Awesome Cradle Mountain...

Feb 12

Howdy all- now into our last week of travel!!! Hard to believe that a week today (all going to plan) we will be back home in Port Macquarie. Adam is delighted at the thought as he has really really had it with the caravan- it is very tiny and many things don’t work properly. A proper bed, a proper bathroom, running water (we can no longer run water in the caravan) etc are all things which glisten on the horizon. I too miss those things and can’t wait to enjoy them again. On the other hand, for me anyway, I love travelling, seeing new things, exploring new places, and if finances etc allowed for it, I could probably keep going a bit longer. But it’s time to head for home once we return to the mainland from Tassie. Many new chapters about to begin for us, so lots to look forward to on our return to Port Macquarie.Plus,ofcourse,itwill be wonderful to see family and friends again.

Meantime, the past two days in Tassie have been among the best of our trip down here. We have been blessed with mainly sunny skies which certainly lifts the spirits and really makes the spectacular mountain landscape around us shine.

Yesterday we began our journey from Queenstown to Cradle Valley (Cradle Mountain). It was a lovely drive through hills and forests and wilderness. On the way we decided we’d turn off to see Montezuma Falls- the highest in tassie. We thought it would be an easy diversion and probably a short walk to the falls. It turned out to be a windy track to the falls, the last part unsealed and bumpy- not good for towing the caravan! We preserved and when we arrived saw it was a 10km, 3hr return walk to the falls- not exactly a short stroll! Luckily we read on the sign that the path was suitable for mountain bikes- so we decided to make it a ride rather than a walk and took down our bikes.

It was sunny and an absolutely beautiful bike ride along the dirt track to the waterfall. We rode through lovely cool rainforest, thick and green, with the sun slanting in through the trees. The falls themselves were impressive and the whole trip took us less than 1.5hrs. It was a great way to spend part of the morning- an unexpected highlight for us.

We continued on to Cradle Mountain and checked into our caravan park, which sits just outside the national park boundary. I decided to drive up to Dove Lake to do a walk for the afternoon, while Adam decided to have some downtime and read the paper. The afternoon cleared into perfect blue skies and the famous peaks of Cradle Mountain, with the lake below, looked awesome. I walked up to Crater Lake, past a couple of other lakes and had a top afternoon, as did Adam, relaxing on his own. Sometimes space for both of us when travelling together, and being together just about 24/7, is very essential!

Last night after dinner we went for a short walk around a stream nearby, as well as a drive into the national park, to look for wildlife. We saw about 4 wombats, waddling around on the open grasslands. We also had plenty of possums come around last night, plus pademelons and wallabies. We love seeing wildlife.

Today we rose early, ready to tackle the hard Cradle Mountain Summit, which according to the walking guide, takes 6-8 hours to complete. We arrived at the start of the track under dark, cloudy skies, with a bitterly cold wind blowing. It was 9 degrees, and with the wind chill, felt a lot colder than that. Both wearing two jumpers and me with my beanie on, we set out. Clouds and mist swirled around the peak, but most of the clouds seemed high and there were a few blue patches, so we crossed our fingers that the weather would improve as we hiked up.

Luckily it did improve, getting more and more sunny as we went. On the way up we passed lovely alpine lakes, with great views back over Dove Lake. What a blessing- to have mainly blue skies as we hiked Cradle Mountain. This area is known for its heavy rainfall, and bad weather. Clouds and mist are common, often obscuring views. Sudden weather changes can also occur.

Towards the end of the walk the track started to get very steep, as we approached the sheer, rocky, jagged spires of the Cradle Mountain Peak. As we looked up clouds skidded quickly past the summit. The wind was now very strong and very very cold. The track turned into more of a climb in places, up over big boulders. It was also steep. As a result Adam, with his fear of heights and suffering vertigo, decided to give the summit a miss. He wedged himself on some rocks, as much out of the wind as possible, although still freezing.

I continued on to the summit. From where I left Adam it didn’t seem like it would be very far. However the track went over a saddle and then continued slightly down the other side, before climbing up the back of the peak over more steep rocks. When I reached the top the views were amazing, with mountains and alpine grasslands and small lakes extending in all directions. The jagged sheer peaks of Cradle Mountain itself stretched in one direction and looking down at where I had climbed up made me proud of the achievement. I ate some snacks and then put the camera on self timer to capture an image of myself at the top to remember the moment. I then went as fast as I could over the rocks to get back to Adam (by now it had been more than an hour since I had left him and I figured he’d be frozen). It was pretty hairy climbing back down over some of the rocks (I’m not to keen on heights myself). When I reached Adam he was indeed icy cold and took a while to warm back up. As we descended though it soon got warmer and the sun stayed out.

We had terrific views as we took a different track back around Crater Lake. We walked across alpine meadows, and stretching above them was Cradle Mountain. We sat down in behind some rocks in the sun and out of the wind and ate our lunch. It was very peaceful and lovely. Then we continued back down and finished the hike.

Tomorrow we set off to a log cabin we have booked at a place called Mountain Valley, near Loongana. Basically it’s about an hour north from here, in the middle of the wilderness. There are a series of cabins there, on the banks of a river and nestled beneath Black Bluff. According to the brochures, wildlife is plentiful, so perhaps we will spy a platypus, quoll of Tasmanian Devil. Fingers Crossed. We are there for our final two nights in Tassie, including Valentine’s Day, when as Adam said in the last update, he’s planning to cook up a fancy dinner. We are thrilled we have two nights ahead out of the caravan in a wilderness cabin. More news soon! Love, Us xx