Honeymoon: Phase 8: Narawntapu National Park

Well, it was finally down to our last day. We checked ourselves out of the River View Lodge, which served as home for 3 days of our journey. There, we enjoyed a warm breakfast and a room with a bathroom. It was a very cosy spot despite the decorations which were strikingly very floral. We wanted to use our last day in Tasmania for something fun, so we drove up to Narawntapu National Park which was only a short trip from Devonport. We were both very pleased with the decision. When we arrived, it was tough to know if this was the spot we were actually supposed to go to because there was barely anyone there. We took the Springlawn Nature Trail, which seemed like it would be the most popular trail. We saw absolutely no one on the entire walk. It was peace and quiet when it came to humans, but it would be foolish to say that we had the place to ourselves. The abundance of wildlife had overwhelmed us all over Tasmania, but this place was ridiculous. As soon as we started on the trail, we saw the Forester kangaroo, which is the smallest of the kangaroo family, but still a good sized marsupial. From there we saw tons of pademelons, really a ridiculous amount. There were also these large parrots in the trees and they really made a large racket. We took the trail and it wound its way up to Archer's Knob. We were in no hurry whatsoever, as we definitely walked slower on this hike than any other hike I have been on. It almost became a competition between Jacqueline and I to pick out the pademelons as if we stopped to look around, we could see them anywhere in the bush. Immediately afterward we would see them as they took off running away. Eventually we made it up to Archer's Knob, which gave us a wonderful view of Baker's Beach. We took the trail down to the beach and the air seemed warm enough on this day to jump in, but since I knew I would not have a shower until a couple days later of traveling, I did not take the plunge. Instead we enjoyed the beautiful, empty beachfront and then it was back to the woods to see some more wildlife. I was frustrated that we had not got a good shot of an echidna, yet. Luckily, we stood very still as we saw one emerging from the bush. With neither of us moving, the echidna with its poor eyesight, just wandered right in front of us. His acute hearing, though, made him dig very swiftly into the earth when he finally heard us. There, halfway underground, the only part remaining above the surface was his spiky quills. A good defense that has allowed him to survive for many millions of years. From there on out, it was slow motion hiking enjoying our animal companions. Jacqueline just loved the wallabies and it was going to be sad to take her away from them, but our itinerary said that we had to be back in Melbourne to fly out the next morning. So we drove ourselves back through the countryside dotted with poppy fields and back into Devonport. We had to take the boat in the evening, but frankly I did not want to screw around too much so we got there kind of early. We asked about upgrading to a cabin, but the price was very steep. It may have been a good idea as we spent a mostly restless night on the boat and even had to change seats at one a.m. after a passenger next to us was having a drunken schizophrenic episode. From Melbourne, we flew to L.A., L.A. to Las Vegas, Las Vegas to Detroit, and Detroit to Midland as we were spending Christmas with Jacqueline's folks. All and all, it was somewhere near three days of travelling and I just happened to have a cold through all of that which progressively got worse as we did not sleep much or well for that matter. It was sad for the honeymoon to be over, but we will always keep the warm memories of the animals, beaches, mountains, leeches, and most of all the blessing to be able to share it all with someone very special to the other.

