Tasmania Day 12: Cradle Mountain

Today was a MASSIVE day and another pretty special one.

We’d talked about having breakfast down at Dove Lake in time for sunrise, but everyone was up early enough to have breakfast and get ready before leaving at 7.30. It was foggy at the caravan park and about half way down to the lake we came out of the fog to a clear morning. We excitedly waited for our first view of Cradle Mountain – and except for the very summit on the right hand side it was free of cloud. There were only 2 other cars at the lake before us and it was about 10 minutes until sunrise. I sat down on some rocks at the edge of the lake and watched the tips and then the face of the mountain slowly light up. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful and as good as I had been imagining it might be. I felt like it didn’t matter what happened for the rest of the day, I was completely happy. The kids played near the edge of the lake and then we sorted out warm gear enough to go for another walk.

Sunrise on Cradle Mountain

Caitlin was great at making sure there were some photos of me in places I enjoyed

Tony had originally hoped that if we had a clear day we might attempt to make it up to Marion’s Lookout, which gives the most magnificent views of the lake, mountain and everything in the whole area. Its quite a climb though and after the Dove Lake Circuit yesterday we thought it would be too much for the kids. Liam  and Millie both get quite tired when walking – Millie can go in the carrier but Liam has fewer options and can become quite discouraged and lose interest in his surroundings. We decided to start with a short walk which could then be extended a few times depending on how everyone was travelling.

Our first destination was Lake Lilla, which sits just near Dove Lake but at a much lower altitude. Millie hopped in the carrier on my back and we set off through more beautiful forest and down along the side of Lake Lilla. When we reached it we found the path went over a cascading waterfall. The kids played on the rocks around the cascades and I even went down onto them so Millie could touch the water. Looking back towards the lake we could still see Cradle Mountain towering above the ridge beyond the lake. In fact I’d been thinking we wouldn’t see the mountain much on this walk but it was hardly ever out of sight.

Lake Lilla with Marions Lookout (the highest peak in this photo) and Cradle Mountain in the background

Everyone was feeling pretty good so we continued on to Wombat Pool, up a very long stretch of stairs. At the top of the stairs we had a view of the two lakes, looking like Dove Lake was hovering above the other, it was quite incredible. Down the other side of the ridge to Wombat Pool, where the kids climbed a tree and we had a bit of a snack.  Liam had had enough by this stage while Caitlin, Tony and I felt like we could go further. We decided that Tony and Caitlin would keep going and at least reach Wombat Peak, further if they felt like it, and I’d take the other two back to Dove Lake and we’d play at the Boat Shed until the others returned.

Dove Lake with Lake Lilla below it

Tony, Liam and Caitlin at Wombat Pool

We split up our supplies and went in our two different directions. As we climbed up from the pool we saw Tony and Caitlin climbing on the other side and reaching a couple of fantastic lookouts. We slowly made our way back, investigating trees and rocks and views as we went. When we reached the Boat Shed we could see people way up on top of Marions Lookout and wondered if the others had made it that far. Liam and Millie played in the edge of the lake and the rocks on the shore and explored around the Boat Shed and I took photos of the reflections in the lake and chatted to other walkers and we all played hide-and-seek.

Liam jumping off a rock on the track to Lake Lilla

Boat Shed and Cradle Mountain

Liam and Millie at the Boat Shed

After about 45 minutes, Tony and Caitlin arrived from the opposite direction than I’d been expecting. They had climbed up to Marions Lookout and come down the steeper path to join on to the Dove Lake Circuit. They were both pretty pumped and I was so excited that they’d made it! Caitlin had been wishing that we could get right over to Cradle Mountain and this was a satisfying enough substitute.

We went back around to the path down from the carpark (which was now full of cars) and I took more photos, we played along the edge of the lake there, Caitlin, Liam and I trekked along the shore to some rocks I’d been wanting to take photos of (it was a muddy track and we nearly got our boots stuck) then we set up on a big rock just of the path to have some lunch. While we were hanging out there in the sun the clouds finally lifted completely off the summit of Cradle Mountain and we had a completely clear view of it. With Dove Lake reflecting the blue sky it was one of the most beautiful and inspiring views I’ve seen. We took a long time over lunch, Tony and I could have sat there all day enjoying the view. It was a very peaceful and restful hour or so.

Lunch at Dove Lake with view of Cradle Mountain

Finally a view of the mountain with no clouds on the peak

Eventually we left Dove Lake (around 1.30pm) and drove back to the Interpretation Centre, which had information and displays on the geography, history, plant and animal life of the Cradle Mountain area. We played and read and watched a video and pored over the 3D map of the area. Once we’d had our fill of the Centre, we headed out to do the Enchanted Forest walk – a short walk either side of a river, with waterfalls, mossy trees and logs, fungi. There were 3 man made tunnels for the kids to climb through, which were painted inside with scenes of animals and plants of the area, along with the names of all the animals.

