Cradle Mountain, a real wilderness

BeforeI start telling you about our visit to Cradle Mountain I must take this opportunity to acknowledge Fogg's wonderful photographs. I have not taken many preferring to use my camcorder, but he has always snapped at anything that took my eye and the results I think you will agree are brilliant.

Cradle Mountain is in a large National Park that extends through the middle of Tasmania. It is a World Heritage site because it is so pristine and special. It really is a true wilderness and has many plants and animals not found elsewhere. I will describe the area as Alpine. When we were
there it was very cold but sunny and the air was so clean it was almost intoxicating. On the morning that we left there was a hard frost.
We stayed in a wonderful resort called Cradle Mountain Lodge which has won many awards for tourism. We had a cabin set up high in the hills and with a wood burning stove we were snug and cosy. It felt a little bit like Christmas as we sat in front of a roaring fire with a glass of port!
Cradle Mountain is very distinctive and can be seen for miles around. In front of it in the photo lies Dove Lake a beautiful place for walking. We know that living in the lake are duck-billed platypus but unfortunately we did not see any on
our visit. We did however see some other wonderful animals who were completely unphased by our presence and just carried on doing their thing. On our balcony sat a Bennett's wallaby. Up above him on the hill were pademelons (an Aboriginal name, they are tiny wallabies) and a wombat wandered across my path as I walked to the Lodge for a bit of pampering! We went on a night spotlight tour and saw two pairs of brushtail possums, mums with their babies.
As always it was the trees and plants that took my breath away. Because the air is so clean and there is plenty of water the trees are covered with mosses, ferns and lichens. There is a primeval feel as if we had stepped back several million years in time. The air was cold and clear and it was absolutely silent. It was a very special place and we are very privileged to have seen it.

With best wishes
Phileas