Cradle Mountain is situated in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. It is situated in the Cradle Mountain National Park and became an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982!
CRADLE MOUNTAIN WAS INCREDIBLE and what a perfect day for it!
“When I saw the mountains the weight lifted and my restless spirit calmed. I knew I was where I belong”
I was told by some locals I met on the hike that a clear day like this is very rare… in fact only around 60 days of the year you can see the top of Cradle Mountain and are able to hike up to the top! I also overheard a tour guide saying this year he had only got up to the summit with his groups twice! Someone somewhere up there was rewarding me!
I got the bus from the visitors centre at 9.30 which did the first 7.5km flat-ish road to Dove Lake parking lot. The parking lot was full of buses and cars – mostly people getting out and getting the ‘instagram’ photos and then leaving again. That would explain the people on the bus wearing flip-flops! Idiots. Too beautiful to not hike here!!
But this is my iconic Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain photo… Doesn’t she look beautiful?
So the way I have chosen to hike today take me around the West side of Dove Lake – so it does start on the Dove Lake circuit, which quickly takes a left up the Rodway Lake/Hanson Peak trail. I hit Hanson Peak after 30 minutes. It was a quick uphill, and wow a rewarding view of Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain and behind over Twisted Lakes. This Landscape is honestly incredible. My heart, heart, body and soul was SO HAPPY. This is Hanson Peak…
After Hanson Peak I hike along the Face Track which goes around to give a wonderful view of Dove Lake from the South! The trail keeps going towards the base of Cradle Mountain. Im at 4.5 km and at the junction of the summit trail. At this point I have only seen a handful of other hikers (I definitely took the path less travelled by taking the Hanson Peak trail) At the junction there was suddenly people… everywhere! People coming up from one of the huts that you could see just over the way, there were people coming down from the trail, and a good 50 or so heading up to conquer it!
At the base of the ‘Summit Track’ was a sign saying 2.5 hour return… i knew the elevation was about another 400 metres but the distance was about a mile, I might have laughed at this sign. Ate my words later… Took about 2 hours, but mostly because of the line up to get to the top! Many were attempting the climb/scramble. Many giving up and many making it to the top. I was impressed with the variety of skill level and ages making it to the top! Wow. Here is the commotion that was going on up the rocks… There was no track to the top just a scramble up whatever way you felt was going to be right!
My poor little legs were getting some stretching!! And then just when you think you hit the top… yeah thats not the top. You had to go down behind the ‘false summit’ and then back up to the real summit. But what a reward. The panoramic views were out of this world.
The top of the Mountain was fairly busy but it was a large area so everyone was spread out exploring everywhere. I was up the top for a good hour. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the views were beautiful in every direction! I could see the Overland Track, winding around the base of the mountain and trailing off in the distance. I CAN NOT wait to be on this trail for 8 whole days. In 13 days I will be back here getting lost (not actually lost) in the wilderness. Im so stoked.
The way down wasn’t without its hurdles and plenty of butt shuffling! It did only take about 45 minutes to get down and I had timed it well enough that not many people had left the top yet so I had a bit of a clear run for it. A few people did let the ‘mountain goat’ past. I was whizzing down some of the sections!
At the bottom of the summit track I backtrack on the Face Trail, to hit the Lake Wilks trail on the left, which was a steep downhill to the East side of Dove Lake where I would pick up the Dove Lake Circuit again to finish the day!
I had the most wonderful day out on the trail. Total hiking 4.5 hours and 1.5 hours breaking! My legs are like Jelly and I’m exhausted and hungry. But I conquered Cradle Mountain. Way harder and challenging than I thought it would be, but happy to have made it up and happy to have made it down all in one piece. Glad to be where I am.
Bus back to Discovery Parks where I am staying another night! An early night before I hit the road for Tullah (Mt Farell) and Rosebery! Im coming for you West Coast. Please hold off rain!!!!!
Although I deeply love oceans, deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only the mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty”
I’m not finished yet…
Cradle Mountain National Park
FUN FACTS and some History!
- Cradle Mountain is named after its resemblance to a gold mining cradle.
- The area was subjected to severe glaciation thousands of years ago, and the mountain itself was formed over Dove Lake, Lake Wilks, and Crater Lake.
- The National Park also boasts Tasmania’s highest mountain; Mt. Ossa (Hiking this when on the Overland Track!) which is known for its Jurassic Dolerite peaks.
- Cradle Mountain is the 5th highest mountain in Tasmania
- Cradle Mountain has four named summits – Cradle Mountain (1545m), Smithies Peak (1527m), Weindorfers Tower (1459m) and Little Horn (1355m)
- Lake St. Clair is Australia’s deepest natural freshwater lake (167 metres)
- Around half of the alpine flora in the park is endemic, meaning it only grows in that area in Australia, and nowhere else in the world.
- The park is important for the 11 endemic bird species in Tasmania, and it has been identified as an IBA (Important Bird Area).
