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Published: March 9th 2009
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After 90-95 degree in the Whitsundays, we were in for a surprise when we landed in Tasmania. Wearing shorts, tanks, and flip-flops, we were met in Launceston by 60 degree temperatures! Launceston is in Northern Tasmania, about 3 hours north of Hobart (the biggest city).
We arrived late to Tasmania, and after 5 nights on a boat, we were all excited to have a good night sleep in a stationary bed. Getting up bright and early the next morning, we set out on our drive west out to Cradle Mountain National Park. From what we saw, Tasmania is mostly countryside. We didn't make it down the eastern coast or to Hobart, but the north and west of Tasmania is full of beautiful expansive landscapes. From Launceston we drove west and stopped first in Sheffield. Sheffield is called 'the town of murals' by the locals, and a majority of its main-street villages are painted with pretty detailed murals of landscapes and other random pictures. The town itself is very small, with a bunch of little coffee shops and a great antique/thrift store. Mt. Claude stands just beyond the town an makes for a great backdrop.
From Sheffield we kept driving
west through more countryside and up into the hills. Cradle Mountain National Park is about 3 hours west of Launceston, and was our base for the next 4 days. The landscape changes dramatically over the 3 hour drive - from farmland and cows in Launceston through thick forest and then on to craggy mountainous terrain. The weather also changed almost immediately as we drove higher into the mountains. What was sunny and 70 in Launceston, became chilly and rainy in Cradle Mountain. Over the next 4 days we experience the most bizarre and quick changing weather patterns we have ever seen. It would be sunny and 60 for about 20 minutes, and then a strong wind would blow through a snow and hail storm, which would turn to rain, and then back to sun. The weather was impressive and unpredictable, and according to the residents, made our holiday truly 'authentic'.
We made sure not to let the crazy weather get us down, and we spent the 4 days taking numerous walks around the park to see the scenery and amazing wildlife. The lodge we stayed at had numerous boardwalks on its property, where you could take short strolls and
spot tons of wildlife. Just a short walk from the lodge was the entrance to the National Park, where we took the bus down to Dove Lake. Dove Lake was the largest lake near us, and the start of most hikes. The scenery was truly spectacular, and we experienced in all seasons - through sun, rain, hail, and even snow!
Wombats, Wallabies, and Paddymelons are frequently seen roaming around the lodge and all through the park - you don't have to go very far to spot one of these critters, especially if you are out walking in the late afternoon or at dusk. In addition to these friendly animals, we also had enough luck to spot some of the shyer species - we saw several juvenile Tasmanian Devils in the parking lot outside the lodge, and also found a cute little Echidna crossing the road (thankfully we didn't hit him!). The only animal we didn't see was the platypus, which is very elusive and shy, so that was no surprise.
On a particularly snowy day (January 2nd), we decided to take a trip out of the park and drive to the coast. We drove west out of Cradle
Mountain and south down to Strahan, a small fishing village on the western coast. If you have town, you can take a river cruise from Strahan into the Lake St-Clair National Park, but unfortunately it didn't fit with our schedule. After a coffee and stroll through Strahan, we kept on the road towards Queenstown. Queenstown is an old mining town, and doesn’t have much to it. It was a struggle to even find a decent lunch! Although the town didn't have much to offer, the scenery on the west is beautiful.
Back to Cradle Mountain, Matt and Greg decided to take one last hike and summit Cradle Mountain. They took off at 5pm to try and make it to the top before dark, and almost did, had the weather not turned to snow. Unfortunately they only made it to the final climb (about 300m from the top), and had to turn back because of the lack of visibility. I guess we’ll just have to go back to try it again!
Our 4 days in Tasmania wrapped up the Barnes family vacation and was a great way to ring in the New Year. We celebrated in the Lodge’s restaurant
with a great dinner, and then onto the ‘tavern’ with some hats and party poppers to celebrate midnight. From tropical reefs to snowy mountains, we saw a huge variety of Australian landscape and wildlife in just two weeks!
Enjoy the photos!
Your favourite Bloggers,
Matt and Heidi
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