Hiking Cradle Mountain

January 14
It was a cold night....sleeping bag and a blanket kept me warm. A quick breakfast then off to the visitors centre. Got some information, paid my park fee, and headed off to get the shuttle.

Located at the northern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Cradle Mountain is one of Tasmania's most visited natural attraction. Part of the Tasmanian World Heritage Wilderness Area, the landscape is diverse and includes grassland, rainforest and ancient plants. The park also provides a great habitat for wildlife, including Tasmanian devils, wombats, platypus...just to name a few.

I decided that I would do a 3 hour hike to Marions Lookout. It was an easy hike. I met this lovely young lady from China, April Chen Chen. She wasn’t prepared for hiking at all. She had her purse across her shoulder and some snacks in a plastic bag. I hiked with her for a bit.

I had a chuckle as April Chen Chen told me that I’m doing pretty good for a woman my age. Her parents are the same age and they would never do the things I do.

I met a few people on the track and they asked if I was going to the summit of Cradle Mountain. So.... with that idea in my head, I decided that I could do it..when researching it I thought it would be a great bucket list thing! Instead of going back down the track I just came from, I kept going. I got about one-third if the way and decided that it was way too challenging for me. I headed back down, only to meet April Chen Chen coming up. I told her that it was a very challenging track and if she has never done any hiking before she should really reconsider the summit. I told her she was welcome to join me. She decided that it was a good idea. So off we went!

We hiked along the base of Cradle Mountain and then down past Lake Wilks down to Dove Lake. It was a gruelling hike....climbing up and down boulders, balancing in rocks as we crossed water creeks, holding on to chain rails as we climbed down rocks. I actually climbed down backwards at some points cause the view just made my stummy turn.

So what started out as a 3 hour hike turned out to be a 6 hour hikes. There weee many times I felt like Maria from the Sound of Music when she crossed the Alps. The scenery was amazing. Every time I looked at Cradle Mountain I just wanted to take one more picture.

I was told the critters come out as the evening approaches. I met April Chen Chen at the Visitors Centre to do a short evening stroll to see if we can see any of them. We were able to see a few wombats and echindnas (porcupines).

Brad and I have been using our iPhones to see how many steps we take a day. This is what I walked today.....

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