The North

The turn off to the Cradle Mountain part of the national park isn't even visible on a Google map until you zoom in quite close. However, everyone in Tassie seems to recommend checking it out as it is very popular with all sorts of chalets, info centres and even a tasmanian devil park inside. It is also the start of the Overland Track, and becomes quite popular in the summer with good weather and a waiting list for individuals wishing to do the trek.

Although it was still quite busy the day we visited the park, the sky was cloudy with light rain falling. We agreed we didn't want to spend another soggy night in a tent so we were only going to do a short hike. So off to beautiful Dove Lake we went! It looked like a beautiful location even with the low lying cloud. It was also a popular little hike taking around 2 hours as you walked along the really well laid out path around the lake.

Dove Lake is circled in orange!

Starting out on the hike

A cloudy day at the lake

Honeymoon Islands

It I get the chance, I really have to go back to Cradle Mountain so I can actually see the landscape on a clear day. I would also love to try a couple more hiking trails in good weather, but I'm glad we managed to do something.

the well laid out paths

After coming back to the car-park, and only a little bit wet, we head out of the park. With dwindling daylight hours we drove off in the direction of Launceston, Tassmania's second largest city. The tricky thing about driving by a map in Tassie is that it's very difficult to determine which roads will actually be straight and wide enough that you can make good progress on them. In the end we just followed the signs from one town to another until Launceston started to receive some sign space too! Nearly there we decided to call up the backpackers hostel to make sure they had room. Luckily they did and we arrived after dark to their location just off the main road coming into town.

We prepared a rather interesting soup for dinner using up the leftover vegetables and the random cans of tomatoes and beans we had been carrying. It was nice to have a stove and fridge for the second time, but  a kettle for a hot cup of tea (or maybe many more than one) was probably the best part. The hostel was right around the corner from a Coles Supermarket, so off went the girls to buy our food supplies for the rest of the week. Of course, being girls, the dessert section drew our attention and we ended up coming back with a cheesecake for dessert to be enjoyed with some more tea.

The next morning after hot showers (!) we drove to Launceston's only attraction. Well thats a bit of a lie but the Cataract Gorge is nearly the only thing listed in the lonely planet guide to go see in Launceston. They also seem quite proud of of their little green space in the city centre. Parking costs, but if you run really quickly you can see enough of it to qualify for the 10 minute parking spot!

The park and chairlift at the gorge

oooooh the suspension bridge!

The gorge is basically a little basin with some man-made water ways, an outdoor pool you would probably not want to swim in, a pricey and rickity little chairlift that takes you across the gorge, a walking suspension bridge over the water and a bunch of paths that will lead you around the green space. It's not super exciting but I can see the draw in being able to pack a nice picnic and grill some burgers and maybe take on some nature walks all about 10 minutes from home.

The gorge

Anyway after our whirlwind tour, we packed back into the car and drove towards the East coast. As Hobart and Launceston are connected by a good bus route, it will be quite possible to go back and check out sites on a weekend.  The drive to the east is quite beautiful as you head now through the farming country dipping in and out of valleys.

Launceston to the East Coast

We stopped just off the road at a beautiful lookout, gazing into a totally different land from the one we had just come from. Afterwards we made one stop in Scottsdale for gas but arrived in good time at the St. Helens' info centre....where I'll leave off for the day!

A fabulous view