Day 1 at Cradle Mountain

Morning broke and it was very overcast, and we both felt like that too – I don’t know why but I seemed to have had a relapse and Gran is still fighting her bout of Covid.
We took our time doing the morning chores and decided we would do what we could and see. We bought some chocolate bars for sustenance and waited for the bus. All parts of the Cradle Mountain in the National Park are controlled and very few vehicles are allowed in. Transport to and from tracks is by bus. It is a very efficient service with buses all the time going down to the Dove Lake (the end of the road) and back to the bus centre at the info offices.
We had decided to start at a place called Ronny’s Creek and we’d walk to Dove Lake and if we felt ok, do a some of the Dove Lake trail (it goes around the lake parameter 2-3 hr walk).
Our walk started out on a board walk that sat above marshy, and/or bushy open ground. This was Wombat territory, and this was something Robyn in particular wanted to see. The going was easy, and we could see the Wombat droppings everywhere and, on the boardwalk, too – but not a sighting – so disappointing. Then about half way along our trail the track changed to stones and rocks and began to climb - not what we had expected. The surroundings changed to gums and bush.
The scenery was fantastic, and the cloud began to break up and we had some warm sunlight. Parts of the trail were similar to our climb up to the Wineglass Bay viewing platform. It was in this area that a number of trails joined and we saw lots of people young and old tramping like us.
We got to Dove Lake and sat in the sun and had some more water and a chocolate bar. We had a good rest and decided that was enough for the day and lined up for the bus.
Back at the Info centre we thought we grab a snack for lunch and some coffee – the coffee was okay but the toasted croissants we had were not great.
Back to our van we rested up which included periods of sitting in the sun or on the bed. We agreed that we hadn’t done the walk that we intended, but that we had enjoyed our experience today – this is an amazing part of Tasmania, well the world really and we had a taste of it. Perhaps tomorrow we can try some other shorter trails if we feel up to it.
I processed my photos and Gran read.
The weather is packing up for the next 2 or 3 days – tomorrow is a new day and we see what it brings.Read more