After all the fun of planning our Tasmanian trip, we’ve finally been there and “done it”, so to speak. Ten days in beautiful Tasmania equals a lot of blogging fodder, but I’m going to make you wait and trickle out a post once a week.
Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain |
Our first proper destination was Cradle Mountain. Yes, it’s a truly gorgeous place – especially when you’re blessed with good weather. There were all kinds of exciting moments at Cradle Mountain, but the one I would have written home about (perhaps blogging is the modern writing home?) is this one:
Yes, a wombat! As regular readers will know, I’m a big wombat fan so seeing one ambling around in the wild was quite a thrill. I heard rumours of platypus too, but never got to see one of them … maybe next time.
Anyway, we stayed in a two bedroom cabin in the main caravan park close to the national park entrance, and it was perfect for a family with a small child – mostly because there were wallabies that came visiting every morning and evening! Yes, my small boy quickly learnt to say “wallaby” and is still looking for them everywhere. It was also great to be in bush surroundings – I find that very calming.
Walking around Dove Lake was something only my husband got to do – it’s a pretty easy walk but takes about two hours and neither of us are strong enough to carry our little boy for that long. With slightly older kids, or younger/lighter ones that fit in a backpack carrier, it’d be ideal. We settled for a stroll around the start of the walk then headed off to the Devils at Cradle centre to meet some Tasmanian devils until my husband finished the walk. There are a couple of walks that are possible even with small toddlers – in particular, we liked the suitably-named Enchanted Walk near Cradle Mountain Lodge (close to where we saw the wombat!) – it had just a couple of steps but was otherwise a good boardwalk and a spot we could use our stroller. Oh, and it was gorgeous!
No more photos, Mama! |
If you want to follow our whole Tassie trip, these posts follow our itinerary:
- Starting off in Launceston (with a mention of our brief stop in Hobart)
- On to Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair
- Exploring Strahan and the Gordon River
- Loving Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur
- And not forgetting our favourite part of the Tasman Peninsula – the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park
kate says
I loved Tasmania. Not somewhere I feel I could live but it is a great and very underestimated holiday destination. The view from the top of the mountain is breathtaking too isn’t it?
Amanda says
Ditto – I think it’s a place I could visit many times, as there are so many unique little corners, but it’s probably a bit too isolated to live there. We did entertain dreams of retiring down there – there is so much real estate for sale there, but of course there is probably a reason for that, too!
rachel says
I’ve always said that about Tasmania too! such a beautiful place but I wouldn’t want to live there! Your pictures look amazing! looks like you had lovely weather while you were there!
shame about the platypus sighting…. maybe next time!
Tat @ Mum in search says
That first photo is amazing, it almost doesn’t look real. I love wombats, too! I haven’t been to Tasmania yet, but it looks like a fantastic place to start planning a trip to.
Amanda says
@ Rachel, wait for the future posts, the weather didn’t stay quite so nice …! But everything was still beautiful.
@ Tat, I must give my husband credit for that first photo (he’s a camera-obsessive), but also the Tasmanian landscape is simply beautiful too. Yes, I’d highly recommend a trip down there!
Amanda says
Thanks Frank – yes we were especially pleased about the sunshine, too! Your FB page looks great, by the way. I will enjoy reminiscing by following it 🙂
Frank - Cradlemountain.net says
Whoot! Wombats and sunshine, what more could you ask for?
Enjoyed the post, thanks for sharing your holiday. We have shared it on our Cradle Mountain Tasmania – FB page. http://www.facebook.com/CradleMountainTasmania