Australia: "Home" for the Holidays
Jan 5th, 2017, 12:08 AM
#62
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Bokhara2, as FromDC suggests, spending a couple of nights on Bruny Island may be very relaxing. For example, you could easily go down to the southwest part of the island, around Cloudy Bay or Jetty Beach (near the Cape Bruny lighthouse) and just enjoy the beach or walk some of the trails. Our guide suggested that 3 days would be the optimal time to see the island.
Yestravel, happy to provide suggestions. Everyone here has been amazing to me over the years, and I am happy to share what I can in return.
Westward Bound
Today we journey out of Hobart to the west coast of Tasmania with the help of a car and driver from Tasmanian Wilderness Experiences. When we were planning our itinerary we had a hard time deciding between the east or the west coast. More suggested that we head up east so that we would be able to experience Freycinet. I have no doubt its incredible beauty, especially based upon the parts of Tasmania that I have seen already today, although we really wanted to summit Cradle Mountain and thought doing hikes at Freycinet and again at Cradle may have been much for a couple of us after all the walking and hiking we have done already and will be doing. For this reason and because we wanted to go slower to enjoy ourselves we settled on the west coast. I am sure we will be back to Tasmania at some point and experience some of what we missed.
And so we headed out of Hobart at 8:15 AM. Shortly thereafter we were out of the city and making our way up the Derwent River Valley, a picturesque, low-lying area that stretches from southeast to central Tasmania.
Along the way we stopped at Wall in the Wilderness in Derwent Bridge (thank you for the recommendation, Marg) for a look-around). We could not believe our eyes. The wood carvings were splendid and carved in exquisite detail. And they were larger than life-size. The music also aided our experience very much and gave things a spiritual and very humbling quality. We loved it!
We stopped for lunch at Hungry Wombat Cafe just down the road for some simple yet very satisfying food before we continued along the highway into Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Here the scenery turned alpine and we began to see some roadkill - mostly wallaby or wombat. We walked along three easy trails inside the park: Franklin River. Donaghy's Hill, and Nelson Falls. The Franklin River trail gave us a good look at rainforest landscape as well as one of the cleanest unfiltered waters in the world. Donaghy's Hill is more of a climb but easy to do for anyone with a reasonable amount of fitness; the view at the top of the surrounding mountains including Frenchman's Cap is astounding. Nelson Falls is a short, cool, and relaxing walk to a rather large warerfall. Our driver informed us that Frenchman's Cap isn't out in view very often so we felt lucky seeing it not once but 3 times today.
After Nelson Falls we left the national park continuing west towards Queenstown and Strahan. Towards Queenstown we learned about some of the bad practices of the mining industry in recent years. The landscape changes again; the mountains are taller and larger but also more barren. The once-decently-well-off workers of this town fell on bad economic times. The homes are in disrepair. The river is polluted. The copper mines that set up shop in Queenstown and shut down in recent years for health-and-safety issues and left the situation worse than the way it found it. Sound familiar? It is very much the same situation found in communities in the American Midwest where the main industry ceased to be the lifeblood of the communities. From Queenstown it was a short drive in Strahan, where we arrived at 4:00 PM and settled into our home for the next 2 nights - Franklin Manor.
Yestravel, happy to provide suggestions. Everyone here has been amazing to me over the years, and I am happy to share what I can in return.
Westward Bound
Today we journey out of Hobart to the west coast of Tasmania with the help of a car and driver from Tasmanian Wilderness Experiences. When we were planning our itinerary we had a hard time deciding between the east or the west coast. More suggested that we head up east so that we would be able to experience Freycinet. I have no doubt its incredible beauty, especially based upon the parts of Tasmania that I have seen already today, although we really wanted to summit Cradle Mountain and thought doing hikes at Freycinet and again at Cradle may have been much for a couple of us after all the walking and hiking we have done already and will be doing. For this reason and because we wanted to go slower to enjoy ourselves we settled on the west coast. I am sure we will be back to Tasmania at some point and experience some of what we missed.
And so we headed out of Hobart at 8:15 AM. Shortly thereafter we were out of the city and making our way up the Derwent River Valley, a picturesque, low-lying area that stretches from southeast to central Tasmania.
