Blogs from Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, Australia, Oceania

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Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain February 21st 2021

Another early morning, as we had to drive into Queenstown to board the West Coast Wilderness Railway, which was scheduled to leave at 9am. We headed out on the road at 7-15am. The sun was just coming up and we had to drive straight into it, but the trip was uneventful and took about 40 minutes. We found a park and walked across to the station where we quickly were given our tickets and then made our way to Tracks Café for a coffee. We were told we were in the Heritage carriage, which was the premium one, so we looked forward to a great trip. We boarded at 8-45am and were greeted with a glass of bubbly from our hostess, Brooke. The carriage soon filled up with 16 of us altogether. There was also several ... read more
Enjoying our complimentary bubbly
Good Bubbly
Inside our carriage

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain January 1st 2021

img=https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/hqSCs7SlwV5P7ui2G1Yg0kuzBK-QcaFmm7OZKAWvbEmb5h9T4TkAt3CifITfcquREN-PPwKcd4inOYV1djl493SJqxfHwN22QcvYQc8HGOmVSv_bvf4oBLLs0kIPucjmdMm34-3k Tasmania has so much to offer. There is plenty of places to explore along its eastern coastline and plenty of things to do around Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Claire. For those who choose to camp their way around (instead of taking in any of the states beautiful Bed and Breakfast, cabin or hotel accommodation), you will need to be prepared. Every camping or hiking trip will have its own list of essentials. While the size, style, and condition of those essentials will vary, the list itself is non-negotiable. If you are new to hiking and looking for a simple and straightforward guide on essentials for typical weather conditions in Tas... read more

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain April 14th 2018

It has been a dreary old day up here in Cradle Mountain, with the weather keeping us from doing a lot of things. We had a 7am start as breakfast isn’t ready until 8 here, so there was no point in being ready early with nothing to do an nowhere to go. It had rained for the majority of the night, and being beneath a tin roof made for a restless and unpleasant night’s sleep. Breakfast was quite nice with an assortment of cooked food and continental, and as it’s a small place, we saw almost everyone we saw at dinner the night before. Here, faces begin to become familiar. After breakfast, we headed out to our first stop, which was going to be Tasmazia – at the time of being built in the 1980s, it ... read more
Jokes galore
One of many jokes in the maze
which direction do we go

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain November 12th 2017

Got Cradle Mountain and paid $60 for a 2 month tourist pass to all the parks in Tassie. This includes free parking and shuttle busses. Left the car pal at Dove lake at 1130 and trogged up to Marion’s lookout then up to a snow patch for luncH. Back down via “Wombat poo”. Went to the town pub for dinner and had a 300gm steak. Back to our lodgings to phon ethe guys at Horse Guards to wish them well. Weather today about 15 - 18c on the walk which was just over 5 miles and up to about 1242 m. An enjoyable walk with great views. Even got to see 2 wild echinoderm and 2 wombats. Still no hordes of kangaroos but we are not out and about at the right time between dusk and ... read more
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Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain April 26th 2017

I have always found crossing the equator to the southern hemisphere quite fascinating. So far, I have been to Kenya, Peru and Australia. Kenya is pretty much on the equator and does not really have the kind of seasonal differences that make life in southern hemisphere different. My previous trip to Australia primarily centered around Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. In the middle of 2016, I made a trip with my family to Tasmania which is by far, the southernmost part of earth I have been in all my life. Our initial itinerary included two weeks in New Zealand as well. That would have meant going further down south. But that was not to be. Perhaps some other time. Part of the reason I wanted to make this trip to Tasmania were because of some amazing pictures ... read more
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Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain February 19th 2017

It didn't matter which weather report you tuned into, if it was mainland Australia there was one common denominator. They were frying. Hometown Sydney in particular seemed to be ever inching closer to the sun, record temperatures nudging the mid forties. SUFFER! At the same time, under the same national flag, we were piling on the layers to quarantine ourselves from biting winds and mercury struggling to hit double figures. Rain swept in sheets at 10 minute intervals and snow sprinkled the peaks of mountains. One morning low cloud hanging around head height was the sort of stuff that justifies lighthouses and where you might expect Jack the Ripper to come skulking out of. And this is summer. Tasmania may be part of our Great Southern Land but crossing that latitudinal line over Bass Strait can ... read more
Evandale just out of Launceston
Cradle Mountain
Cradle Mountain

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain January 31st 2017

Our last day at Cradle Mountain National Park. We had high hopes for the day and really wanted to go to Hanson's Peak and Lake Rodway.However, when we took the shuttle bus down to Dove Lake the weather was really crappy, so we just decided to do the Dove Lake Circuit instead. Doing a longer hike, which was on a steep uphill slope in the rain did not appeal and we thought it could be a little dangerous. I think our bodies were still recovering from past exertions, too. A definite sign I am getting old. The weather was pretty miserable, but we hadn't come all this way to sit in the hostel, and we hadn't really spent much time at Dove Lake when we had been there a couple of days earlier. We started by ... read more
Look at that Rain!
Dove Lake Circuit
Dove Lake Circuit

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain January 28th 2017

We were up early to head to the transit centre to take the bus to Cradle Mountain. The walk was quite slow going as we were like a couple of pack horses with all the food we had bought. We had stocked up in the local supermarkets as options in Cradle Mountain would be limited and very expensive. The bus journey took around three hours and we passed through a few small towns on the way. We were deposited outside the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre and it was just a short walk across the road to our accommodation. We had a private room, I think we had just booked out a dorm room to ourselves, but I can't quite remember. We dumped our stuff and headed to the shared kitchen with all our food and made ... read more
Rainforest Walk
Rainforest Walk
Enchanted Walk

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain October 19th 2015

We awoke to the sound of cockatoos and took a few photos before leaving Mersey Bluff Caravan Park. After re-stocking the bus with fruit and vegetables at the local supermarket, we had a cooked breakfast at the local cafe and then headed off towards Cradle Mountain, one of Tasmania's icons. Our first stop was at Sheffield where we checked out the murals before driving to Mount Roland and Gowrie Park. Each Easter Sheffield has a mural competition so there are always heaps of murals to see whenever you visit. Gowrie Park was to be our camp site this evening so we still had plenty of driving to do. We started to climb as we left Gowrie Park and soon we were down to second gear (and 20 kmh) on some of the hills. It was quite ... read more
Norfolk Island Pines at Mersey Bluff Caravan Park
The Coaster at Mersey Bluff
Sheffield Mural

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Cradle Mountain August 17th 2015

So it was still raining pretty hard when we went to bed last night, I read for a while and despite feeling tired, when I put my Kindle down I could not sleep. Perhaps it was the 2 hour time difference having an effect, we didn't feel it last night and we were awake pretty early this morning. Anyway, eventually disturbed sleep followed, I checked my watch it said 4.30am, I felt as if I had not slept. Andy said "it's been snowing!" I got out of bed to look and sure enough there was a pretty white covering of fresh snow on the balcony and the trees. It looked beautiful in the darkness. Feeling the chill in the room I turned the fire on, well it would warm the room for when it was getting ... read more
Can't Fix Stupid!!
Can't Fix Stupid!!
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