Honeymoon: Phase 7: Back to Devonport

The bus took us through the western part of Tasmania that we did not think that we were going to get to see. It was an amazing with wild rivers and mountains everywhere on this drive. If I hadn't just spent five straight days backpacking, I may have longed to go explore it. Right now, in our smelly, wet, dirty state, the most important thing to us was a shower and a meal. Still we enjoyed the drive thoroughly as a huge waterfall poured down from the multi-colored cliffs that surrounded Queenstown, which was just a little nook of a town nestled within all of these mined mountains. The bus dropped us off across from a motor lodge where we got ourselves a not inexpensive, but very cheap looking room. We were stuck with two extra small twin beds, but we sure got our money's worth with how dirty we were to leave the room after unpacking and airing out all of our soaking wet gear. The shower worked great and we both got to be refreshed. We hit the town and filled our gullet with ice cream, pizza, and beer trying to quickly erase the positive effects of spending five days carrying a heavy load. We spent the evening in, but we were able to witness a strange event. The place that we were staying was being used for some big event for the high schoolers. It was complete with red carpet and everyone was dressed fancy. We still don't know what went on, but a large portion of the town was outside our hotel room enjoying the spectacle. The next day we took the bus again. It drove us first up to Cradle Mountain and then back down to Devonport. It made me very pleased that we had not decided to spend the trip riding buses. We showed up at the bed and breakfast and eventually we got in. We spent the next day and a half just wandering around Devonport eating some extremely good food, buying souvenirs, and even catching a movie at the movie theater. We were able to rent a car eventually which gave us a little more freedom. Our first order of business was to go to the miniature golf course. It was one of the more difficult that I have played, but in the last three holes I was able to take down Jacqueline for a resounding victory. We next tried to find a spot where each night penguins came out to feed their young. We drove around for a while and eventually found it. Jacqueline was lucky enough to spot a baby penguin under the deck we were standing on. We realized that we still had a while before the mom's would show up and it was getting chilly, so we made our way back into Devonport, avoiding a huge Christmas parade that was going on, grabbed our down jackets, and then back just in time to see the penguins. There were some volunteers there with red lights so that we could see them approaching the beach. The little guys just went nuts when it was feeding time and they peeked their little heads out to wait for their mothers. They were so incredibly loud and it was just an enjoyable experience to be there to see penguins in the wild. Funny, this was the latest we stayed out on our whole honeymoon making it nearly to 11pm. We knew we should get some good sleep, though, because tomorrow would be our last day in Tasmania before a series of boat, tram, bus, plane rides to eventually get us back to the U.S.A.

Honeymoon: Phase Six: Overland Track: Day 5

We awoke to an alarm and the sound of rain pounding on the tent, both of which are things that I usually do not want to do in the backcountry. We already worked out the arrangement where Jacqueline would go get ready on the porch of the ranger's cabin while I got everything together. This way I would not have to wait for her to get out of the tent, thus speeding up our trip out. It worked out well and we were on the trail by 6am. As we were leaving, we saw our competition getting ready. We knew we had a good head start to make the bus and we were going to need it. We got to have another adventure slogging through the mud and the rainforest. I thought that since we were getting closer to Lake St. Clair the trail conditions would improve, but I was wrong. The difficulties on this day were not necessarily the mud, but the brush and the trees as it made everything slow going. We were soaked also and Jacqueline was not very happy with the early morning. The only thing that seemed to motivate her was the thought of getting a shower. I was excited to do something hard and different. The benefit of it was that we were up when all the wildlife was out. We saw a dozen pademelons along the way. We were starting to figure out which was which not just by size, but by reaction. The wallabies were just scared enough to get out of arm length, while the pademelons were much more scared of us and would take off after we got close. We had a hard time enjoying the lake because of the pounding rain. It did not help when the ferry flew by us on the water and Jacqueline asks me why we did not take that. Frankly, I did not even consider it an option because this really seemed like the whole trip to me. It would not have been complete without the five hour walk around the lake. We put in our time and eventually we saw where the ferry pulled in and figured that the visitor centre was near there. The trail slowly got better until we crossed a bridge with a sign that said visitor centre and Jacqueline was happy for the first time on the day. We still had a twenty minute walk back to the visitor centre but it was on a nicely graveled road. It was great to see the visitor centre, but we also saw the rows of packs. We knew that there would be a slim shot of getting on the bus. Sebastian showed up a bit later and we spoke about it with him. I gave the bus company a call and they said they were completely full. The only hope would be to talk to the bus driver. So I waited out there and it was not looking good. Jacqueline came over after getting into some drier clothes. The bus driver came over and said unfortunately there was no room. Luckily, Jacqueline spouted out that we wanted to get to Devonport. He said that the other bus there was going up toward Queenstown and then the next day would be going to Devonport. This sounded perfect and we called the bus company to change our booking. They let us do it with no extra charge, which is something that would not happen in the U.S. So we made sure to take our seats on the bus, because we had traveled so far just to get there on this morning. The bus pulled out a little after noon and the day had seemed so full already.

