Gowrie Park Day 131 27/01/2015

It was very cold again overnight but we woke to lovely sunny skies. We decided to head up to the National Park, walk up Cradle Mountain and then head down the valley in our van to stay overnight (where hopefully it would be warmer!). Cradle Mountain is apparently the most photographed peak in Tasmania with it's highest point at 1545m. It's a high narrow ridge with dolerite cliffs on both sides. There are multiple summits and all have names. The most southern of these is the highest and is the peak called Cradle Mountain. The weather here is notoriously bad. It rains on 7 out of 10 days, cloudy on 8 out of 10, the sun shines all day in 1 out of 10 and it snows on 54 days each year. We packed up and got the shuttle bus to the start of the walk at Dove Lake. The route initially goes passed Lake Lilla before heading up uphill to Wombat Pool and then onto Marion's Lookout where we'd been yesterday. On the way we got chatting to Tasmanian guy who's brother lived in Peebles and two guys from Ireland, who had just climbed Mt Kimbula in Borneo which is one of the seven world's summits. We continued north to where a side path heads off to reach the summit. The path is steep and heads initially towards Smithies Peak before veering off right. Three people in front of us headed straight up. We weren't sure if it was intentional or not and there were too far in front to shout to them. From here the route goes up over huge boulders, involving loads of scrambling, crossing the ridge top before descending into a saddle and a final scramble up to the summit tower. There was only one guy on summit when we arrived (although not for long as many other people we passed on the way up summited). The summit provides wonderful views with a plaque helping to identify the surrounding mountains. We enjoyed our lunch in lovely sunshine really drinking in the fantastic 360 panorama, before setting off back down over the boulders. Continuing round in a circuit we headed south west across the plateau and then descended through alpine vegetation passing Lake Wilks. The path climbs to Hanson's Peak from where you get great views of Dove Lake, Twisted Lakes and Lake Hanson. From here it's a very steep descent (there are chains for protection) and a stroll along the main track back to the car park were we'd started from earlier in the day. We got the shuttle bus back to the visitors centre and treated ourselves to ice creams before heading off down the road to Gowrie Park where we planned to stay for the night. As we drove along we didn't appear to be losing any height and we started to wonder if it was going to be any warmer. Eventually the road descended and we dropped to just over 200m. After checking in at the campsite we sat outside, enjoyed a well deserved beer and planned what to do tomorrow.  Unfortunately it wasn't warm enough for dinner outside but it was certainly much warmer in the van than on previous nights and the sunset was very atmospheric with fiery skies mingled in with the clouds.

It was worth another cold night for this... 

The view from Dove Lake car park

Lake Lilla 

Crater Peak 

The view from Marion's Lookout.. and below 

Cradle Mountain & Barn Bluff from the plateau 

The route up to the summit

Boulders everywhere...

 

Barn Bluff from the summit

Summit panorama 

Twisted Lakes 

Cradle Mountain from Hanson's Peak   

Fiery sunset at Gowrie Park 

Australia Day - Day 130 26/01/2015

It was very cold overnight but then we are at a height of over 800 metres! We heard what we thought must be wallabies around the campsite but there was no evidence of any destruction in the morning (or shoes going missing as what we were told would happen if we left them outside!). The weather was still a bit mixed and we headed over to the visitors centre for a coffee, debating what to do. We decided to head up to the National Park and see what the conditions looked like so we donned our waterproofs and got the shuttle bus (no campervans/caravans are allowed due to narrow road). We got off on route at Ronny Creek which is the northern start point for the Overland Track. We followed the track along the valley and up through the forest to Crater Lake, a deep glacial bowl. The track continues up to Marion's Lookout from where you get good views of Dove Lake. Despite the wind and rain we decided to carry on and were glad we did. As we reached the sparsely vegetated plateau the weather cleared and we got fantastic views of Barn Bluff to the north, an area which closely resembles Sutherland. To the west Cradle Mountain also appeared out of the mist with a light dusting of snow on the summit. We contemplated changing our plans and attempting the summit but decided to stay another night and wait for tomorrow when the forecast looked a bit better. We left the Overland Track with our route taking us around Crater Lake to Crater Peak at 1270m, before descending back down to rejoin the Overland Track near the start and back to the carpark. It was a lovely walk with the weather improving as the day progressed. On the way back to the visitors centre the shuttle bus driver talked about a night animal tour which sounded very interesting and importantly it was on a warm bus. We asked one of the staff in the visitors centre who did a very poor job at selling it so decided against it. Although it would have meant we were on a warm bus for a few hours it was $55 each. So instead we had dinner and went to bed early with more clothes on than the previous night including a bobble hat for Diane.

Ronny Creek - the start of the Overland Track

Crater Lake 

Barn Bluff  appearing from the clouds 

Looks a bit like Sutherland! 

First glimpse of Cradle Mountain 

Crater Lake from Crater Peak 

Back at our van enjoying beer & crisps!  

Cradle Mountain Day 129 25/01/2015

It rained heavily overnight and we both wondered if we'd be able to get our van out of the campsite as we were in a slight dip and not sure of how good the van's traction is! In the end we got out easily and so the plan was to head north to Cradle Mountain. It's actually due north of we we are staying but the drive takes you round in a loop, all the way to the west coast before heading back east again. Lake St Clair and Cradle Mountain are joined by the Overland Track, Tasmanian's iconic alpine long distance walk. It takes between 6 to 8 days to complete the track through World-Heritage mountain landscapes and provides the opportunity to climb Mount Ossa, Tasmania's highest peak. Maybe one for another trip! As we drove west we wondered why the Frenchman's Cap, a peak we'd seen yesterday, wasn't in our book of top day walks. It was only when we drove past start of the route that we saw that it takes 3 to 5 days! The road takes you through the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, passing a number of lakes and rivers along the way before reaching Queenstown, a mining town. The hills are bare, an eerie red colour from the mined copper - could be Mars - as you drive down into the town, the impact of ongoing mining and associated pollution since the 1890's. Whilst there were some mining museums we decided the town is nothing special and we continued on along windy roads through sunshine and showers (torrential rain at times) to Strahan were we stopped for provisions and a delicious lunch at a local deli. Strahan is in a lovely location on the waters of Macquarie Harbour with it's main tourist attraction being river tours on the Gordon River. From here we drove north and then east (although we nearly went the wrong way - the map is very basic was Di's excuse - she was navigating whilst Simon was driving) passed more lakes and finally arrived at Cradle Valley and checked in at the campsite. We had planned to stay here for 3 nights but decided to keep our options open given it was still raining and cold. We walked over to visitors centre to check out conditions and have a cup of coffee to warm up and then back to our van for dinner and a very early night in an attempt to keep warm (although the wine helps!)

Day 128 24/01/2015

Contrary to the forecast we woke to a glorious sunny day and went to see the mist clear across the lake before breakfast. We'd decided to do the Mount Rufus circuit which starts at the visitors centre and meant we didn't have to drive. It's actually the only peak you can do in the area, all the others don't have marked trails and going off trail is very difficult due to the vegetation. This was a bit of a shame as the nearby peak of Mt Olympus had a really long undulating summit ridge that ran parallel to the lake shore. We set off and walked up through forest to a grassy bowl and then continued on up through scrubby forest to reach the ridge, with great views all around. The summit is a further distance of c600m from here and was very windy. On the summit peak at 1416m, the views of the surrounding peaks are excellent, north across the national park and west into the wilderness where we could see the Frenchman's Cap. From the summit we headed north passing sandstone outcrops and down through the trees over numerous man made boardwalks, built to protect the vegetation, to a shallow valley before reaching Shadow Lake. We decided to do a side route up Little Hugel, described as 1 hour return in our guide book (we should have known that wasn't going to be the case given it's 2.6km and about 350m of ascent but we headed off anyway!). The route walks around Shadow Lake and Forgotten Lake before climbing steeply through dense forest on a very poor track to reach open rocky slopes. It's then a scramble up boulders to the summit, great fun but Diane was exhausted by the time we reached the top! After enjoying more extensive views we headed back down. The 'diversion' took c2.5 hours in total. We continued back down the main track and eventually got back to our van 9 hours after starting the walk, which is the most we've done for quite a while. After beer and showers we treated ourselves to pizza, a bottle of Old Peculiar for Simon, and a bottle of wine at the cafe. To Simon's annoyance we got moved from the restaurant to the cafe as we didn't want to order from a la carte menu. A very old fashioned thing to do! Back at the van we had an early night, very tired after a superb day out in the hills.  

