Cradle Mountain...

West Tasmania is certainly a place of great contrast...


Beautiful rivers and forests turn into a battered landscape that has been mined and stripped of forests and topsoil. Plantation forests also dot the landscapes around these parts.


The areas around Queenstown, Strahan and Roseburg are probably what initiated the conservation movement that fought to save the Franklin River. Conservationists must have thought enough was enough in this region.


People have to make a living I guess....

Queenstown

We stayed in a small ex-mining town (Waratah) which is about 40km north of Cradle Mountain.


Tin was discovered here in the late 19th Century and the discovery triggered a mining boom and the birth of mining in Tasmania.


81,000 tonnes of tin was mined here before the mine closed in 1935.


Boy it was cold and often wet around these parts. Down to 10 degrees at time...

At Cradle Mountain we walked around Dove Lake to get a good view of the mountain (when the low cloud cleared). It was a 5km loop walk through varied environments...


Some of us got a bit tired at times....

but struggled on.....

Finally the low cloud clears and we get a view of Cradle Mountain....


The impressive landforms here were formed around 500 thousand years ago by glaciers.

More rainforests to enjoy...

 It did get a bit hilly at times.....

The weather seemed to change every 5 minutes....

Ahhh finished.....

 Another short walk revealed a lovely waterfall....


Always a good opportunity to slow down the camera's shutter speed to get a different effect.....

Our final walk of the day was the 'Enchanted Walk'.

There was plenty of evidence of wombats around here so we had our eyes to the ground hoping to catch a sight of one....

Anyone home??

No wombats but we did see the cutest echidna having his lunch...

Look at that face, so cute.....

They have the funniest back feet, they almost look back to front....

We were then heading home after a wonderful day at Cradle Mountain..
The kids and I went to check out a gift shop and Frank was heading to get the car.
Frank came running in as he had sighted a wombat rummaging around near the main road..


So big, so cute was this 'Common Wombat'

The wombat certainly saved Frank's wallet, Ha!!


A fabulous day in this amazing World Heritage Area!!