On recent day, the big star was our day-long backdrop and companion Cradle Mountain hidden sometimes amongst the clouds and its stunning co-star Dove Lake.
The walk in the enchanted forest and the rainforest walk by the ranger station brought to life the feeling of awe that Gustav and Kate would have encountered some hundred and twenty years ago but also highlighted the raw and rugged beauty that the National Park oozes at every turn. A friendly pademelon was happy to bravely pose for us as we quietly walked along the boardwalk deep in the ancient forest canopy.
Wandering through the enchanted forest walk we learned how the fern coral competes with the canopy eucalyptus trees for valuable real estate on the mountain. If the fern coral gets a foothold there is nowhere for the Eucalyptus seeds to grow and if the Eucalypt canopy grows over, the fern coral gets starved of sunlight and will struggle to compete. Our educational session on Wombats with Mia at Bonorong was also revisited with first hand opportunities to see the entrances to their vast undercover caverns neatly decorated with piles of conveniently placed and balance cubed scat warning competing Wombats that "this house is taken so you better move on"
With some trepidation we set out on our second walk at Snake hill. Our walk to Ronny creek was spectacular but without any tiger snakes thankfully uneventful for most. After posing for a photo at the start of the famous Overland Track walk we finally reaching Waldheim chalet where we were able to spend some time listening to the story of Gustav and Kate and then then it was across to the magnificent Dove lake at the base of Cradle Mountain where we were blessed with the backdrop of a moody Tasmanian sky against what we agreed was a most magnificent sight of cradle at her best. read more