The night before travelling to Cradle Mountain, we were huddled in Hobart, weathering the mightiest of storms. The following day, the results of that storm on the drive to Cradle Mountain were catastrophic. Huge, fallen trees, perilously draped in live power lines, blocked the roads, and there were closure barriers every way we turned. Driving conditions were treacherous, and unsure what to do, we pulled to the side of the road to reassess our options. And then we saw a bunch of locals yeeting around the closure signs, driving over live power lines and around fallen trees, and we were like….yup. I KNOW! So irresponsible.
We had accommodation booked at Wombat Cabin (previously owned by the Beverly Hillbillies), a quaint, rustic chalet in the middle of native bushland, a 12-minute drive from the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre. It was a treat to ourselves, but as it turned out, a treat sans power (our karma for driving over live power lines). It was the kind of abode I would usually rave about, but lack of electricity quashed the vibe. We did have a lovely fire, afternoon visits from the pademelons, and wine, so there’s that.
With only two nights at Cradle, we had to crack on to get some walks in. Next morning, access to Dove Lake car park was closed (dang). No buses up or down the narrow, winding road as it was covered in patchy sleet. The only way to do the Dove Lake Circuit was to walk to the car park from the Cradle Mountain Interpretation Centre and Ranger Station via the Cradle Valley Boardwalk (5.5 hours return) and then do the circuit (2.5-3 hours)…yeah, nah.
Cradle Valley Boardwalk trail it is! The 11.3km out-and-back trail to Ronny Creek ventures down into the valley through mossy green forest, traversing open moorlands vegetated predominantly with buttongrass, through scraggly tree graveyards from which shy Bennett’s wallabies peeped. We had met some people on a hike the day before who said Ronny Creek was a Wombat playground (Woot Woot!), but on the trail, we passed another couple who said there were no wombats to be seen today (ugh!).
At the Ronny Creek carpark, there was Wombat scat (that’s fun to say), so, enthused, we crossed the road to venture further on the path to Waldheim and hit the Wombat jackpot! Suffice to say, we didn’t get to Waldheim (next time) as the Wombat’s kept us entertained for ages.
The following day we were departing Cradle for Launceston, so it was do or die for the Dove Lake Circuit trail. Nope, road still closed. We lurked around the ranger station, knocked off a few short walks and saw a couple of wombats. Then boom, a blue bus, hectic activity, us legging it to the bus station, elbows out, knocking peeps out of our way to get to the very limited seats available.
The Dove Lake Circuit walk in the middle of winter, covered in snow, was Christmas in June! I cannot bang on about it enough. Just go! Bear in mind that at this time of year, the road on the range is often closed, and it all could have ended very differently for us, and you wouldn’t have got this warm, fuzzy story. It would have been a vitriolic rant about why they just couldn’t open the %^&$# road, not fair, big girl sooky la la!
We barely scratched the surface of Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Clair National Park. We will be back!
