Western Wilderness

Sunday August 2nd

Another long drive to Cradle Mountain. This one took us through a lot of forests, mountains, and- surprise!- more narrow, windy roads. Coming into Cradle Mountain the landscape really changed as we reached higher elevations. There was a lot of tussock grass and everything had a deep reddish-brown color. It was grey and raining, not the best day for hiking. We weren't feeling particularly motivated, but the weather in this part of the island is unpredictable year-round, so we figured we might as well give it a go.

We stopped by the information center for a new park pass, and asked the girl at the desk about the chance of the weather clearing for the morning. She laughed and said there was a snow warning, but there had been plenty of those lately and no snow, so not really anything to worry about, but tomorrow could be just as bad as today. So with that exciting news we geared up and set off.

Thankful again for winter clothing, we did the 2 hour circuit of Dove Lake with great views (when the fog parted) of Cradle Mountain. It was kind of a spooky area in all the mist. The lake and sky were dark grey, the woods slightly foreboding. We had just watched Harry Potter where all the dead bodies come out of the lake, which wasn't the best thing to be thinking about at the moment, as the boardwalk dipped to the edge of the water in more than one spot.

This area is the start of the Overland Track, multi-day hike through the area (open only in summer). Tasmania seems so much more wild and untouched than any of the places that I've visited thus far, even than the South Island of New Zealand, definitely more so than any place in mainland Oz. It is really beautiful in that way, but there is a struggle between conservation groups and the logging and mining industries that have an interest in the 2/3rds of the island that is not protected as National Parks. Cradle Mountain and much of the land in the west is protected as UNESCO Wilderness World Heritage Area, and it is one of the last pristine temperate zones in the world.

After spending the evening sitting by the fire and drinking local brews at the rather posh Lodge just up the road from our little cabin accommodation, we woke in the morning to see... snow. And kind of a lot of it. Tiffany later pointed out this was the first time we woke up to white without getting exited. Instead we said "oh ****" because we had a flight out of Launceston late in the afternoon, and had a 2 wheel drive car with no snow chains. Luckily we were told the snow should melt on the roads by the afternoon, so we went for a little walk down the road and got to see some wallabies hopping around in the snow, which really was quite lovely.

We made it back to Launceston without any problems. We checked out Cataract Gorge, a beautiful park just on the edge of the city. It has the worlds longest single span chair lift (it didn't look THAT long, but I'm no expert) as well as a lovely bridge and lots of walking trails.

We got our little car to the airport and realized we didn't know where to drop it off. It was from a no-name rental place that didn't have a desk or spaces at the airport. We stopped across the street at the Budget mechanics to ask if they knew what to do. The guy there told us to park it in the regular lot, and leave the parking ticket and keys in the glovebox with the doors unlocked. He called the rental company to check, and assured us this was how it is done. Seeing the doubt on our faces he said "what, you've never done that before?" We were a little wary that a few minutes later he and his buddy he had called would run across the street, find the little red car, and have a new toy for themselves. So we took pictures of it in case the car company couldn't find it later, but apparently it all worked out ok.

The number one question I got when I told someone I planned on going to Tasmania was- "why?". It is the brunt of many jokes (from both the Aussies and Kiwis- they are really ones to talk) about hillbilly, inbred, toothless farmers. But I found it to be incredibly beautiful, full of friendly people, and almost unspoiled wilderness, activities, animals, with a healthy pride in local beer and wine. Really, there was no possible reason NOT to like Tasmania, and it is definitely one of my favorite places in Oz.