Tasmania

I've just returned from a fantastic 10 day trip to Tasmania with Liz, Zante, Lauren and the indomitable Srini (our hiking gang.)

We spent time at 4 of Tasmania's most famous national parks: Cradle Mountain, Lake St Claire, Mount Field and Frecinet. 

It was wonderful to explore Tasmania in more detail and do some amazing day hikes after my taste of it in 2008.

Here are some of the many highlights from our trip...

At the start

• Some lovely turbulence at the end of the flight to Tasmania. For some reason, turbulence always makes me feel alive!
• Getting a far bigger car than we ordered at no extra cost - and a good thing we did with all our bags and food. 

Cradle Mountain 

• Srini "borrowing" some toilet paper from a restaurant on the first night due to a severe shortage and the resultant bulge in his shorts when walking out. 
• The spectacular view from Marrion's Lookout of Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain. 
• A couple of bracing but invigorsting swims in Dove Lake with Srini. 
• The sun coming out on our second day to turn Dove Lake into a blue wonder world and the amazing reflections in the water early in the morning. 
• A lovely walk along Ronny Creek past gurgling waterfalls and the views of Cradle Mountain from Lake Lilla. 
• Liz's mum's delicious lasagne. 
• Walking the Dove Lake circuit (2 hours), especially climbing onto an enormous granite boulder overlooking the lake and the beautiful trees in the Ballroom Forest. 
• Getting some close up photos of a wombat and echidna. 
• Our ascent of Cradle Mountain (elevation 1545 metres) up past Lake Wilks.  Srini and I ascended via the wrong route (a scree slope) which turned out to be considerably easier than the arduous boulder clambering of the correct route which traumatised poor Lauren, Liz and Zante.  Still, they had a far better view from the top than us.
• Singing and recording Happy Birthday to Matt from up on the mountain with the help of my back up singers and sending it through as a video.

Lake St Claire

• A 7 hour hike with Srini to enjoy the panoramic views from Mount Rufus (elevation of 1416 metres). 
• On the way back from Mount Rufus, we walked through the stunning Richea Valley with  beautiful native Heath communities and pencil pines fed by an underground stream. 
• Totally taking over the kitchen at the hostel.
• A smorgasbord of frozen meals and deciding which was the least unappetising (the Moroccan lamb!)
• Stripping down in the shower after our hike and then looking furtively for the dollar coin I needed to operate it (found it eventually!) 
• Visiting The Wall, a vast series of wood sculptures of Tasmania's wildlife and the exploits of its industrious settlers. I snuck a couple of naughty photographs only to get caught and thoroughly chastised. Serve me right.

Mount Fields

• Delicious raspberries and blueberries from a roadside shop along the way. 
• The great accommodation we stayed in adjacent to a pub with decor so dated it was retro cool. It was lovely to have space again after our room sharing (with snorers!) at the Lake St Clair hostel.
• A rather wet but mercifully short walk to view Russell Falls. Srini disappeared and then reappeared to frolic under the falls (adorned in his  GoPro helmet) to the great amusement (and respect) of all the onlookers. What a granite cock he is!!
• A delicious steak from the pub, a welcome change after all our frozen dinners. 
• Srini's many poses and, as usual, setting up some amazing photos with his daredevil ways. 
• A 6 hour hike along the stunning Tarn Shelf, a network of gorgeous lakes with amazing reflections, returning via Twilight Tarn and Lake Webster.
• The relics in the rustic Twilight Tarn hut (a popular ski hut many decades ago) including old photos and food tins. 
• Playing pool in the pub with Srini (his first ever attempt at this game) and getting copious amounts of advice from a drunken patron. He proceeded to beat me in his ever second game!  Not that that's too huge a feat - I seriously suck at pool!!  
• Bailey on ice. Yum!
• A fun game of scrabble. Elizabeth triumphed as expected thanks in part to her encyclopaedic knowledge of two letter words. Then we tried to make Liz's ex jealous by texting through scrabble photos.  Yeeeha!!
• Listening to Rick Astley on Youtube and wishing we'd gone to his concert.
• Ogling in wonder at the huge trees on The Tall Trees walk. Some of the trees in this area have been around since before European settlers arrived in Australia. 
• Some impromptu assistance helping a couple find a geocache in the forest. Lauren's experience came to the fore. 
• A little side trip to search for platypus at a local river. The platypuses stayed hidden but we photographed some amazing flowers instead. 