Honeymoon: Phase Six: Overland Track: Day 4

To Jacqueline's chagrin, we found ourselves up bright and early again. We were first to hit the trail, happily with most of our gear dried out from the day before. We had another beautiful day as we headed back into our rainforest topography. Jacqueline was a bit unhappy to see that we got passed by yet another group of high school age kids, but once we got to the Du Cane Hut, they were taking a break, so we passed them easily. This day was highlighted by amazing waterfalls. They were only side tracks on the trail, but I could not imagine hiking the Overland Track and allowing yourself to miss these waterfalls. I think it may be because Jacqueline and I come from the desert, but we were not expecting to see such a powerful sight. Once we dropped our packs, hiked down the trail, and took the right fork for Ferguson Falls, we were in for a sight. 

The trail took us to where we were standing right next to Ferguson Falls as this single torrent of water came rushing out of the cliffs. It was tough to get a good picture and frankly it could not all be fit in there. We left with big smiles on our faces as we looked for our next falls, D' Alton Falls. This was an absolutely amazing sight! I am going to post a video for the first time because frankly it is tough to imagine or describe the power and amount of water rushing over multiple tiers. There are rarely

places in the backcountry where I can just sit, stare, and soak it all up, but this was definitely one of those spots. We left very happy we took that side trip as we picked up our packs and hiked the short distance to our next side track. This time the trail lead to Hartnett Falls. Hartnett Falls was unique in that the trail lead us to the top of the falls. It is amazing how calm that water is at the top where it leads you to stand one step away from death. It is also funny how calm Jacqueline is with that even though it should be a height that is scary, but when looking at it, I guess does not seem real. We never got a good picture of Hartnett as the trail put us in a poor spot for a shot, but it was still worth seeing. We continued on the trail and ran into our friend Sebastian from Germany about to head down to check out Hartnett Falls. 

We talked to him a bit where he informed us something that we should have already known. The bus does not pick up in Lake St. Clair on Wednesdays. All this time we had been thinking that we could get a bus ride out if we got out a day early. This sent our thoughts into motion and our conversation turned to making it out tomorrow morning. We pondered it as we spotted an echidna burrowing in a log. We thought we should just go with the flow and see where it lead us as we climbed a short uphill section to the Du Cane Gap. 

The view from here was awesome but it was one of those all absorbing sorts of views that come from such places as Yellowstone and Toroweap, where a picture can't do it justice. The trail was slow going as we made our way through the forest to the Windy Gap or Bert Nichols Hut. From here we found a nice lunch spot on one of the tent pads with spectacular views of the Acropolis and the other peaks above Pine Valley.

 We did not even think of stopping for the night here as it was still only 1pm. We ran into some Aussie from Sydney on his way to do some crazy off trail hike that would take him from ridge to ridge across the peaks surrounding us. We wished him good luck as we tried to enjoy our lunch of old moldy bread and most likely bad meat. 

Mine was okay, but when Jacqueline gave me part of hers, I knew something was wrong with it. It seemed that our lunch had gone bad and there was not too much that we could do about it. This left Jacqueline's stomach uneasy and she had to make an emergency pit stop. That confirmed it and we could not eat that lunch again. Originally I wanted to head up to Pine Valley for a night. When we got to the junction, though, we turned it down knowing that our rations would probably run out before long. Jacqueline's feet were getting very sore as a new problem of using the tennis shoes had left her feet getting sore very easily. It seemed that the Narcissus Hut could not come soon enough and it did not. Along the way, I got to see a tiger snake and we both got to cross the unnecessary 1 person load limit swing bridge along the way. Sebastian passed us as I just had to keep my ornery bride moving. Finally the hut came in sight and we looked for a site. All the tent spots had been taken by an Asian family, the high school group, and Sebastian. We finally settled on camping right behind the ranger's quarters. This seemed perfectly safe as we had not seen a track ranger the entire trip. This was somewhat frustrating considering we paid $300 for our passes. We debated frequently whether that was money well spent. The condition of the trails and lack of park personnel did not seem to show it. The conditions of the huts, though, one could see where the money went. The Bert Nichols Hut was seriously nice, but Narcissus was rather run down. Thus our site behind the ranger's cabin was much nicer than it would have been inside the dilapidated hut. We still cooked our dinner in there where we let Sebastian know that we would be his competition for a spot on the supposedly full bus, information Sebastian had found out with his cell phone. I convinced Jacqueline that the only way we would make it was to awake at 5am and hit the trail at 6am, as a five hour hike awaited us. To add to the enjoyment an early start would bring, as we settled down to rest, the rain began to sprinkle down upon the tent.