The Enchanted Forest

From here we quickly popped down to Pencil Pines Falls which was a 1 minute walk from the carpark. They were pretty and a nice finish to our walk. By this stage the kids (Caitlin in particular) were completely exhausted. I dropped everyone back at the cabin and then went back out to do a little bit of gift shopping – and saw 2 more wombats on the way.

At 5pm we headed out again to go to the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary just down the road, to see a night time feeding. The guy doing the presentation really knew his stuff about Tasmanian Devils – it was different to other animal tours I’ve done, he wasn’t all bubbly and entertaining, he was there to share information about Tasmanian Devils and the risks to their survival. I learnt heaps. We were able to pat a Devil, and then watch them feeding in groups which was much more exciting than the individual Devil we’d seen fed earlier in our trip. We also saw quolls being fed – I think quolls are my new favourite animal.

3 Tasmanian Devils feeding

We arrived back at the cabin and watched TV, ate a very late dinner, and went to bed as soon as we could!

Tasmania Day 11: Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain is one of my favourite places in the world so today was pretty exciting and special.

The morning was spent sorting out our clothes washing – there was a problem with the machine I used last night and my clothes were still stuck in there this morning, 2 maintenance guys worked on it for a while and eventually we were able to transfer my clothes to the other washing machine and get some clean clothes. The kids watched TV and did puzzles while that was all being sorted out, and it was raining quite consistently so we didn’t feel like we were missing out on the scenery too much.

By late morning though I was ready to go. I convinced everyone else to catch the Shuttle Bus down to Dove Lake as it isn’t far for us to walk to the Visitor Centre where it leaves, and the National Parks literature all recommends catching the bus. The information I had said the bus goes every 10-12 minutes, however when we arrived the guy said every half an hour and we’d just missed one.  We explored the Visitor Centre for a while, then when he said the driver was having a lunch break so it would be 10 minutes later, we bought some ice creams to pass the time. Of course the bus came before the 2 youngest kids had finished their ice creams and the driver said he’d wait for them to finish but everyone was impatient to get going so I put the ice creams in a bag and they kind of survived the journey but the kids weren’t very happy. (OK it doesn’t sound like a very special day so far but it does get better).

Seeing Cradle Mountain again was very exciting, it was still quite cloudy and the peak wasn’t visible, but the lower horn was popping in and out of sight as the clouds moved.

Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake. Glacier Rock (where we had lunch) is at the middle left of the photo

We set off on the Dove Lake Circuit. Millie was happy to walk on her own, Liam ran ahead and we made our way to Glacier Rock, where we sat in the drizzly rain and had a bit of lunch. I’d seen people standing there as we approached and it looked quite scary – it’s a large roundish rock rising up from the lake – it has a beautiful view and it feels quite exhilarating to be on, I was rather nervous when the kids were moving around on it but we asked them to stay at the back so it was quite safe. Millie walked on her own a bit further and then asked to go in the carrier on my back, she fairly quickly fell asleep. We walked along boardwalks and well made tracks, with varying views of Cradle Mountain and the cloud hiding it then revealing parts of the mountain in quick succession. A little beach off the main track provided great views and some enticing trees to climb. We could have stayed there a lot longer except that we knew we needed to be back in time for the last bus and there was still a long way to walk. The track wound through mossy forests with a huge variety of trees, sometimes through more open land covered in button grass, sometimes through eucalyptus, fagus, king billy pines, pandanis. 

Mossy forest

Having Millie asleep meant we made much quicker time, the other 2 kids walked really well. We even saw a wombat just off





the track at the far end of the lake, at the base of Cradle Mountain. Despite seeing so many at the 1^st place we stayed, this wombat was extra exciting and special as he was truly in the wild, not part of a large free-range sanctuary. He munched his grass unconcerned by the crowd of spectators (us and another group of walkers) trying to get a good photo. We crossed some pretty creeks and walked through an amazing area called the Ballroom Forest – a magical, mossy, spacious and breathtaking stretch of forest. 

Caitlin in the Ballroom Forest

Millie was awake by now, and luckily happy to stay on my back (although there was a very long stretch of stairs at one point which was harder work with a 13kg load – it was much smoother going though with her there, able to see everything and comment on it, without having to navigate it herself). We played a little at the boat house, Millie got out of the sling and played as well, then walked for a little while, and then we finally made it back to the carpark – it was listed as a 2 hour walk and it took us 3 ¾ hours – probably the longest walk our kids have done, and we were impressed with how well they handled it, even when they got tired or had a fall.

Family in front of Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain and mist. It was drizzling on and off all the way around the lake

It was all so beautiful and peaceful and I loved every minute of it – so great when something I’ve been looking forward to so much actually works out as well (better actually) than I’d hoped. I took quite a lot of photos (I imagine no one is surprised) and will remember this walk as a highlight of this trip and one of the top walks I’ve done. We didn’t quite ever get a clear view of Cradle Mountain but I got plenty of partial shots and we’re hopeful of getting a clear view tomorrow or Thursday.