Hobart and Cathedral Rock 

• A day trip to Hobart due to bad weather. Srini and I braved the elements to climb Cathedral Rock in the Mount Wellington Park while the girls explored the town and its markets and galleries - including an exhibition of over 60 vaginas of all shapes and sizes!!  
• After climbing Cathedral Rock in the mist, Srini and I then climbed along a series of high ridges with the intention of navigating the Mount Wellington circuit via Wellington Falls. However, we missed the appallingly marked Wellington Falls Track and ended up on Mount Montagu with limited daylight to get back to civilisation. After conferring with the girls via phone, we decided to return the way we had come which required a lightning pace. Good thing we're both so fit. After the navigation challenges in Victoria on my Xmas hike and this mishap, I've decided to invest in a good hiking GPS with detailed maps. It'll be worth every cent to avoid the stress!
• The elation of getting back in daylight and the delicious pizza the girls brought us in the car. 
• Lauren excitedly spotting Tasmanian Devils from the car that turned out to be hopping wallabies and possums. 

Freycinet

• Delicious blue cheese, quince and crackers from a roadside cafe on the way to Freycinet followed by orgasmically good cherry ice-cream and succulent black cherries from another cafe further down the road. 
• Seeing the ocean after all our time in the mountains and an invigorating swim. 
• Our awesome accommodation in Coles Bay with its water view. Well found, Liz!
• Doing the Wine Glass Bay - Hazards Beach circuit (a 5 hour hike) including the iconic view of Wine Glass Bay from the mountain side and some nice group shots.
• A nice swim and a lovely sleep on the rocks of Wineglass Bay, listening to the waves. So relaxing. 
• A bracing and fun group swim on Hazards Beach where we had fun with Srini's GoPro and delayed getting out of the ocean to give Elizabeth time to chat up a sexy Polish diplomat. 
• Delicious Pagan Cider (a big thanks to JC for the recommendation) and fish and chips from the most disorganised takeaway joint in Tasmania. Still, we were so hungry by the time we got it, it tasted great.
• Running the 60+ minute climb to the Wineglass Bay Lookout in under 25 minutes to get my fleece which I'd left up there.  Unfortunately it was gone. 
• Taking lots of close up photos at Sleepy Bay and photos of its mesmerising sculptured orange rocks after being inspired by the photos of Wolfgang Glowacki at the visitor centre.
• A scrumptious final meal at a good restaurant "The Edge of the Bay."  My meal consisted of seafood chowder, Scollop Linguine and Chocolate Mousse. 
• Being constantly amazed by my wonderful new iPhone's camera, especially it's macro shots and panorama function.  Also getting to take photos with my new Canon 70d which has replaced my 7 year old 40d camera.  So great to have the latest technology again!

Tasmania, the land of ...

• Regal mountains with panoramic views of lakes.
• Giant, tall trees. 
• Blue and green lakes (with beautiful reflections.)
• Tarns.  
• Beautiful flowers; so many varieties, many of which I haven't noticed before.
• Sparkling green sea bordered by lovely white sand and bright orange rocks. 
• Poorly marked trails.
• Death defying trails with no warnings (Yes Cradle Mountain, we're talking about you.)
• Beards (there were some very impressive specimens on display.)
• False Tasmanian Devil sightings. 
• Misbehaving kids (signs everywhere warning parents to mind their unruly kids)
• Mocha Ice-cream. 
• Smelly hiking shoes. 
• Weird Graeme dreams. 
• Vagina exhibitions.
• Fresh berries. 
• Animal signs including kung foo kangaroos that kick over cars.
• Srini in his GoPro helmet.
• Granite (and marshmallow) cocks.
• Srini poses (especially on the edge of cliffs) 
• The royal sneeze and cough by Queen Lauren.
• Photo bombing (Go Zante!)
• Genius organising by Liz. She sure hunted us some perfect places to stay.
• Disused railways.
• The photo of the day!

Leaving Sydney

Full of anticipation and excitement!

Cradle Mountain National Park

Day 1:  Walk to Marion's Lookout and Dove Lake Circuit

Our first group photo in front of the famous Cradle Mountain with Dove Lake in front of it.

Passing Wombat Pool on the way up to Marion's Lookout

Crater Lake

After a steep climb, we reached Marion's Lookout. That's Srini's GoPro helmet in the foreground!  Photo by Zante

What an amazing panoramic view we had.  Well worth the climb!