Along the way we stopped at Wall in the Wilderness in Derwent Bridge (thank you for the recommendation, Marg) for a look-around). We could not believe our eyes. The wood carvings were splendid and carved in exquisite detail. And they were larger than life-size. The music also aided our experience very much and gave things a spiritual and very humbling quality. We loved it!
We stopped for lunch at Hungry Wombat Cafe just down the road for some simple yet very satisfying food before we continued along the highway into Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Here the scenery turned alpine and we began to see some roadkill - mostly wallaby or wombat. We walked along three easy trails inside the park: Franklin River. Donaghy's Hill, and Nelson Falls. The Franklin River trail gave us a good look at rainforest landscape as well as one of the cleanest unfiltered waters in the world. Donaghy's Hill is more of a climb but easy to do for anyone with a reasonable amount of fitness; the view at the top of the surrounding mountains including Frenchman's Cap is astounding. Nelson Falls is a short, cool, and relaxing walk to a rather large warerfall. Our driver informed us that Frenchman's Cap isn't out in view very often so we felt lucky seeing it not once but 3 times today.
After Nelson Falls we left the national park continuing west towards Queenstown and Strahan. Towards Queenstown we learned about some of the bad practices of the mining industry in recent years. The landscape changes again; the mountains are taller and larger but also more barren. The once-decently-well-off workers of this town fell on bad economic times. The homes are in disrepair. The river is polluted. The copper mines that set up shop in Queenstown and shut down in recent years for health-and-safety issues and left the situation worse than the way it found it. Sound familiar? It is very much the same situation found in communities in the American Midwest where the main industry ceased to be the lifeblood of the communities. From Queenstown it was a short drive in Strahan, where we arrived at 4:00 PM and settled into our home for the next 2 nights - Franklin Manor.
Jan 5th, 2017, 12:58 AM
#63
Thanks tripplanner- I was thi king along the lines of 2-3 days for Bruny Island, so nice to have an endorsement.
I'm interested in your taking a driver, instead of driving yourselves. Was it because you felt having a guide for this section would add to your enjoyment?
I'm interested in your taking a driver, instead of driving yourselves. Was it because you felt having a guide for this section would add to your enjoyment?
Jan 5th, 2017, 02:21 AM
#64
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our two favorite things on Bruny Island were oysters at Get Shucked and seeing a white kangaroo during our walk. But the day was full of beautiful scenery and it's very easy driving. Things are very well marked, including the trails.
Jan 5th, 2017, 09:01 AM
#65
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We really enjoyed our 3 days on Bruny. The white wallabies are in the Adventure Bay area and there are fairy penguins seasonally at The Neck.
Really enjoying your report, tripplanner! We've not been to the west coast of Tassie so I'm taking notes.
Really enjoying your report, tripplanner! We've not been to the west coast of Tassie so I'm taking notes.
Jan 5th, 2017, 12:18 PM
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Hi tripplanner,
So glad you enjoyed visiting the Wall in the Wilderness. I'm always apprehensive when recommending things that we have loved in case other people don't.
I'm following your trip report with interest.
So glad you enjoyed visiting the Wall in the Wilderness. I'm always apprehensive when recommending things that we have loved in case other people don't.
I'm following your trip report with interest.
Jan 5th, 2017, 01:00 PM
#67
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Bokhara2, FromDC is spot on that it is really easy to drive on your own. None of the four of us own drivers' licenses, which is why we went with a paid driver. I must say, though, that it is more expensive to do here than other parts of the world.
Patty, glad you are following along and enjoying.
Marg, again, thank you.
Patty, glad you are following along and enjoying.
Marg, again, thank you.
Jan 5th, 2017, 01:33 PM
#68
Ah ... that would explain it, Tripplanner 
I imagine it is more expensive here - supply, demand & all that.
And we pay more in wages than many countries.
It would be quite unusual not to have any drivers in a group of 4 able bodied Australians. From the enquiries here & IME, it seems most visitors either drive or take tours. I've taken small group, special interest tours myself where a guide's knowledge, driving expertise in difficult terrain, makes it the best option. Mostly, I prefer to drive myself here & away.
I take your point, though - and use drivers in Asia.
I imagine it is more expensive here - supply, demand & all that.
And we pay more in wages than many countries.
