Cradle Mountain National Park

Along the Enchanted Walk

We woke up a dusting of snow next to our hotel in Cradle Mountain National Park. We started the day by walking the Enchanted Walk through a Myrtle Beech tree forest. It follows a stream bank with a variety of trees and mosses everywhere. A better name might be the Emerald walk since everything was so green – ferns, mosses, lichens everywhere. Then we took the short walk to the Pencil Pine Creek falls. We continued along the walk to discover a wide variety of plants, most of which only exist in Tasmania: Pandani, Pencil Pines, Celery top pine, pink mountain berries, and button grass. Most of us then hiked the Cradle Valley Boardwalk. The highlight of the hike was spotting a pair of Wedge Tailed Eagles, one perched on a nearby tree and the other soaring above us.

Wedge Tailed Eagle

We caught our first glimpse of Cradle Mountain along this trail. The mountain came in and out of the clouds as we walked. We drove on to Dove Lake just below Cradle Mountain. Finally, we stopped at the Gustav Waldheim Cottage. He was one of the key leaders to create this National Park and lived in this cabin year around, guiding visitors to the area.

Cradle Mountain Lake

As we left the park, we traveled a road to Wilhelm, here the tourist draw was mail boxes – a variety of them from a yellow submarine, to cows, plows, and wind mills. We ate lunch in Devenport along the coast and then headed to Launceston. We hosted a party in our room with cheese, crackers, beer, and wine, and then went out for pizza in a nearby restaurant.