Down Under Down Under ⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡Day 11 ~ 1 Jan - Cradle Mountain Happy New Year! Today we'll go into the National Park proper.![]() It's not so warm first thing: plenty of layers needed. 25°C yesterday, 4°C now. Jo messages to say that they are both feeling a bit grotty and coldy, so are going to do their own thing and we'll meet up again later. ![]() We've have been paying little real attention to the whole Christmas and New Year vibe. It's not our normal idea of Christmas weather, of course, but Tasmania has seemed to have a lot fewer overt Yuletide trappings than we'd expect back home. The shuttle buses operate a frequent service from the visitor centre (which as I mentioned earlier, is just the other side of the road from us) to a number of stops in the park. Last night we walked pretty much the whole of the first leg, but today we're going to take the bus to save time getting to the Ranger Centre, the start of our route for today. Bus passes are A$15 - about £7.50 - per person for unlimited use in a 72-hour period, so excellent value. Two passes should cover our time here, no problem. ![]() Before we start our main walk, there's a short circular route from the Ranger Centre which takes in this view of Pencil Pines Falls. ![]() And now to begin our expedition proper. It's supposed to be a nice easy trail, and if it stays like this all the way (about 5.5km) it certainly will be. ![]() I am wearing the nice new coat that I bought a few days ago, and I'm very glad I did now. ![]() The boardwalk is indeed a nice easy trail through the forest. ![]() And then out into the open. The weather is dull and misty, but not actually raining and there's not much wind. ![]() Half an hour later, the sun is definitely starting to show, but the eagle-eyed will notice I have swapped my leather hat for the warm woolly one! ![]() A little spur off the main path leads us down to the Dove River. ![]() The rocks presumably have a lot of iron, because the water is very clear but is a strong orange-brown colour. ![]() The scenery changes again. At this point we've been walking about a hour and a half on the boardwalk and have literally not seen a single other person. Another hour and we reach the end, and only then will we find any others. We may not have had the greatest weather, but we've certainly enjoyed the varying landscapes and the quiet. We will now continue onto the "Lake Lilla" track via a short section of the famous "Overland Track", a major multi-day hike. ![]() The landscape here looks particularly alien. Those indistinct blobs at the top right are, I think, Overland Trackers. There are not too many casual walkers like us out today. ![]() Our first view of Lake Lilla, where this little creek spills out of it. ![]() No boardwalk now, but not a difficult trail. ![]() After some research, I have concluded that these small orange blobs are Cyttaria gunnii. It's quite hard initially to be certain, because these are much smaller than in most pictures, and at this early stage they also look very much like other Cyttaria species that aren't found anywhere in Australia. These, however, are near-endemic to Tasmania. Curious facts I discovered along the way about some of those related species: Cyttaria hariotii harbours a yeast which may have transmitted cold tolerance to the yeast used to brew lager; Cyttaria darwinii was collected by Charles Darwin and its fruiting bodies are sometimes called "Darwin's Golfballs". ![]() Quite a clear (if you ignore the mist) view of Lake Lilla from the path a little higher up. ![]() At Lake Dove, we come back down to the shore again, where several tracks all meet at this boathouse. ![]() Pity, there are no boats in the boathouse. I think a little picnic by rowing boat on a fine day would be rather nice, although I have no idea if it's a practical proposition. We know they have some kayaking and other water activities, but in weather like this we're staying on damp land. ![]() We love the way this bark just looks like it wrinkled when somebody bent the tree. Not quite sure what really causes this effect - maybe it is when somebody bent the tree. Well, we've been out for the best part of four hours now, and despite the dull cold, we've had a beautiful walk. I'm not going to say it's a good thing that the weather has kept the trails mostly free of other visitors, but... Well, you might think that, I couldn't possibly comment. Still, we'll get the bus all the way back now. We'd taken a packed lunch, but didn't find a good spot to eat it on the trail, so we'll eat it at the table instead. We light the fire and settle in for a lazy afternoon. Amanda tries the bath and declares it an excellent one, especially with the large window looking out into the forest. Jo and Meta come over for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles. They've just done a couple of short easy walks as they've not been feeling 100% ![]() A small half-pint of G&T will be nice, and perhaps restorative even. ![]() And if it's not, well, we'll just put it down to good old -fashioned decadence. ![]() Meta's isn't quite up to it so decides to forsake the demon trink in favour of enjoying the belated appearance of the sun. ![]() If you are a birdy type, you will obviously instantly cry out, "Ah, a Black Currawong, Strepera fuliginosa, endemic to Tasmania and neighbouring islands!", and you will know that despite appearances it is not closely related to the crow. We, not being birdy types, won't know any of this until I will have looked it up much later, and are thinking "Big black bird sitting on the rail of our verandah". It seems that in the national parks, they've become accustomed to scavenging human food, although the park authorities actively discourage tourists from feeding them. This one may just be trying its luck. ![]() Sorry birdy, I don't think this is what you're after.. Hmm... Let me zoom in on that label for a mo' ![]() Now when I saw this, I would have sworn that it was from an old punk rock poster or record label (think 1977, "God Save the Queen", etc), but much searching has revealed nothing quite the same. Lots of punk Lizzie images generally, but not this. But note the producer's name: Moorilla. Were you paying attention when you saw the picture of Moorilla vines at Mona? Mona is actually built on the wine estate, which David Walsh bought specifically because he wanted the Roy Grounds-designed house which is now the entrance to Mona. He then thought that if he'd bought a winery, maybe he should make wine. After a bit of a false start, Moorilla seems to be thriving now. Story here. So there has to be an artistic link even if I can't find it for now. This, incidentally, is their "Praxis Chardonnay Musqué". They say of their three ranges, "Praxis is the bold and the immediate; Muse is the old world remade in the new; and Cloth is the luxurious and daring, decades in the making." So we're bold and immediate then! Sounds good to me. ![]() I realise I haven't got a picture of our chalet in context. Although we're not a long way from anyone else, we're nicely secluded in the trees. From our verandah we can just see the top of J&M's chalet, but no more than that: we're all really private. ![]() This is all you can see, and even then you have to be in the right place to see it. ![]() Slaving away in my kitchen. ![]() And dinner is served. Mussels in wine with noodles and broccoli. ![]() Goodnight! ⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡ |