Скачать или смотреть Cradle Mountain | Tasmania

CONTENT: Australia / Tasmania / Central Highlands / Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park / Cradle Mountain Summit / Lake Gairdner / Lake Dove


TRAVEL JOURNAL:

10 – 12.03.2022

After leaving the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area behind and restocking at Ulverstone, we take direction to the already familiar Bannons Park at Gunns Plains. As the free-camp tends to get busy over the weekend, we dry our wash, rest a night and on Friday morning start to make our way to Central Plateau. Travelling through countryside of Castra, the roadside is paved with blackberry bushes. The berries are ripe and we fill a box.
It is late afternoon when we arrive to the massive car-park of Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre. We get to know that wanting to hike to the top of the Cradle Mountain, we should leave Hilde to the Visitor Centre car-park and take a shuttle bus to Ronny Creek or Dove Lake.
Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre is the common starting point for notorious multi-day Overland Track. After hiking up to high plateau the Overland track takes 65km to reach to it's other end at Lake St Clair. Different side-tracks offer options to conquer summits on the way. For us unfortunately Overland Track is out of question. Escaping from the Covid-threathened urbanised Sunshine Coast now for almost 8 months ago, we did not anticipate facing the Overland Track and did not pack tent and sleeping bags along. After having already visited Lake St Clair at the other end of the Overland Track and hiked on top of Mt Rufus on 26th February, the least we desire now is to climb to the Summit of Cradle.
Cradle Summit is over 12km return hike which is estimated to take 8 hours. As the track elevates 600 metres and climbs over rocks, it is marked with Grade 5 and recommended for experienced bush-walkers. Having no over-night equipment to stay at high plateau, we have to start our day-hike as early as possible.
We decide to drive 27km back to Lake Gairdner Free Camping area near Moina. This is not the first time during our Tasmania-stay to visit that camping area. Compared to 28th January, when we arrive in the evening just before the sunset, the camping area is fully-packed.
At 7am in the morning, our breath is steaming and the thermometer by the Lake Gairdner shows 2.3 C.
We hop off the shuttle bus from Ronny Creek. The button-grass growing at the plains is covered with morning dew and spider webs. We pass Crater Falls and have a little break at the Boat Shed by the Crater Lake.
Marions Lookout reaches to 1223m. We have been an hour on the track, weather is sunny and the view opens over the surrounding tarn-lakes and the summits of Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff.
After getting up to Marions Lookout, the hike is pleasant, partly guided by wooden boardwalk and takes us over the almost bare glacial moorland. Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff Peaks are clear markers on the landscape.
After Kitchen Hut emergency shelter the climb starts. Here, to catch the next marker few big boulders ahead, one has to think and plan the next step. We feel ourselves like mountain-goats finding the best way. Dangers of the track during icy conditions are understandable. After almost 4 hours, we are up.
The Summit of Cradle reaches to 1545 m and is sixth-highest mountain in Tasmania.
Some 20 000 years ago the area was covered with glacier where dolerite-capped mountain peaks were poking out of the 100 metres of ice.
The unique shape of the Cradle Mountain which was shaped by the glacial erosion, got noticed by the nature-loving European settlers. Gustav Weindorfer was born in Austrian Alps and after hooking up with Tasmanian born conservationist, Kate Cowle, it was matter of time when the couple sharing interest in botany hiked to Cradle Mountain area. In 1910 Gustav and Kate with a friend conquered the Cradle Mountain Summit and stricken by the beauty, started to work towards introducing Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair area as scenic reserve. They bought land at the base of the mountain and already in 1912 started to build alpine chalet Waldheim. Fur-trappers set up side-business guiding hikers at high plateau.
Instead of making our way back to Marions Lookout and using the Link Track to reach to Dove Lake Boat shed, we walk along Cradle Face track and lower down from Lake Wilks Track. The track is occasionally secured by chains at steep parts and passes crystal clear little Wilks tarn-lake. The last stretch goes through the temperate rainforest and along the Lake Dove to Boat shed. After little bit roaming around the Glacier Rock, it has been 8-hour hiking day and we don't want to miss the last bus back to the Visitor Centre.
Getting back to Lake Gairdner, the active summer day is over once again.


NEXT
We continue exploring the highland features. We take direction towards Walls of Jerusalem; then Hilde takes us almost to the summit of Ben Lomond and we discover that there is change in the season.