It would be quite unusual not to have any drivers in a group of 4 able bodied Australians. From the enquiries here & IME, it seems most visitors either drive or take tours. I've taken small group, special interest tours myself where a guide's knowledge, driving expertise in difficult terrain, makes it the best option. Mostly, I prefer to drive myself here & away.
I take your point, though - and use drivers in Asia.
Jan 5th, 2017, 04:46 PM
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Just wondering if you're seeing much damage from last year's terrible bush fires around Cradle Mountain? We're trying to decide on our 5 day itin in Tas .... not enough time I know. But there you have it...
Jan 6th, 2017, 02:35 AM
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Bokhara2 and Melnq8, yes it is unusual, especially by American standards. Living in major urban centers, it's more a hassle than not to own a vehicle so we never bothered with it.
Glover, I will be at Cradle Mountain starting tomorrow evening for 3 nights so I will be able to answer your question then...unless someone else gets to it before me. With only 5 days, have you thought about staying in the Hobart area. From there you could access the Tasman Peninsula, Bruny Island, the Huon Valley, and Mount Field National Park. I've also seen day trips to Maria Island as well.
A Day on Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River
What a spectacular day today (It was sunny, about 78 degrees Fahrenheit or 25 Celsius.). And what better way to spend it than on the water.
After a light breakfast at the Franklin Manor, we took a leisurely stroll around the foreshore of Macquarie Harbour over to the pier to board our boat cruise of the Gordon River. We traveled with World Heritage Cruises, one of the two operators taking tourists to the river.
The cruise began on Macquarie Harbour and made its way to Hells Gate, the entrance to the Southern Ocean (or South Indian Ocean, depending upon your perspective). As today was a particularly nice day, our skipper sailed all the way down to Cape Sorell, the final point on western Tasmania before Antarctica. Along the way we saw several lighthouses. We also passed the sands of Ocean Beach on the way out to sea and back.
The second leg of the journey took us back into Macquarie Harbour and onto Sarah Island, a penal colony established by the British but operational only for 12 years. We spent one hour touring Sarah Island with a local guide, Ingrid, who did a very good job of bringing what was left to life.
After Sarah Island we headed inland along the Gordon River. Here we enjoyed a nice lunch while drinking in the gorgeous scenery on both sides of the river. Characteristic of the riverbanks that line the Gordon are the many species of trees, most important being that of the Huon pine. Given today's weather we were treated to sublime reflections in the smooth, glassy water.
We made one final stop at the point on the Gordon River where we turned back to Macquarie Harbour and took a brief stroll in the rainforest. Heading back we simply stood on the open deck enjoying the beautiful waters, which seem to twinkle upon reflection from the sun.
Before we knew it we were back in Strahan. We walked around the shops selling crafts made of Huon pine and enjoyed a play by the pier called The Ship That Never Was, which is an interactive comedy play about the convicts' escape from Sarah Island.
We capped our evening in Strahan off with an excellent dinner at Bushman's Bar and Cafe and called it a night.
Tomorrow we ride the rails from Strahan to Queenstown and back before setting out for Cradle Mountain in the evening.
Glover, I will be at Cradle Mountain starting tomorrow evening for 3 nights so I will be able to answer your question then...unless someone else gets to it before me. With only 5 days, have you thought about staying in the Hobart area. From there you could access the Tasman Peninsula, Bruny Island, the Huon Valley, and Mount Field National Park. I've also seen day trips to Maria Island as well.
A Day on Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River
What a spectacular day today (It was sunny, about 78 degrees Fahrenheit or 25 Celsius.). And what better way to spend it than on the water.
After a light breakfast at the Franklin Manor, we took a leisurely stroll around the foreshore of Macquarie Harbour over to the pier to board our boat cruise of the Gordon River. We traveled with World Heritage Cruises, one of the two operators taking tourists to the river.
The cruise began on Macquarie Harbour and made its way to Hells Gate, the entrance to the Southern Ocean (or South Indian Ocean, depending upon your perspective). As today was a particularly nice day, our skipper sailed all the way down to Cape Sorell, the final point on western Tasmania before Antarctica. Along the way we saw several lighthouses. We also passed the sands of Ocean Beach on the way out to sea and back.
