The beginning of the Pencil Pine Track takes us through a rather enchanted forested
valley, from which we eventually emerge out into the open:It's a leisurely start to the trip, as our flight from Sydney to Launceston is in the early afternoon. We pick up our rental car and, rather than hanging around town some more, drive off right away. In relaxed, unhurried holiday mood we cruise through regional Tasmania and arrive in Cradle Mountain by late afternoon. The weather is gorgeous, the scenery right out of the picture book.
We treat ourselves to a very nice room at the Cradle Mountain Hotel for the three nights we are up here. A Christmas dinner awaits us at the hotel—not necessarily our choice, but at times you have to take what you get.
We use our first day up on the mountains to find our bearings, get a feel for the then prevailing weather and do a bit of a warm-up for the next day—Pencil Pine Track and Speeler Track are just ideal for that.
The beginning of the Pencil Pine Track takes us through a rather enchanted forested
valley, from which we eventually emerge out into the open:
As the path swings around we are passing small alpine lakes:
...and some more nature trails, with emphasis on nature: tracks left
to their own devices, a big bush of flowering Tasmanian waratah, an echidna
trying to hide, and a not so shy wallaby.
At the end of the walk, we look back towards the mountain range
to scan tomorrow's target: Cradle Mountain summit
Trudy is surely looking forward to it!
We wake up early and are greeted by a stunningly beautiful day. We pack
a healthy and substantial brekkie and drive up to the car park to
catch the first possible bus that brings us to the beginning of
the walk at the bottom end of Dove Lake.
The idea was to get underway early and reach the summit preferably before noon and get down in the early afternoon, to leave a very large margin for unforeseen events. As it turns out, taking the first bus (and being fast walkers) has the additional benefit of having the uphill track all to ourselves—getting undisturbed enjoyment of the awesome scenery with true postcard views on a perfect day!
The lanscape may look barren, but there are treats if you have your eye
open, such as the impressive, flowering Tasmanian waratahs, albeit in
the form of shorter, stunted bush, or a wombat on the run.
We use the next day to transition from the high country, Cradle Mountain, to the low country, the Tarkine near the east coast. You can read up all about it here.
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