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!