Cradle Mountain and (faint) rainbow

We were all quite weary by the end of the walk, very pleased to get on the shuttle bus when it arrived – last bus of the day and it was very crowded, Millie sat on my lap so that everyone could fit on – and then walked back up to our cabin (stopping to buy more ice creams to make up for the melted ones earlier on). We’ve had a beautifully relaxing evening in the cabin tonight – some puzzles, some tv, some crochet, some games which involve a lot of noise and jumping and laughing, some experimenting with dropping lollies into lemonade and observing bubbles and colour changes etc – and now we’re all ready for bed.

Tasmania Day 3 - Kelso

Today it really felt like we were on holidays. Yesterday was a lovely day but it didn’t feel like anything different to things we could have done from home (except perhaps for seeing the wild animals wandering about – although we do get kangaroos at home quite often so even that wasn’t completely new, just different (and much cooler) animals).

Anyway, today felt more special. We were up and out again early (for us) – walked down to the river at sunrise, all the animals had gone to bed so we had the place to ourselves. We pottered around in the cabin for a while then  Tony went for a drive to see some local wineries and Caitlin and I took our porridge down to the jumping pillow and sat in the sun to eat a late breakfast. When I was jumping on the pillow afterwards, I noticed that the tide had gone out and there was a large expanse of mudflat beyond what last night had been the beach. So we got ready to check it out – the kids figured swimmers were appropriate wear, and seeing as Liam went through 2 sets of clothes and shoes yesterday by going in the water, I figured that if they didn’t feel too cold then swimmers were a good idea. (I went fully dressed)  While I was getting ready the kids had gone back to the jumping pillow, and Millie had tried to come back to the cabin – she couldn’t find it, but then couldn’t find her way back to the others – I found her crying behind a caravan. She settled down quickly once I found her, then she wanted me to carry her the whole way, and I was quickly wishing I had a carrier with me – although it was lovely having a cuddle while we walked.

looking back to shore from the edge of the river

The mudflats were very cool – lots of ridges in the sand, lots of mud crabs and some sort of red crab that walks forwards (the kids said it was a soldier crab), and lots of creatures with conical shells on their back. It was a long walk out to the edge of the river and the water was quite cold, it was all fascinating  and I heard Liam at one point calling out ‘This is wonderful!!!’

Back to the cabin for a bit of lunch, and Tony returned. After a rest he and the kids played with the football then we drove about 10 minutes further north to Narawntapu National Park (and realised when we arrived that I’d left the National Parks Pass in the cabin – we decided to leave a note on the dashboard explaining that we did have a pass, and hope that either no one would check it or the note would be enough. Turns out no one checked so it was fine) We walked up to the lookout on West Head which had a magnificent view west along the beach and I think as far as Devonport.. I would have liked to continue the walk around the headland, but the kids were keen to get down to the beach so we went that way. Tony and the big kids went ahead and Millie and I were a bit slower. There was a long walk along the base of a hill, over rocks, which always slows me down. Millie was finding it hard too so I put her on my back in my new carrier, a Kinderpack, and it was comfortable and secure so I didn’t feel any more nervous walking over the uneven terrain even with the extra weight. Very excited to have this carrier! It looked  like the tide was coming in so I moved our bag and the shoes from where the others had left them – the waves were already lapping at that rock. I kept stopping to take photos which was frustrating Millie, she wanted to catch up to the others, so we walked along the beach until we reached Tony, then Millie hopped down and played in the sand with him. Caitlin and I found some animal tracks, and Liam showed me a big symbolic drawing of our family he’d done in the sand. Then they took me to part of the sand dunes where they’d found a place to slide down, so we all climbed to the top and the kids did some sliding. We watched the sunset over the water which was beautiful, then made our way back to the car.

This evening we cooked and ate dinner, and watched a much anticipated episode of ‘House Rules’ (we were just lucky that it was on tonight while we still had access to a TV). The big kids and Tony went for a late night walk to see more wombats and potaroos (the potaroos are surrounding our cabin tonight, every time we open the door 5 or 6 of them hop away) and now they are reading Anne of Green Gables.

Tomorrow we go to our alpine cabin in Mt Field National Park where we won’t have any electricity so I probably won’t be updating for a few days, until we get to Hobart on Friday. I’m glad we decided to go to Mt Field from here – because it’s the bit that needs the most planning and organizing I feel like my mind is always half on that part of the trip even while I’ve been enjoying this bit - it will feel good to get there and really enjoy it then move on to the other places with it out of the way.We’ll do a bit more shopping tomorrow and hopefully have enough food, equipment and entertainment to keep everyone happy. Its forecast to snow on Thursday night so very much hoping that it does (but not so much that its too hard to drive out on Friday morning!) and also very very much hoping that we see a Tasmanian Devil while we are there.