(Photo by Zante)

On the way back down, Srini frolicked on an old log.  He always sets up such great photos.  Photo by Lauren

We came back via Ronny Creek with its lush forest and lovely waterfalls.

Once again, Srini does his thing.

Our trail opened out into Heath and Pencil Pines as it joined part of the Overland Track.

Here is a sample of some of the vegetation in this part of the park.

I was amazed how many beautiful flowers were still blooming. Spring is still out in Tasmania.

How exciting, a lovely Wombat sighting. How cure is she!

We then joined the Lake Lille Track which ended with this sublime view of Lake Lille itself. The sun was out and we were able to get some lovely photos.

More Lake Lille  (photo by Zante)

Lake Lille

From Lake Lille, it was a short walk to Dove Lake, sparkling in the sunlight.

Dove Lake. My super duper new camera with it's swivel screen allowed me to take photos effortlessly from low down.  A great feature.

Notice the tiny people on the top of the huge boulder on the right of the lake.  There were amazing views from here.

Here we are walking around Dove Lake. The circuit is a beautiful and low effort walk of 2 hours.  (Photo by Liz)

Dusk starting to descend on the Lake as we completed our circuit.

The day ended with a real highlight - a close up encounter with a gorgeous Echidna. This and the platypus are my two favourite Australian animals. Normally they are shy but this one seemed oblivious to us.  Did you know that the Echidna has a15 cm tongue with a layer of sticky mucus?  Perfect for eating ants.

Day 2:  Climb to the summit of Cradle Mountain  (1545 metres)

Our second day dawned clear, still and sunny. Perfect for great photos of the Dove Lake boathouse. I loved the reflections.

Making use of the panoramic function on my i-Phone 6.

It was such a gorgeous, tranquil morning.

Photo by Zante (what a cracker!)

From the Lake, we started to ascend the foothills of Cradle Mountain.

We were rewarded with nice views of Lake Wilka.

The steep climbing then continued...

... until we had gorgeous views of both Lake Wilke and Dove Lake, side by side.

Here we are, celebrating arriving on the plateau.  This is where we sent Matt a birthday video of us all singing happy birthday.

More views from the plateau. Photo by Zante

Srini and I went ahead of the girls and followed all the other climbers up a steep scree slope.

As you can see, it was pretty steep, but with great views.

More views as we climbed.  I loved the pillar on the right. Good thing Srini didn't have ropes or he would have climbed it!

... but that didn't stop him from climbing other things!

Here we are at the summit. 

Srini embracing the world as we descended.

He sure knows how to set up great photos.

The girls started to ascend the same way as us, but were then informed it wasn't the official route up. So they ended up climbing up a different way to us, that actually proved to be far, far harder with hectic boulder hopping.  There were times when they seriously considered turning back ...  (photos by Lauren and Liz)

... but they prevailed and finally triumphed.

They ended up getting far better views than us. That's Barn Bluff in the background.  Photo by Zante.

Photo by Zante

Srini and I descended back down to Kitchen Hut.  We waited for the girls but they sent us a text to continue and meet at the car as their ascent was taking so long.

The views of Cradle Mountain were spectacular as we returned on the trail back via Marion's Lookout.

More sublime views of Cradle Mountain.

We ended our walk with a wonderful swim.  It was freezing but exhilarating.

While we waited at the car for the girls, this lovely little fellow came to say hi.

More people photos of our time in Cradle Mountain.

Here's me in action, putting my new camera to active use.

We met this friendly fellow on one of our walks. Don't you love his beard!  Beards are very much in in Tasmania.  There were many very impressive specimens.

Here is the lovely house where we stayed.  A great spot hunted for us by Liz.  (Photos by Lauren)

Leaping over Cradle Mountain!

Next stop

• For our next adventure, we moved onto Lake St Clair.

Places in Tasmania we visited

• Cradle Mountain National Park
• Lake St Clair National Park
• Mount Field National Park (The Tarn Shelf)
• Mount Field National Park (Tall Trees walk)
• Cathedral Peak (Mount Wellington)
• Freycinet
• Leaping in Tasmania
• Daily life on our trip
• Previous Tasmania visit (2008)

Photos by others in the group

• Lauren
• Liz
• Srini
• Zante