The second leg of the journey took us back into Macquarie Harbour and onto Sarah Island, a penal colony established by the British but operational only for 12 years. We spent one hour touring Sarah Island with a local guide, Ingrid, who did a very good job of bringing what was left to life.
After Sarah Island we headed inland along the Gordon River. Here we enjoyed a nice lunch while drinking in the gorgeous scenery on both sides of the river. Characteristic of the riverbanks that line the Gordon are the many species of trees, most important being that of the Huon pine. Given today's weather we were treated to sublime reflections in the smooth, glassy water.
We made one final stop at the point on the Gordon River where we turned back to Macquarie Harbour and took a brief stroll in the rainforest. Heading back we simply stood on the open deck enjoying the beautiful waters, which seem to twinkle upon reflection from the sun.
Before we knew it we were back in Strahan. We walked around the shops selling crafts made of Huon pine and enjoyed a play by the pier called The Ship That Never Was, which is an interactive comedy play about the convicts' escape from Sarah Island.
We capped our evening in Strahan off with an excellent dinner at Bushman's Bar and Cafe and called it a night.
Tomorrow we ride the rails from Strahan to Queenstown and back before setting out for Cradle Mountain in the evening.
Jan 6th, 2017, 11:05 AM
#73
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Bokhara2, our day was as perfect as it could be. The Franklin Manor is what you would call a boutique guesthouse. There are about 16-17 rooms in a large mansion that have been converted into guest quarters. The rooms are spacious and very comfortable. We booked two rooms - room 14 has a large walk-in bathroom with bathtub and shower; room 12 has a smaller shower otherwise it is the same as 14. The beds are comfortable. The property is about a 5 minute walk to the Esplanade. I enjoyed the place very much.
Jan 7th, 2017, 01:10 AM
#74
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On a Tasmanian "Train Cruise"
Some of you may be familiar with the Japanese TV channel NHK's program on train travel across Japan called "Train Cruise". The show features travelers taking scenic rail journeys in different parts of the country and is usually narrated by a folksy commentator. Our journey today aboard the West Coast Wilderness Railway from Strahan to Queenstown and back felt very much like an episode of "Train Cruise".
We began our day at Regatta Point train station in Strahan, about a 15 minute walk from the main esplanade. From Strahan we traveled alongside Macquarie Harbour and up the King River stopping along the way to explore different sections of the rainforest. Our journey continued through King River gorge, alongside the contaminated Queen River, and into Queenstown. We stopped at Queenstown for 90 minutes for lunch and a quick exploration of the town. Queenstown has very much the feel of a old Western U.S. frontier town. After our excursion into Queenstown we headed back for Strahan, stopping along the way to try our hand at gold panning. We booked in the upgraded Wilderness carriage, which offered a complimentary lunch, snacks, and beverages. Our carriage attendant, Katrina, looked after us superbly and make what was already a good day an awesome one.
Between Strahan's top two attraction I would give an edge to the Gordon River Cruise as there is nothing like spending a day on the water drinking in the beautiful scenery. However I think the West Coast Wilderness Railway is equally worthy as it does a much better job of discussing the history of this corner of Tasmania and the industries that developed the area to why it is known today. The excursion is also great for train enthusiasts as some in our group.
We made our way to Cradle Mountain with the services of Cradle Mountain Coaches. I interacted with Chris throughout my booking; Chris was great to work with and responded quickly to my questions and requests each time. The drivers, Allison and David, though were another story. They were 15 minutes late without even contacting me to let me know and they never said a word about it. They may have driven through the mountains to get to me, who knows? No biggie. However they chatted between each other the whole way and did not interact us at all. They played their music without even bothering to ask us whether or not we were okay; we would have been fine although I also assume this is common courtesy. We typically have a good bit of interaction with our drivers and bond pretty quickly so I'm not sure it was us. Seeing that this was how it would be, we did our own thing: I checked my emails and Fodors (when I had cell service) and wrote this installment of my report and others napped or looked out the window. In the end, all that mattered was that they transported us from point A to point B safely; it's not worth my time to think any more about it although I now know of one tour operator in Tasmania that I won't recommend.
After dinner and a good night's sleep at Cradle Mountain Lodge, we will attempt to summit Cradle Mountain weather permitting. If not we will have another chance the next day as we booked for 3 nights knowing the notorious unpredictability of the weather here.
