Well we knew our luck
was bound to run out. The weather has
taken a distinct turn for the worse so instead of going to Cradle Mountain we
headed a bit further north to the old tin mining town of Waratah where we
checked into the little caravan park behind the council chambers. We figured that we may as well have the
luxury of electricity, water and amenities while we waited out the rain and
wind. Oh – it was also freezing with the
wind coming straight from the Antarctic and dropping snow on the
mountains. We were however quite cosy in
our van and the little blow heater that we had bought in Western Australia was
finally getting some use. The town of
Waratah is quite small with a hotel, petrol station/grocery store, council
chambers/post office and a café. The
primary school has now closed due to lack of children and there is a small
museum and quite a few heritage buildings dotted around the place. There are fourteen powered sites behind the
council chambers and the view we have over the man-made lake and parklands is
very picturesque. There are many
waterfalls in Tasmania but this is the first time we have come across one right
in the middle of town.
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| Waratah Falls with Athenaeum Hall built in 1887 in background (our campsite is behind the hall) |
The falls are most
impressive and are actually better than many of the well known tourist promoted
ones. We spend a couple of days just
vegging out (reading, computering, watching TV, etc. etc.) before the weather
breaks. By 11 am on the third day the
cold wind has dropped and there is a glimpse of blue sky so we quickly hop into
Mitzi and head for Cradle Mountain. The
weather can change very quickly down here so it is best not to let any
opportunity pass by. Our first stop is
at the Tasmanian Devil refuge just outside the National Park entrance to Cradle
Mountain. This facility is one of many
scattered throughout Tasmania that are providing a safe disease free breeding
environment for the endangered Tassie Devils.
A fatal face cancer has decimated the population of devils that live in
the wild and so far no cure has been found.
To stop the devils from going extinct these refuges have been
established and unfortunately in the not too distant future there may be no
devils left to roam wild and free. It
seems like all the tourists at Cradle Mountain are taking advantage of the
sunny afternoon and doing the walks in the National Park as we are the only
people at the refuge. This is good for
us as we are given a very personalized guided tour around the enclosures. Our first sighting of a Tasmanian Devil is
not quite what we expected.
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| Catching the 'rays' |
After so many wet
cold days who could blame this little guy for sunbaking ... ! He soon comes to life when our guide ‘Annie’
produces a wallaby leg and a tug of war between ‘Black Jack’ (the devil) and ‘Annie’
ensues.
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| My ... what big teeth you have ... ! |
Australia has three
species of carnivorous marsupials – the Tasmanian Devil being the largest
species followed by the Tiger Quoll and the Eastern Quoll which look more like
a possum than a devil. Tassie Devils are
very vocal animals and talk continually (well growl really) while they are
eating. They are also very vocal when
around other devils and constantly seem to squabble. With jaws that can chew through fur, meat and
bone one would be wise to stay well clear of this furry bundle with ‘attitude’. Annie seems to have other ideas about that
though and in another enclosure has no hesitation in picking up ‘Ozzie’ and
giving him a cuddle.
 |
| Annie gets a smooch from Ozzie the Tasmanian Devil |
She does explain that
this is not the ‘norm’ and three year old Ozzie has been handled since birth
and is used to being picked up by his keepers.
She lets us stroke his fur which is surprisingly soft. We’re still not convinced that a Tassie Devil
is the sort of cute and loveable creature one would like to have as a pet
though. Besides the Tasmanian Devil
enclosures there are also pens for the two different species of Quolls. Being nocturnal and very wary of humans we could
only catch glimpses of them as they scurried from cover to cover. The tiger quolls are very good at tree
climbing and were quite at home walking along the branches of trees in their
enclosures. The quolls are not affected
by the face cancer that is attacking the devils and continue to do well in the
wild.
After our visit with
the devils we make our way to the Visitor Centre where we purchase a National
Parks Pass. Only a small number of
private vehicles are allowed in the park so during the busy times of the day
shuttle buses transport visitors to the trailheads. After a twenty minute ride we arrive at the
terminus at Dove Lake and hop off the bus. |
| Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background |
There are a number of
options here as far as walks go and we opt for the Dove Lake Circuit which
follows the lake’s edge. The weather is
holding and it’s a lovely sunny afternoon.
There are lots of photo ops along the way.
 |
| View of Cradle Mountain while walking around Dove Lake |
At Glacier Rock we
stop to admire the beautiful scenery.
 |
| Cradle Mountain with people on Glacier Rock in foreground |
Cradle Mountain at
1545 metres is not the highest mountain in Tasmania but it is the most
photographed and most visited. Pick up
any brochure on Tasmania and we can just about guarantee that a photo of Cradle
Mountain and Dove Lake will be present. By
the time we get back to the shuttle bus stop it is nearly five o’clock. Fortunately at this time of year the sun
doesn’t set until after 8pm and we have lots of time to get back to our
campsite at Waratah. It is such a
pleasant sunny evening when we reach our van that we decide to take our
pre-dinner drinks down to the lake where we can sit and watch the platypus
frolic while the sun sets. Yes – besides
the many ducks on the lake there are actually platypus.
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| We know he's hard to see but there is a platypus in the photo |
Ahhh … a
lake, a sunset and a platypus …. just perfect.
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