Honeymoon: Phase Six: Overland Track: Day 3

We awoke to the hustle and bustle around the hut. The first question was to look outside and find out how the weather looked. So far, so good, as it was lightly overcast with a few wispy clouds around. It was convenient to be able to cook and get ready in the hut as the ground was still rather moist. Everything was nowhere near dry at this point inside the hut, though, as too many soggy bodies had tramped into the quarters. While packing I noticed that on the side, my shirt was blood stained. I found the wound and it was very small. I did not know it then, but it was another leech wound. We got ourselves going quick and eventually I had to put back on the wet boots. The trail climbed quickly and this, we knew, would be our last big ascent of the trip. The trail conditions were much better today, but trail construction still made it slow going. I had a little bout with stomach issues that slowed us down and it allowed the school group to pass us. 

We were able to enjoy the hiking a bit more on this day, because luckily as a late addition to my backpack before leaving Devonport, I threw in Jacqueline's tennis shoes. She wore these on this day, which alleviated the pressure from her uncomfortable hiking boots. I dropped the gaiters also, because they just seemed superfluous. The rainforest was very nice as we enjoyed the trees and the creeks flowing through. 

Rather quickly, we popped out on the saddle where we found our school group getting ready for the side track up Mt. Ossa. We did not spend much time getting ready as the Camelback pack that I carried on the outside made side trips very easy. We took a few snapshots of Mt. Pelion West and Mt. Ossa, then hit the trail. Jacqueline was determined this time and I could see it in her stride. She was almost running up this trail she was going so quick. I guess dropping all of that weight can help you get yourself going. The trail was nice at first with lots of flowers, both big and small. Then we hit the boulder field. 

This is where I wondered if Jacqueline would make it. Almost immediately, it became steep. The difference this time was that there was never a point where it became too much for her. Sure, her 5'1" body has more problems with big boulders than my 6'1" frame, but she never let that get to her. She just kept going and soon we were scrambling out of the worst stuff. Sure, it was easier than Cradle Mountain as nothing ever got over third class, but it still was not easy.

 We dropped a bit and then climbed back up some less steep boulders. We had to do a bit of trail finding on our own as there was still snow at this elevation and it just happened to be covering the trail. We picked our way around and made it up to a nearly flat top. The views were amazing and we only had a small way to travel to get to the top. The top of Mt. Ossa was so flat, though, that it was hard to tell where the actual top of the mountain stood. 

When we got to the end of the trail, it looked as if a pillar on the far side was the top. After negotiating a lot of obstacles (the largest one being my wife yelling at me for taking the risk to go over there) I could see from the base of that pillar, that the top was where Jacqueline was standing. So we both made the summit of the highest mountain in Tasmania, Mt. Ossa and I was proud of how determined my wife was to make that summit. The scramble down proved an easier task than Jacqueline thought it would. It was great to see the other people we knew from the hut still making their way up. We really were lucky as we had most of that trail to ourselves on the ascent. We were able to just enjoy the view of other mountains, lakes, and even a waterfall. We made it back to our gear thankful that the currawongs (raven-like birds) had not ripped open our packs. Talking to another hiker, we found out that some others had not been so lucky and this gentleman had fought off the currawongs as they were ripping into someone's pack. He also showed us one and told us about the leeches which is where the epiphany occurred to me and I indeed was not a hemophiliac. We tried to enjoy our lunch, but at this point we were getting worried. Two gripes about Tasmania is: 1) no bagels 2) no summer sausage. We tried these Turkish Pide Rolls as substitutes for bagels and some pre-cooked turkey breast. Both seemed like they were already near their last days. We had no choice and we ate them anyway, but with much less enjoyment than a delicious bagel, cheese, and summer sausage meal that has fueled so many sojourns. From here, the trail just went downhill mostly. 

