Tasmanian Travels 3/4: Home Base, Cradle Mountain

If you have not read the first two Tassie Travel blogs check them out here: https://drofwhat.com/2017/02/25/tasmanian-travels-24-home-base-swansea/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true & https://drofwhat.com/2017/02/18/tasmanian-travels-14-home-base-hobart/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true

Also the first vlog is also now up: https://drofwhat.com/2017/03/05/vlog-tassie-travels-home-base-hobart/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true

Cradle Mountain: Cradle Mountain is one of those ‘Bucket List Destinations’. It is like nothing else, completely wild and stunning. When I was little I loved everything about fairies, and I had a vivid imagination, so I would always dream of green forests, with trickling creeks, moss covered trees, mushrooms, and animal life everywhere. Cradle Mountain is the closest I have come to walking through my dreams.

However, it was very cold, even though we were then in summer, it snowed on the mountain the day before we got there. I love the cold so was in my element but if you are visiting ensure you have packed some warm gear.

Tazmazia and the village of lower crack pot- This is the largest outdoor maze complex in the world and it was a weird and wonderful experience. I have noticed that many Tasmanians have a great sense of humour and the creator of this place was no exception. The mazes were filled with funny (and sometimes crude) quotes, and the villages of tiny houses and country embassies made me giggle! It was a fun couple of hours, and I am sure younger children would particularly enjoy it. We were lucky enough to escape the ‘confusion maze’ just before it started to hail (I told you it was cold!).

Dove Lake- Dove Lake is the ‘main part’ of Cradle Mountain. After a little confusion of how to actually get to Dove Lake, as the boom gates were down and there was no one at the entrance we finally discovered you have to catch a little shuttle bus up to the carpark. There are many walking tracks all around Cradle Mountain, varying in difficulty and length (the 4-5 day Overland trek also leaves from here!). We choose to tackle the Dove Lake circuit which is a 1-2 hour easy hike around the entire lack. It was truly beautiful- a huge lake, waterfalls, dense rainforest, and towering mountains.

Canyoning- Canyoning is kind of like white water rafting without the raft. It is just you  (in many layers of wetsuits and a life jacket) floating down the river, jumping off rocks (also jumping of water falls and abseiling if you do a full day tour, we only did a half day). This was one of the best things I have done. It was so much fun and something you cannot do many places in the world. The water was freezing cold, but I forgot about that as soon as I start floating with the rapids and jumping off three metre high rocks. I would recommend anyone who enjoys water activities and adventures to put this on their bucketlist. The full day tour is now definitely on mine.  See http://www.cradlemountaincanyons.com.au/  for more information.

Devils @ Cradle- Devils @ Cradle is a Tasmanian Devil (and Quoll) sanctuary which focuses on breeding and releasing these endangered species. We did the after hours feeding tour where we learnt about the threats to these animals and then watched them feeding. The enclosures were wonderful and the work they do to protect these animals is exceptional. A must see when up on the mountain.

Stay tuned for the last installed of the Tassie Travel Blogs & more Vlogs!