Cradle Mountain in Tasmania (Australia) truly is a magical place. Here are some photos that tell the story of a day Sonia and I spent there in August.
We stayed at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, so we started the day with a brisk (very brisk - sub zero temperatures!) walk around the property. The only sounds breaking the silence of the morning were the frosty crunch of each step we took.
It was a really frosty morning so it was nice to take some photos that played off that fact.
After a hearty buffet breakfast we drove down to the starting point of the Overland track to head out for a day-hike up to Marions Lookout.
The path up took us somewhere between 2 and 3 hours to reach the top. I can't say exactly how long it was because time seemed to stand still as we made our way along the track.
Around every corner, another beautiful scene to stop and enjoy.
Parts of the track that were in constant shade were very icy though, so we had to stay vigilant not to fall on our ass.
When we reached our destination, our tired legs were forgotten as this scene opened up in front of us:
As we sat taking in the scene, we overheard a guide speaking to a couple of his clients telling them about a spot just a few hundred meters further up... Apparently it was even more magical than the spot we were currently at!
Minutes later we realised why the guide was so enthusiastic...
We spent around an hour virtually having this winter wonderland all to ourselves before reluctantly deciding to make our way all the way back down. We didn't want to be ending the walk in the dark.
As it turned out, we were back at ground level at dusk - which meant we got to see lots of cute little wombats on the way!
Then to top this amazing day off, we were treated to a "dream" sunset at Dove Lake.
Thanks for reading / viewing! This is my first post here on Steemit, so it's all new to me right now. If you have any questions about my images or the track we hiked, be sure to ask in the comments.
Cheers!
Steve