Early morning mist clearing over Lake St Clair 

On route to Mt Rufus 

Mt Rufus - the summit is actually behind the ridge 

The summit 

Stunning views from the summit (you can just make out the Frenchman's Cap in the far distance just slightly left of centre) 

A windy summit cairn 

Amazing coloured bark on the snow gum trees (the picture doesn't do it justice) 

Shadow Lake with Little Hugel in the background 

Looking back at Mt Rufus 

The view from Little Hugel 

Little Hugel summit  

Enjoying a well deserved beer 

And a bottle of Old Peculiar (in the cafe!) 

Lake St Clair Day 127 23/01/2015

It was warm and sunny when we got up and we enjoyed breakfast outside before packing up our van (we're starting to get into a bit of a routine with this by now!) We then drove north west to Cradle Mountain national park where we planned to stay at Cynthia Bay on the shore of Lake St Clair for a couple of nights.  We stopped off in Ouse (situated on the River Ouse, but no York nearby) for provisions (the local supermarket had a rather limited choice) and then continued to Tarraleah where we stopped to see the hydroelectric plant, built in the 1920's.  The village itself is a surreal place most closely resembling a ghost town, once a home to 3200 workers it's now a privately owned holiday village with no permanent residents. The two plants are very impressive and we marvelled at the feat of engineering and the harsh conditions that the workers endured to build these nearly 100 years ago. However as computer technology took over in the 60's the workers were not required and now the plants are managed and controlled remotely (although we were assured there are still regular site visits!). We had a very nice lunch at the cafe before continuing our journey along the Derwent Valley which is base to a number of large lakes, lagoons and dams to Lake St Clair. After registering at the campsite we had a look around visitors centre and lake shore. This is the end of the Overland trail, which is 80kms in length, starting at Cradle Mountain and backpacking takes 8 to 10 days to complete. The visitors centre was full of interesting history of the trail and the local area. The whole area is a lovely setting with Lake St Clair being the deepest lake in Australia. It was a bit too cold to sit outside so we chilled out in our van debating options for tomorrow. The weather forecast is a bit mixed so we looked at several options including a boat trip across the lake (although Simon wasn't showing too much interest in this one because as usual he just wants to climb mountains!).

Enjoying breakfast al fresco

The hydro electric plant 

On route to Cradle Valley 

Day 126 22/01/2015

It rained heavily overnight but luckily we woke to high cloud and decided to walk to Mount Field West, the highest peak in the National Park. After breakfast and packing up we headed back up the dirt track, this time heading a bit further along to Lake Denton where the walk starts. This part of the park is actually a low key ski resort although it hasn't opened for a number of years due to lack of snow. Ski chalets and tow lifts are visible on the hillside. The walk heads up through the trees, where we spotted a wallaby, to open moorland above Lake Seal. Long sections of the path are broadwalks to protect the delicate alpine plants with the added benefit of protecting your boots and trousers. From here you go up to the ridge on the Rodway Range where the boulder fields begin and continue as you drop to a deep saddle before climbing back up past Naturalist Peak to Mount Field West. The summit is an isolate rocky tower, with plunging steep cliffs on three sides, on the western edge of the park and provides lovely views over the many peaks of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The return route to the car park is by the same route and by the time we got back we'd really had enough of boulders (Diane certainly had). On the way down we past a couple who took our photo - apparently they very rarely see people on the track and wanted a momentum of when they had! It started to rain as we drove down the dirt track making our van decidedly muddy. As it was too late for the cafe at the visitors centre we headed back to the camp site to find that our new neighbours had decided to move our pitch. All a bit odd but we still had somewhere to plug in for the night - and they then had an attack of the possums. Some of the caravans and trucks at the campsite are huge and most have large Australian flags hanging from flag poles as Australia Day approaches. The rain started to fall quite heavily in the evening and we went to bed with the sound of it bouncing on the van roof.  

Crossing delicate alpine vegetation

Lake Seal Lookout (it was a bit windy!) 

On route to Rodway Range

Tarn Shelf lookout 

Having a rest on the boulders

Mt Field West - right of centre in the distance 

Mt Field West summit...more boulders  

Views across to the wilderness 

Summit carn 

Looking east from the summit

Lake Seal 

Views south from the summit