All That Taz – The Cradle Mountain
With excitement I rose early on the second day in Launceston. We were heading to the Cradle Mountain, and I wondered if I would come close to anything like an adventure.
My bent for history has guided my research on Tasmania, particularly Port Arthur. As I researched more, however, I became very excited about hiking in the national parks. I was hoping that I could meet a Devil, as the adorable Tasmanian Devils are called.
Our tour guide Graham told us early on that we were not going to see the Tasmanian Devil. He set our expectations right: there would be wombats, and a crow-like bird called the currawong, and wallabies. Indeed, these were all common even in Melbourne. Those turned out to be the only animals we saw, plus a few more varieties of wild birds. Although God did not answer my prayer on seeing the Devil, He showed me a magnificent nature in Cradle Mountain. In fact, the hiking experience was almost spiritual.
On our way to the Cradle Mountain we passed by the town of Sheffield to see some murals. They were interesting enough, apparently works that showcased artists who have seen the Cradle Mountain. A Hong Kong contestant won the competition in 2012.
Graham told us some intimate local knowledge about the Cradle Mountain. Last year (that would be 2015) was the driest year in history and this year the area was overcompensated in terms of rainfall. It was raining 300 days in a year. Flooding caused severe damage to the infrastructure. We could tell that Graham was very passionate about nature. He said that a plastic bottle takes one thousand years to decompose in nature. Even a tissue takes years to decompose naturally. I saw him picking up those plastic bottles from beneath the wooden bridge when he introduced us to the Perennial Falls.
The Cradle Mountain originally belonged to the Palawa people, but gradually, they were removed from the area. The mountain acquired its name due to its resemblance to a cradle with a baby. West Tasmania was purportedly the last bit of Antarctica that split and formed into the continent of Australia and the Island Tasmania. Cradle Mountain is a group of a few mountains in the area, itself being the 5th highest of Tasmania at 1,545 meters. The group of heights includes the Smithies Peak and the Barn Bluff.
Since we were in the depths of winter, we could expect a reasonable chance of snowing. If there were overcast, we would not be able to see the Cradle Mountain at all. The Aborigines had 12 seasons. If we adopt the perspectives of the original settlers of the Cradle Mountain, we might experience four seasons and sixteen weathers during our three-hour walk that day.
There were a few trails at Dove Lake. The tour guide gave us a choice of two: either the more rigorous Marions Lookout or the possibly longer but less strenuous Dove Lake Circuit. We opted for the easier Dove Lake Circuit. My tourist’s brochure introduced the Dove Lake Circuit as one of Tasmania’s six great short walks.