A lot of the trail was boardwalk at this point, which made me believe that the boardwalk gets put in at some really random spots rather than where it is needed the most. We finally made our goal of Kia Ora and with no time to spare as I believe my lunch got to me. It was around three in the afternoon and we debated what we should do. I was feeling a bit queasy and a lot of our stuff needed to dry out. We finally convinced ourselves to just stay at Kia Ora for the night. So we put the tent up and it did not take but a few minutes for it to dry out. We got lucky with the weather again as this was a day where we could have used good weather and we got it. Kia Ora had some nice waterfalls so we went to check them out. We did not take the plunge and go swimming like others that were camping did. Since we could hear them from our camp spot when they jumped in, we figured that we made the right decision. Instead we got to relax and hang everything up to dry, have another dinner of rice and tuna, then get some nice sleep and dream about what the next day on the trail had to offer.

Honeymoon: Phase Six: Overland Track: Day 2

We awoke to a good steady rain. I looked around the tent to see if anything was wet on the inside. It was all dry as a bone and it made me happy that I picked up this tent before the trip. I dragged myself out of bed and put on all my rain gear. I got my stuff together and I got myself out of the tent. I left my beautiful, young wife to get ready in the tent while I braved the rain. After waiting for quite some time, I pried Jacqueline out of the tent so that I could pack it up since it needed to go at the bottom of the pack. The garbage bags that we bought to protect our gear and keep it dry were very flimsy and we did the best to keep the whole bag from ripping as we put our stuff inside.

 Finally we were packed up and ready to go, but Jacqueline was not in the mood for this kind of weather. We tried to keep our spirits up saying that we had been blessed so far on the trip with such great weather, that this was a situation that we should come to expect. The beginning of the trail from Lake Windermere was mostly boardwalk as we went through the steppe grass terrain. We came to some great views (if it would not have been raining) of the Forth Valley. The funny thing about it was that we could see the Old Pelion Hut across the valley, but seeing the size of the valley, we knew it was not going to be a short process. After that, the trail sent us into the trees. Here we were entering the rainforest terrain and for some reason, the boardwalk quit and the mud began. The difficulties in this terrain were not only slogging through the mud, but the exposed tree roots making walking slick and difficult. Jacqueline was fairly grumpy about all of this, but it kept up the adventurous part of the whole trip for me. It did not help her to see that we were being passed by some high school age students randomly throughout the day or that her boots were digging into the back of her heels so much that she was constantly in pain. The trail continued endlessly and so did the rain. There were creeks and gorges to check out, but mainly we slogged this section of the trail. Eventually after doing quite a bit of climbing, we began to descend. This lead us to the Old Pelion Hut and eventually to our final destination at the New Pelion Hut. It took us about 5 hours and on this day, the times posted were for the most part correct. We tried to locate a camp spot, but there did not seem to be any of the tent pads except for one right in the front already taken by another group. We settled for the hut on this night and honestly on a rainy day and night, it was a welcome relief. We took our shoes and socks off and I was surprised to see that I was bleeding rather profusely out of my foot. This was strange and the same thing had happened after our Hounslow Heath Track walk. It did not look to be a large cut, but it was very difficult to stop the bleeding. Later, I was to learn from a man from Sydney that the cause of this was that I had been bitten by a leech. When I thought about it later, I did remember the feel of something slimy going down my gaiter, but I just assumed it was water that had found its way in there. Once I finally got the bleeding to coagulate and we got our warm clothes on, we settled in for a day and evening of relaxation. We played a lot of card games and talked to other people in the Pelion Hut. Most of the folks were from Australia including a large school group. There was one guy, Sebastian who showed up late in the evening, who was from Germany, but almost everyone there seemed to be Australian. We occasionally went outside to see the wildlife as it was getting to be commonplace to see the wallabies and pademelons. We even saw another small marsupial, the quoll, hiding under some planks near the bathroom. The hut ended up being very nice for cooking, eating, and getting our stuff to be somewhat dry, but when it came time to sleep, it was not very private and I struggled with the snoring of someone who was not even in the same room as us. Still, it was nice to interact with others, as much of our trip was just Jacqueline and I, so it was fine to get a short break from that. We hoped as we could not tell from the inside, that when we awoke in the morning, the rain would have ceased and we would be blessed with another beautiful day.