Some of you may be familiar with the Japanese TV channel NHK's program on train travel across Japan called "Train Cruise". The show features travelers taking scenic rail journeys in different parts of the country and is usually narrated by a folksy commentator. Our journey today aboard the West Coast Wilderness Railway from Strahan to Queenstown and back felt very much like an episode of "Train Cruise".
We began our day at Regatta Point train station in Strahan, about a 15 minute walk from the main esplanade. From Strahan we traveled alongside Macquarie Harbour and up the King River stopping along the way to explore different sections of the rainforest. Our journey continued through King River gorge, alongside the contaminated Queen River, and into Queenstown. We stopped at Queenstown for 90 minutes for lunch and a quick exploration of the town. Queenstown has very much the feel of a old Western U.S. frontier town. After our excursion into Queenstown we headed back for Strahan, stopping along the way to try our hand at gold panning. We booked in the upgraded Wilderness carriage, which offered a complimentary lunch, snacks, and beverages. Our carriage attendant, Katrina, looked after us superbly and make what was already a good day an awesome one.
Between Strahan's top two attraction I would give an edge to the Gordon River Cruise as there is nothing like spending a day on the water drinking in the beautiful scenery. However I think the West Coast Wilderness Railway is equally worthy as it does a much better job of discussing the history of this corner of Tasmania and the industries that developed the area to why it is known today. The excursion is also great for train enthusiasts as some in our group.
We made our way to Cradle Mountain with the services of Cradle Mountain Coaches. I interacted with Chris throughout my booking; Chris was great to work with and responded quickly to my questions and requests each time. The drivers, Allison and David, though were another story. They were 15 minutes late without even contacting me to let me know and they never said a word about it. They may have driven through the mountains to get to me, who knows? No biggie. However they chatted between each other the whole way and did not interact us at all. They played their music without even bothering to ask us whether or not we were okay; we would have been fine although I also assume this is common courtesy. We typically have a good bit of interaction with our drivers and bond pretty quickly so I'm not sure it was us. Seeing that this was how it would be, we did our own thing: I checked my emails and Fodors (when I had cell service) and wrote this installment of my report and others napped or looked out the window. In the end, all that mattered was that they transported us from point A to point B safely; it's not worth my time to think any more about it although I now know of one tour operator in Tasmania that I won't recommend.
After dinner and a good night's sleep at Cradle Mountain Lodge, we will attempt to summit Cradle Mountain weather permitting. If not we will have another chance the next day as we booked for 3 nights knowing the notorious unpredictability of the weather here.
Jan 7th, 2017, 10:48 AM
#75
Hello from snowy 20 degree DC -- see what you're missing as you are going about your boat rides and train trips in Tasmania??
Some more great ideas! We are also staying at Franklin Manor.
PS we have friends in DC who don't drive either.
Some more great ideas! We are also staying at Franklin Manor.
PS we have friends in DC who don't drive either.
Jan 8th, 2017, 04:24 AM
#76
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Yestravel, sorry about the cold and snowy weather back home. Please be safe. Glad to hear that you will be staying at the Franklin Manor; I wish your experience will be as enjoyable as ours if not more so.
Trouble on Cradle Mountain
Today was a day of great anticipation. We arranged our itinerary the way we did so that we would have the opportunity to visit Cradle Mountain and possibly summit it. For this reason we arranged 3 nights here, giving us 2 full days and 2 opportunities to climb to the top knowing the unpredictable weather.
Given the weather dependency of our time on Cradle Mountain, my first action of the day was to draw the shades and look out the window at the sky. It was drizzling at 6:00 AM but I checked the temperature and reports showed that the day would clear up by 8:30 AM. With this information, and still unclear whether today would be walking the lesser circuit or summiting, we proceed for the buffet breakfast at our hotel - the Cradle Mountain Lodge - to fuel ourselves up in case it would be a long day. We also brought enough water for the day and some snacks and candy to keep us going.
