Monthly Archives: November 2017

Cradle Mountain

Monday 20th November 2017
Today we went on a 5km hike with Paul, Ali, Emma and Kate. We caught a shuttle bus to Dove Lake then climbed and scrambled at some stages, then used the chains to guide us up to Marion Lookout, which was the 1st half of the Cradle Mountain Summit walk. It went from 890m to 1220m elevation. It was a tough climb for the girls as some of the steps were up to Kate’s thigh. They were amazing. There were no other children at the top, so they were really pleased with themselves.

The scenery was beautiful, especially Cradle Mountain. There was some snow in a couple of spots on the mountain as well, quite surprising as the sun had been shining for a few days and the temperature today was about 29′. The walk down was a lot easier and we finished the walk with a surprise spotting of a wombat, right near where we were walking on the boardwalk. The walk finished at Ronny’s Creek 866m above sea level. We headed back to camp for a well earned rest.

After dinner we all headed back to Ronny Creek for a wombat hunt. We saw over 50 wombats in a very small area. A lovely day was had by all. DB spent another 45mins searching for the elusive platypus to no avail. We watched the sunset then headed back to camp.

What a beautiful place. We will definitely be back to do some more hiking.

: Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake from the carpark

: The start of the walk goes around part of Dove Lake. There is a 6km circuit track you can do around the lake

: You come to an old boatshed..

: ..and it is on a boardwalk. Very easy start to the day.

: View over Crater and Dove Lakes

: The walk got tougher and then the challenge begins…

: an extremely steep, rocky section, with chains for assistance..

: ..this was exceptionally tough for the girls..

: The reward was an amazing view at Marion Lookout..

: The girls added their stones to the peace of the Lookout

: Brothers in arms at the Lookout

: View of the lake from Marion Lookout

: The tricky track down…Very steep again and rocky

: Kate and Emma at another boathouse on the lake

: The Broadbent Family in the rainforest

: Almost back to the carpark. Just the boardwalk to go.

: A very lucky spot in the middle of the day…

: ..this wombat was right next to the boardwalk.

: They are amazing looking creatures.

: When we came back at dusk they were everywhere..

: The girls counted more than 50 and I am sure there would have been more if we had stayed longer

: Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain

: Sunset

: The amenities at our campsite are very aesthetically plasing. Blending into the natural envirnment

Devonport to Cradle Mountain

Sunday 19th November 2017
After having breakfast, visiting the Information Centre and doing the groceries (as you cannot take fruit, vegetables and fish on the boat) we headed on our way. We stopped at a town called Sheffield where we saw some amazing murals. This was a new incentive for the town to try to encourage the tourists to the town. They have a competition on these large mural boards every year, as well as having many murals painted on the building walls, similar to in Christchurch. There are some very talked about artists in the world. We then drove on to a lookout at Mt Roland on our way to our campsite at cradle Mountain. A lovely big Discovery Caravan Park. It was very much like a National Park campground with every site in its own little alcove. The amenities and camp kitchen, huts and ensuites were all aesthetically designed to blend in with the natural surrounds. It is lovely. There have been many visitors to our camp sites – pademelon, echidna, possums.

: Murals at Sheffield…

: the artists are very talented..

: ..they are amazing..

: this one had Emma and I fooled, we didn’t even look at it properly as we thought it was a barricade

: Register for signing in your walking intentions and return

: Murals are also on the walls of buildings. It was an initiative to draw the tourists to the area

: Mount Roland

: Wildlife is in abundance in our first camp. Our first visitor to the camp was a pademelon to clean up some spilt weetbix..

: Kate then said “I am going to look for an echidna” and 2 mins later we were taking this photo.

: He was so unafraid of us. We all were very close.

Melbourne Port to Devonport

Saturday 18th November 2017
We did a bit of shopping for camping gear at Albury and then headed on ur way to Melbourne. Only 3.5 hours to travel today. We arrived at the Port of Melbourne at about 4pm just in time for a thunderstorm. We sat out the rain in the car and headed to the boat at about 6.46pm. The boat was similar to the one we caught to Corsica, France a few years ago. We met Ali, Paul, Emma and Kate for dinner on the boat. It was great to see them and they had many adventure stories to share with us. I am sure we will hear many more before the holiday is over. DB and I are in single sex 4 bed share rooms, so we headed off to bed separately. Very unusual for us. DB was unlucky enough to have 3 other men in his room including a couple of snorers so he didn’t get much sleep at all. I was very fortunate to have the 4 bed room all to myself, so managed about 4 hours sleep. The boat was a bit rockin’ and rollin’ from about 4am. We were woken by an announcement at 5.45am and were called to go to our car at 6.30am. We arrived to a lovely day in Devonport, Tasmania.

: Melbourne Port waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania

: The deluge from the thunderstorm earlier left some flooding

: Boarding the Spirit of Tasmania

: From the boat looking back to Port Melbourne

: Inside the boat

: They have two cinemas on board

: …and some gaming consoles

: Lifeboat

: Spirit of Tasmania

Tasmania – Here We Come

Friday 17th November 2017
Well today we are off to our usual holiday start. As always we took till today to get organised and were delayed further by a late delivery. Usually our deliveries arrive about 10am but just because we wanted to leave it didn’t arrive until 3.30pm. So we headed on our way to Melbourne at 3.35pm. It took us 3 hours to get to Liverpool about 126km. A very slow start. We started to look for accommodation at about 7pm and were surprised to find that their was no accommodation at Yass, Gundagai or Goulburn. We were quite amazed. We had 2 options. Travel off course by 30 mins each way and stay at Canberra or drive through to Albury. We managed to get a late checkin at Albury so that was decided. A late checkin of 12 midnight was it.The road was long, boring and wet but we arrive safely. We later found out that the Snake Gully Cup was being held at Gundagai that weekend, therefore explaining the lack of accommodation in the area.

“The Snake Gully Cup – Taking it’s name from the famous “Dad and Dave” radio program, the popularity, prizemoney and prestige of the Snake Gully Cup Carnival has grown dramatically in recent years, with thousands of racegoers converging each November on the picturesque Gundagai racecourse.

With two full race days, the popular fashions on the field, family fun and top sponsors, the Snake Gully Cup Carnival makes a great time to come and visit and enjoy Gundagai.”