
Later on, the rest of us arrived on the shores of Dove Lake to see a National Parks truck attempting to go for a swim. At this point we met Bec returning from her early morning walk and she and Max headed off to the eastern side of the lake to do a spot of rock-hopping,something that Max loves to do.
I liked this sign which heralds the start of the overland track to Lake St Clair noted in an earlier post. I can't imagine what Wombat Poo looks like!
And this is the rock that Max and Bec climbed. I think the dude on the far right may be Max.
Meanwhile we walked past the boat-shed where the truck had vanished (under water?) and left a boat.
And we explored a few paths in the shadow of Cradle Mountain, which was still enshrouded in mist before meeting up with Bec and Max who were still intact. we drove back to the park's visitor centre parallel to Dove River shown here and we went for another short walk to see a pretty waterfall.
The track there and back went along a boardwalk through boggy and mossy terrain.
While we mostly encountered great weather during our Tasmanian visit, it was a shame that this day was dull and damp.
Just before driving to our next surprising destination, we visited a sanctuary for two iconic local animal species: the Tasmanian Devil and Spotted Quolls. The former are somewhat endangered and the latter are the second largest of the world's surviving carnivorous marsupials.
The Devils are cute little things and the Quolls are not far behind.
AS
1 comment:
The Tasmanian Devils are cute. :-) It is where they originate from. The quolls look interesting too.
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