By 8:15 AM, our hotel shuttle took us to the national park's visitor center, from where we would speak with the rangers, purchase a trail map, and boarded our shuttle for Ronny Creek. The rain stopped at 7:30 AM and started again by stopped before we exited the shuttle at about 8:45 AM. At this point we were still undecided on summiting. We decided we would try to make our way to Marion's Lookout and decide whether or not we should press on. We would have had a similar opportunity at Kitchen Hut should we press that far. At either point, should we choose not to summit we could have returned from where we came or walk towards Dove Lake for the classic views and catch the shuttle back.
There are several routes that lead to the base of Cradle Mountain and we would choose the easiest one: the Overland Track. The first portion of the Overland Track would be an effortless walk, passing by Cradle Falls and Cradle Lake. The trail goes uphill and eventually reaches Marion's Lookout, which required some scrambling with chains for assistance. This portion was not particularly challenging for us except that there were high winds, which caused us to stop a few times. As soon as we reached Marion's Lookout, we were greeted with our first glimpse of Cradle Mountain before us. Boy, was it spectacular! From this point we could also see Crater Lake, Dove Lake, and a couple of smaller lakes before us.
After taking the views we decided to continue on. The summit of Cradle Mountain peaked inside and outside of the clouds but the sun was coming out, the winds died down, and it was our ideal hiking weather (65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius). The rest of the Overland Track to Kitchen Hut was just as easy. By now the sun was shining brightly and there was a gentle wind; the sky was as bright as could be. Given conditions we pressed ahead towards the summit.
The gentle slopes of the mountainside soon gave way to dolerite boulders that grew larger and larger. The climb increased in difficulty inch by inch. At about one-quarter of the way up, we were beginning to have second thoughts but decided to continue a bit further. We reached about the halfway to three-quarters point before we decided not to press ahead. It was 2:30 PM. The summit was at least an hour away at our pace if not more. We reached our physical limits. If we continued on, there was no guarantee we would reach the top and we would risk not reaching the car park before night fell. Our goals were 1) to be safe and responsible first and 2) to enjoy ourselves and take in the experience, summit or not. Mission unaccomplished we proceeded down the mountain again.
It was about 3:30 PM and we assumed we would be able to reach one of the car parks before the shuttle stopped operating at 7:00 PM. At the base of the summit trail, instead of continuing from where we started, we decided to take a different way down. We started on the Face track, which would wind across the face of Cradle Mountain. The early sections were easy but the latter portions required some scrambling, which lengthened our hiking time. Keep in mind that we had been hiking for about 8 hours at this point.
Our pace showed and we reached Lake Wilks trail, a difficult trail that connected the Face trail with the Dove Lake loop trail, by 5:30 PM. At this stage we knew we would not be able to reach the car park in time to catch the national park shuttle but were reassured that we would be able to descend in time to walk out of the park during daylight.
We'd been chatting with fellow climbers along the way and a couple visiting for the day as well as a scout leader understood our fate. They walked with us the rest of the way, for about 2 additional hours. We descended Cradle Mountain where the actual cradle sits and make our way out along the western shore of Dove Lake. This stretch was extremely pretty. We bonded very much and enjoyed one another's company all the way to the car park. In the meantime the scout leader radioed the park staff and they arranged a later shuttle to take us out of the park.
Today we were tested on the mountains and for the first time we were beaten. While this may feel disappointing - and there was some disappointment - we had a good day. In the end we saw Cradle Mountain in its full glory and we made it back safely.
We will be at Cradle Mountain for one more day tomorrow but it will be more relaxed although we do hope to partake in a couple of activities available at the resort.
Trouble on Cradle Mountain
Today was a day of great anticipation. We arranged our itinerary the way we did so that we would have the opportunity to visit Cradle Mountain and possibly summit it. For this reason we arranged 3 nights here, giving us 2 full days and 2 opportunities to climb to the top knowing the unpredictable weather.
Given the weather dependency of our time on Cradle Mountain, my first action of the day was to draw the shades and look out the window at the sky. It was drizzling at 6:00 AM but I checked the temperature and reports showed that the day would clear up by 8:30 AM. With this information, and still unclear whether today would be walking the lesser circuit or summiting, we proceed for the buffet breakfast at our hotel - the Cradle Mountain Lodge - to fuel ourselves up in case it would be a long day. We also brought enough water for the day and some snacks and candy to keep us going.