Honeymoon: Phase Six: Overland Track: Day 1

The Overland Track is the much hyped week long backpacking trip from Cradle Valley to Lake St. Clair. On it, one travels through some of the more remote and beautiful areas of Tasmania. We got a good early start, which I was hoping for because a lot of people were probably making the trip up on a bus or some other form of transportation. There were a few people on the trail in the morning, but they were all day hikers who were staying at Cradle Valley. We knew that the trail was going to climb elevation quickly, but it was not too difficult to start out with as it was all boardwalk. We stopped to take a picture of Crater Falls that ran along the trail. Soon we were at the overlook of Crater Lake and Jacqueline was not happy about having to go up the steep rocky part with a full pack on. She handled it fine and we were quickly at Marion’s Lookout with great views of Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain. From there, the trail flattened out and it was much like the Hounslow Heath Track as we continued our trip on a high plateau. We eventually came to the Kitchen Hut, where we dropped our packs for a trip up Cradle Mountain. I was not too worried about this climb even though the mountain looked so steep, because there was a trail up it. Jacqueline and I started out just blazing up the trail, passing everyone as we went. The trail started to skirt a boulder field. Then it climbed steeply up a boulder field. Jacqueline was doing great, but we hit a wall literally. She could not see it but there were good holds and an easy spot to put her feet. I try not to push her to do anything she does not want to and she had enough at this point. So I left her sitting there and I continued up. I now moved very quickly without her to worry about. The climbing was great as it was mostly third class with some fourth class moves thrown in. I love mountain climbing and this reminded me why. It just felt great to be moving swiftly up this boulder ridden landscape. I wished that my wife could be there with me, but I am glad that she has limits and pays attention to them. Soon, I was on top and a German couple that were up there snapped a photo. The view was great as I could see in all directions where we came from and where we were going. I only spent enough time on top to take a picture, because I had to get back down to Jacqueline. When I came across the Canadian guy we had passed on the way up, he said to me, “Wow, you move like a mountain goat.” I felt pretty good about that. I made it back to Jacqueline and she was frustrated. She wished she could have made the top and beat herself up about it all the way down, through lunch, and as we continued on the Overland Track. The thought earlier was to possibly climb Barn Bluff also, but it was supposed to be more difficult than Cradle, so we decided against it. It would have been fun as it is an impressive landmark, but my desire to do it was not as great as it was for Cradle. The track continued with a lot of boardwalk. After the junction for Barn Bluff, it started dropping into what was called Waterfall Valley. I was expecting this dense forest with water all around us. We did not see one waterfall in Waterfall Valley. Instead it was wide open, but I could tell that when it rained the valley probably had a lot of waterfalls in it. This was where most people would spend the first night as it would have been a full day of hiking and there was a hut to crash in. We had not had our fill so we continued on past. The trail was still in such good shape and we knew that the Windermere hut was only 2.5 hrs away. We enjoyed all of the skinks that hung out on the boardwalk. These were small salamander looking lizards that seemed to hang there to soak up the sun. We came to a junction for Lake Will. We decided to take the hour roundtrip side track. It gave us some great views of the huge lake and Barn Bluff. I got to skip some rocks, too, which made me happy. We came back to where we dropped the packs off and were happy to see that the birds left them alone. From here on out, we were a bit tired and sore. Both of our feet were hurting and Jacqueline’s boots were really giving her pain as they were digging in to the back of her heels. We saw our only other fellow backpackers on the day, a father and son going just from Waterfall Valley to Lake Windermere. This part of the day seemed to drag on as we could see the lake, but the hut was all the way on the other side of it. We got to the hut, but we did not want to use it. Instead we put our tent on one of the many wooden platforms that they built for tents. I struggled with the devices meant as stakes to hold the tent down, but eventually figured it out. It gave us an easy surface to cook and get organized on, but I did not like the closeness it seemed to put us in proximity to others. On this night, it seemed no one was going to camp near us, besides the pademelons and wallabies, which was nice. We made ourselves some dinner, made preparations for tomorrow, played some card games, and wandered off to sleep. In the night we could hear the animals running on the platforms, which was fun. We could also hear the rain on the fly, which was an ominous sound for tomorrow. The tent did its job, but when the sun rose again, we would be slogging through the rain.

