West Tassie - Cradle Mountain — My Travelling Soul

Having completed the east coast of Tassie with Freycinet and the Falls @ Marion Bay, come new years day we had to be up and ready to leave. Now if you've been to a festival you know how hard this can be on any give night but especially on new years, I mean we were up till at least 4am, which was when I looked at the watch last, and so besides the fact that we may still have alcohol in our systems, we were super hungover and exhausted.

Getting packed, ready everything was hard and then, since only 2 of us could drive, we made our way to get breathalysed and guess what I was the lucky one that was clean and able to drive! So reluctantly we made our way out, taking over an hour to just get out of the festival. 2 hours more of driving and I was ready to take a nap and switch drivers.

We had to of course pick the longest day of driving to be new years day and so with some more stops along the way, we drove through some spectacular terrain. It felt like we were in a rain forest suddenly, lush green tress surrounding both sides of the road. We stopped at one of the numerous lakes and then at Tasmania Hydro plant, which i had no idea generated so much energy and was quite a massive industrial site to see.

One of the largest man made lakes in Tassie

We then had a few looks outs to see what was once the great mining city of Tasmania and we made our way to our little West Coast B&B in Queenstown. It was so cute, with a fireplace, 5 bedrooms, massive kitchen and what we wanted most, great showers! And so after 3 nights of sleeping in a campsite and no showers we felt so spoilt and happy to be here.

Ignoring the fact that we were to spend the next three days camping again, we reluctantly left our humble abode to make our way to Cradle Mountain. Breakfast was in the cute town of Strahan, we did a short walk to the waterfalls and tried to go further out west but that didn't go to well and I can recommend skipping it even though it was the first time I drove on a beach :)

Driving through to see Ocean Beach - the longest beach in Tasmania and then to the Sand Dunes along the way to Zeehan and then right on to find our Discovery Holiday Parks in Cradle. By now I was a bit over the whole camping side of things but luckily this campsite was fully equipped and had some of the best facilities and so that was a saving grace.

Now Cradle Mountain, where do I begin. Our first day there was really hot, sun shining and UV was 12 which for Aussie is ridiculous and so we had to be very careful. Making our way by noon (yes we had a lazy morning) to the information centre (only a 10min walk from the campsite) we got our maps for all the different trails available. Due to the weather we decided to start with the most popular and spectacular walk around Dove Lake. The views are absolutely stunning.

We regretted not bringing along our swimmers as the water was so appealing on such a hot day. Half way across the lake there is a detour to go up towards a smaller lake and it looks fairly achievable as the Dove lake is mostly flat and so we wanted something a bit more challenging. We managed to get up there in about 25 mins and wow, this lake was right underneath the mountain. With a lot less people on this track we decided to take the plunge, stripping down to our bare essentials we were in the water, which definitely was freezing. But it was such an amazing experience and we were so glad we did it. Clearly not having thought this through we had to nicely keep our inner out to dry and wait for a bit before making our way back down. It sure was a great detour.

And that was day 1, we has some steak and wine for dinner, played a few card games and decided to sleep early as we really wanted to do a few more hikes on our last day there. So bright and early we were ready but overnight, with the most ridiculously heavy rainfall, it was 10 degrees cooler and very fresh. So having to swap attire to be warm in the cold we bought some leggings and decided to hit the Cradle Mountain Summit walk which is a proper full days walk starting at Ronney Creek and walking across Crater Lake, to Marion's Lookout. The view was gorgeous. Going any further and we would be hitting the summit. I was so unsure if I could make the hike but I definitely wanted to get to the foot at least.

Once there it just felt like a shame if I didn't give the climb a go and so without committing before hand to completing the hike up this 5,069 ft high mountain, we began our hike. This was definitely one of the most challenging hikes I have ever done since I was completely unprepared and my fitness level wasn't at its best. Slowing down my lovely patient friend at times, we managed to keep going. Now when you look at it you think ok just gotta get past the first bit, but no there was so much more hiding on the other side. Once you get past the first peak there is another dip and another peak you have you make your way through, which certainly was the toughest part of the climb.

But wow, once you get there, it is something else altogether. Apart from the obvious feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction, the view is just breathtaking. 360 degrees of expansive mountains, lakes, and nature. There we could see the World Heritage listed site in all its glory, there at the top of Cradle Mountain, I felt like if I did this I could do anything. And suddenly my big move to the UK didn't seem so daunting anymore. I could do it. With a much deserved break at the top, we filled our bellies with granola bars and tuna cans and prepared ourselves for our way back down.

Now after that epic 7.5 hours all day hike we were set to hit the buffet at one of the hotels along there and boy have I ever done such justice to a meal, it was the best!

So there you have it, Tasmania in two posts. And for any Aussie who hasn't been there you must, its a beautiful state.