By 8:15 AM, our hotel shuttle took us to the national park's visitor center, from where we would speak with the rangers, purchase a trail map, and boarded our shuttle for Ronny Creek. The rain stopped at 7:30 AM and started again by stopped before we exited the shuttle at about 8:45 AM. At this point we were still undecided on summiting. We decided we would try to make our way to Marion's Lookout and decide whether or not we should press on. We would have had a similar opportunity at Kitchen Hut should we press that far. At either point, should we choose not to summit we could have returned from where we came or walk towards Dove Lake for the classic views and catch the shuttle back.
There are several routes that lead to the base of Cradle Mountain and we would choose the easiest one: the Overland Track. The first portion of the Overland Track would be an effortless walk, passing by Cradle Falls and Cradle Lake. The trail goes uphill and eventually reaches Marion's Lookout, which required some scrambling with chains for assistance. This portion was not particularly challenging for us except that there were high winds, which caused us to stop a few times. As soon as we reached Marion's Lookout, we were greeted with our first glimpse of Cradle Mountain before us. Boy, was it spectacular! From this point we could also see Crater Lake, Dove Lake, and a couple of smaller lakes before us.
After taking the views we decided to continue on. The summit of Cradle Mountain peaked inside and outside of the clouds but the sun was coming out, the winds died down, and it was our ideal hiking weather (65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius). The rest of the Overland Track to Kitchen Hut was just as easy. By now the sun was shining brightly and there was a gentle wind; the sky was as bright as could be. Given conditions we pressed ahead towards the summit.
The gentle slopes of the mountainside soon gave way to dolerite boulders that grew larger and larger. The climb increased in difficulty inch by inch. At about one-quarter of the way up, we were beginning to have second thoughts but decided to continue a bit further. We reached about the halfway to three-quarters point before we decided not to press ahead. It was 2:30 PM. The summit was at least an hour away at our pace if not more. We reached our physical limits. If we continued on, there was no guarantee we would reach the top and we would risk not reaching the car park before night fell. Our goals were 1) to be safe and responsible first and 2) to enjoy ourselves and take in the experience, summit or not. Mission unaccomplished we proceeded down the mountain again.
It was about 3:30 PM and we assumed we would be able to reach one of the car parks before the shuttle stopped operating at 7:00 PM. At the base of the summit trail, instead of continuing from where we started, we decided to take a different way down. We started on the Face track, which would wind across the face of Cradle Mountain. The early sections were easy but the latter portions required some scrambling, which lengthened our hiking time. Keep in mind that we had been hiking for about 8 hours at this point.
Our pace showed and we reached Lake Wilks trail, a difficult trail that connected the Face trail with the Dove Lake loop trail, by 5:30 PM. At this stage we knew we would not be able to reach the car park in time to catch the national park shuttle but were reassured that we would be able to descend in time to walk out of the park during daylight.
We'd been chatting with fellow climbers along the way and a couple visiting for the day as well as a scout leader understood our fate. They walked with us the rest of the way, for about 2 additional hours. We descended Cradle Mountain where the actual cradle sits and make our way out along the western shore of Dove Lake. This stretch was extremely pretty. We bonded very much and enjoyed one another's company all the way to the car park. In the meantime the scout leader radioed the park staff and they arranged a later shuttle to take us out of the park.
Today we were tested on the mountains and for the first time we were beaten. While this may feel disappointing - and there was some disappointment - we had a good day. In the end we saw Cradle Mountain in its full glory and we made it back safely.
We will be at Cradle Mountain for one more day tomorrow but it will be more relaxed although we do hope to partake in a couple of activities available at the resort.
Jan 8th, 2017, 06:10 AM
#77
Wow, what a day. You're tougher than I am!
On our first visit to TAS (14 years ago, yikes!) we took the Overland Track to Crater Falls, Crater Lake and up to Marion's Lookout, then returned via Wombat Pool, Lake Lilla and the Cradle Valley boardwalk.
That same afternoon, we returned to the park and walked the 6.5 km Dove Lake Circuit.
The following day hiked to the top of Hanson's Peak, which felt more like rock climbing than hiking.
We had wonderful weather, but that was plenty of hiking for me.
Glad you made it back safely.
