The next day we visited the Cradle Mountain National Park. The National Park is situated in the heart of the 1.4 million hectare Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The National Park has a Visitor Centre where one can purchase an entry ticket (day pass) for A$28 per person. From the Visitor Centre, a bus runs the 6 kilometres down to Dove Lake, with intermediate stops, for the start of the walking trails.
There are many different walking trails with the short walks all being under 3 hours walking time. The National Park also boasts that visitors can see wildlife, go canyoning or take a scenic helicopter ride. ‘Canyoning’ is where people throw themselves into a fast flowing mountain stream and get carried down stream at high speed. We decided to give this a miss.
We took the bus down to Dove Lake and decided to take the Dove Lake circuit walk which is a 6 kilometre track and takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on stops.
The track we walked was very well maintained and although it undulated, it wasn’t difficult walking. There were many good views around the lake with good opportunities for taking photos.
After our walk we went back to Devils@Cradle for our ‘After Dark Wildlife Tour’. As many of the indigenous animals are nocturnal, a visit after dark gives one a different perspective of the animals.
The tour guide – one of the keepers – gave some commentary on each type of animal, its traits, and how they are trying to reintroduce them into the wild.
As the sunset and night descended we enjoyed a drink and some snacks whilst watching the animals although it was very dark and not at all good for photography as flash, understandably, was not allowed.
Copyright: Words and photos (other than Cradle Mountain National Park map) John Cruse 2025