Honeymoon: Phase Five: Hanging out in Cradle Valley

After a scrumptious breakfast, we walked down to the Devonport Visitor Centre to catch the bus. It was a short bus ride, less than two hours, but it made us appreciate the rental car that was a very inexpensive way to travel through Tasmania. The bus dropped us off at the transit center. Here we were able to store our backpacks until one o’clock when they would allow us to check in for the Overland Track and get our room key for the Waldheim cabins. We took the shuttle bus to the Visitor Centre where we went on two short walks. 

One was along a boardwalk path that took us to a nice waterfall. The other was a boardwalk path that took us upstream along a path to the Cradle Mountain Lodge. I am sure that Jacqueline wished that we were staying at this place instead of the cabin, but for $250 a night, I did not think that it was worth it. So we had to take the shuttle back to the transit centre, pick up our Overland Track passes, then take the shuttle to the visitor centre, pick up our cabin key, take the shuttle to Ronny Creek, and walk to our cabin.

 It was an annoying process and I am not sure why they don’t just have everything in one place. The cabin was not very exciting and in a way was kind of dark and dreary. So we got our stuff together and went to head out to the trail. 

We had two choices, one was the Overland Track and one went the other way, so we took the other way. It lead us through boggy grassland and we talked to some folks who said they just saw a wombat, so we were hopeful. A path lead off to the Wombat Pond, so we took that. It was a lot of steps uphill, but no big deal for the two of us. Then we finally got a glimpse of a wombat wandering through the brush. We got to watch him for a bit and then we continued uphill to the Wombat Pond. It was a nice spot and we started to get great views of the lakes and the mountains which made Cradle Valley so beautiful. 

The trail continued uphill, so we took that. We both felt in good shape right now, so even though it was a lot of elevation gain, it was no big deal. It took us to the Overland Track and a view of Crater Lake. We got a small taste of what tomorrow would bring as we hiked the Overland Track for a bit. It took us up some steep stuff which Jacqueline was not too pumped to bring a full backpack up. We almost went to Marion’s Lookout, but took a trail to the left that lead down to Dove Lake instead. This was a steep one, but it was no big deal to my gorgeous wife and I. 

We made it down to the lake, which was very nice. We finally got a good view of Cradle Mountain and it got me excited to climb it tomorrow. I was just hoping that the weather would hold for us as we had been so blessed with great weather on this trip. We headed back to Waldheim from Dove Lake. We made ourselves some dinner and then went out for another hike. There was a track that warned us that it was unmaintained and about three hours. This sounded like a good trip for after dinner. Almost immediately after hitting the track, we spotted a wombat and this time we were able to get a good look at him. 

He just ambled along and we left him to it. We brought our gaiters on this trip as I figured it would be muddy and wet. We were not disappointed. The trail climbed slowly and the views back down the valley were incredible. It felt so comfortable being out there as in places it really looked like the Serengeti. We hit the “halfway” point which was the end of the Maryland Track and the start of the Hounslow Heath Track. This one was much different. Right away, the trail climbed steeply. It eventually popped us out on a beautiful ridge by a small pond. The views were just wonderful. It was not a dramatic landscape, but more of a rolling hill clear of large debris. We followed the wet ridge for quite some time. The walking was a little bit slower, but we were making good time. Soon, it shot us down through the forest where the going got much rougher. It was very muddy and wet now. The tree roots were exposed and it made things very slippery. There were lots of trees down and the branches were just hanging over the trail. We were starting to get nervous about the approaching night, but eventually it popped us out on this nicely graveled path. The difference between the two were so dramatic that when we looked at the trail we were on, it did not even look like a trail. There was nothing to do but go back to the cabin and get some sleep for the next day. The problem was that now we had all of this wet clothing and boots, so we cranked the heat up in the cabin. I knew this was a bad idea. We got our stuff dry, but it became so hot in the cabin that I could not sleep in my down sleeping bag. The pademelons and possums outside made us nervous to leave the door open unattended. Finally, it took me standing in front of the door for a good ten minutes until I was able to cool the place down enough to get a little bit of rest.