On our first visit to TAS (14 years ago, yikes!) we took the Overland Track to Crater Falls, Crater Lake and up to Marion's Lookout, then returned via Wombat Pool, Lake Lilla and the Cradle Valley boardwalk.
That same afternoon, we returned to the park and walked the 6.5 km Dove Lake Circuit.
The following day hiked to the top of Hanson's Peak, which felt more like rock climbing than hiking.
We had wonderful weather, but that was plenty of hiking for me.
Glad you made it back safely.
Jan 9th, 2017, 12:02 AM
#79
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Melnq8, sounds like you did really well at Cradle Mountain and covered plenty of terrain. The summit hike was definitely a rock climb rather than a hike.
Yestravel, thank you. I hope that your days in Australia, which may be different, will be no less impressive. There are so many ways to enjoy the destinations we visit; it's one of the joys of travel.
Seeking Wildlife at Cradle Mountain
After a grueling day yesterday we slept in until 8:00 AM this morning (late for us) and started the day with a light breakfast at the lodge before partaking in a mid-morning horseback riding excursion booked last night.
We departed our hotel at 9:30 for a safety briefing followed by a 90-minute horseback ride through the Speeler Plain. The ride was very easy, gentle, and most relaxing. Along the way we were able to appreciate beautiful views of Cradle Mountain as well as of the surrounding area.
We followed up our ride with a visit to a wildlife park featuring Tasmanian devils. This was our first time encountering the animals and we were immediately surprised by how small they are. They looked adorable. After about an hour with them, a wombat, and some quolls, we walked back to our hotel for a light lunch and some down town in our room.
We headed back out around 4:00 PM for a gentle walk in the national park one last time, seeking wildlife and some additional glimpses of the mountain. It was another glorious day today - blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. We returned to Ronny Creek, where we followed the Overland Trail for a brief time before turning towards Lake Villa. On the Overland we came across an echidna and spent some time with it before moving on. We made our way towards Lake Villa, but not before a brief detour to Wombat Pool for some incredible views. We continued on to Dove Lake for some time along its shores before hopping on the shuttle back towards the park entrance.
We disembarked the shuttle at the ranger station and strolled back to our hotel on the Enchanted Walk through rainforest. Along the way we encountered our first and only wild wombat in Australia. Oh, and I cannot forget to mention the few wallabies that brought delight to us throughout the day. What an incredible way to end our stay at Cradle!
Tomorrow we're off to Melbourne for the final leg of our Australian adventure. Stay tuned...
Yestravel, thank you. I hope that your days in Australia, which may be different, will be no less impressive. There are so many ways to enjoy the destinations we visit; it's one of the joys of travel.
Seeking Wildlife at Cradle Mountain
After a grueling day yesterday we slept in until 8:00 AM this morning (late for us) and started the day with a light breakfast at the lodge before partaking in a mid-morning horseback riding excursion booked last night.
We departed our hotel at 9:30 for a safety briefing followed by a 90-minute horseback ride through the Speeler Plain. The ride was very easy, gentle, and most relaxing. Along the way we were able to appreciate beautiful views of Cradle Mountain as well as of the surrounding area.
We followed up our ride with a visit to a wildlife park featuring Tasmanian devils. This was our first time encountering the animals and we were immediately surprised by how small they are. They looked adorable. After about an hour with them, a wombat, and some quolls, we walked back to our hotel for a light lunch and some down town in our room.
We headed back out around 4:00 PM for a gentle walk in the national park one last time, seeking wildlife and some additional glimpses of the mountain. It was another glorious day today - blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. We returned to Ronny Creek, where we followed the Overland Trail for a brief time before turning towards Lake Villa. On the Overland we came across an echidna and spent some time with it before moving on. We made our way towards Lake Villa, but not before a brief detour to Wombat Pool for some incredible views. We continued on to Dove Lake for some time along its shores before hopping on the shuttle back towards the park entrance.
We disembarked the shuttle at the ranger station and strolled back to our hotel on the Enchanted Walk through rainforest. Along the way we encountered our first and only wild wombat in Australia. Oh, and I cannot forget to mention the few wallabies that brought delight to us throughout the day. What an incredible way to end our stay at Cradle!
Tomorrow we're off to Melbourne for the final leg of our Australian adventure. Stay tuned...
