Rising above quiet Lake Dove, Cradle Mountain is Tassie’s most famous natural landmark. One of the area’s early naturalists described this alpine environment as the place “where there is no time and nothing matters.” A complex mosaic of glacial tarns, creeks, and crags shelters pockets of the state’s unique biotic gems: sweet-sapped cider gum woodlands; rainforests of king billy and celery-top pine; and carpets of cushion plants. [Supposedly long-dead species including the freshwater crayfish, mountain shrimp, and velvet worm have been found alive and kicking around Cradle Mountain.] The state’s only native deciduous tree, nothofagus gunnii, thrives along the mountain’s skirt, and thousands throng here in late April and May to see the fiery colors of its turning leaves.
The valley below contains the trailhead for Tasmania’s most prominent walk, the Overland Track, which traverses the length of Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park. Meandering through 80km of World Heritage wilderness, the trail takes five to eight days to complete for the more than 2000 hikers who do it each year. A grand array of landscapes and ecosystems await those rugged enough to brave the track. At its southern terminus lies serene Lake St. Clair, once known by aboriginal inhabitants as Leeawuleena, or “sleeping water.” Lake St. Clair, accessible by road from the state capital of Hobart, offers a network of walking trails that range in length and difficulty, with something to offer everyone.
