6th Light - Cradle Mountain
We started early again today and beat the sun by 2 hours, and after breakfast and a shower walked an easy 800 metres to the Cradle Mountain visitor centre. The National Park is a pristine ecological environment and as a means of maintaining this, no private car entry is allowed beyond this point. Instead, the PWS run regular shuttle buses up the mountain and we were on the first seat of the first bus ready for our days adventure.
There are a dozen walking tracks zigzagging the park ranging from multi day transversals to wheelchair friendly strolls. We selected something in the middle. The Dove Lake circuit loop covering 6 kms with an estimated duration of 2-3 hours.
Not 400 metres from the bus drop off zone, we had the tripods out and cameras clicking. Given our history of covering small distances, we knew we would be in for a long day. The route is a combination of gravelled paths, elevated boardwalks and mostly gentle stairs in places. It is an easy walk and anyone with limited experience, but some common sense, can navigate the circuit unchallenged.
The dominant feature of not only this walk, but the entire region is Cradle Mountain. First explored by Europeans in 1827, this four summit outcrop rises 1,545 metres above sea level and is the remains of igneous dolerite after glacial erosion. The mountain itself is named after its resemblance to a gold mining cradle, however little evidence survives of the early European activities of hunting, surveying, mining and logging, though several of the present-day walking trails were blazed for these purposes.
Dove Lake like many others in the region is a classic cirque lake formed by glaciation. When glacial snow and ice gouged out a crater-like hollow, the subsequent melting filled the void creating the lake.
Around its perimeter we experienced alpine vegetation, sub tropical plants, and everything from grasslands through to temperate rainforest. Tasmania contains some of the largest tracts of cool temperate rainforest which occur in places of high rainfall and low risk of bushfire. Here some trees and plants, found nowhere else in the world, have evolved over 60 million years from the ancient Gondwanan land mass. It seemed after every bend another hidden world would open up for us to explore. The weather too changed as frequently. Cold biting winds to the north, bright sunshine on the east. We even caught rain as we rounded the base of the mountain. Regardless of conditions, there was not a single sector of this loop that simply wasn’t breathtaking.
At times small paths lead down to the waters edge, and others that climbed the mountain peaks even further. There are 2 main lookouts offering unique views for the fitter among us, but each are much longer and harder to access. Perhaps another visit - and a little less grog - will see us take on those summits.
Ballroom Forest
Our last stop along the loop was the iconic boat shed tucked away in the north western corner of the lake. Built in 1940 from local endemic pine by Lionel Connell, the first Ranger to be stationed at Cradle Mountain, the crystal clear water and collection of various rocks frame perfectly with the mountains’ “cradle” in the distance, making it now one of Australia’s most instagramable locations.
The Boat House, Dove Lake
We finished the walk in a little under 5 hours and took over 600 photos. Our problem was two fold. After taking what we thought was the best photo possible, we would walk around the next bend to find another sight deserving our attention. Add then the extra time we took for ourselves at each location to simply soak in the wonderment, and time quickly got away from us. In the end we covered 11 kms and 15,000 steps. We returned to camp after purchasing a few local meat pies and scoffed them silly before taking a little afternoon nap. After all, we thought we deserved it.
We both fell completely and utterly in love with Cradle Mountain and realise now why many people rave about its beauty and “must see” inclusion in any Tasmanian holiday. We actually felt a little guilty that night, perhaps disappointed, we didn’t attempt another walk later in the afternoon. But in truth, we were stuffed and more than content with our achievements and what we saw. If we could change anything, it would be to include at least another day, or better even, two more in the region.