DiNo's Travels Around Australia - 2014/2015/16/17: Day 9

We might describe today as a day of experiences. It was sunny and windy as we set out to go to Cradle Mountain, about 90 odd kilometres inland from Devonport. It was about 10 degrees. We drove through undulating countryside, past apple orchards and dairy farms. As we approached the mountains, twisty, turning roads took us through eucalypt and rain forests. The Forth River Valley was quite spectacular.

050315 Apple orchard at Spreyton, destined for the Spreyton Cider Factory

050315 The Forth River valley

050314 The Forth River

It was hard to stay focussed on the main road as there were sign posts inviting us to deviate to "have a look see". We did this into Lake Barrington, a beautiful man made lake, which has been the site of international rowing championships.

050315 Lake Barrington

Rain started to fall as we made our way up to the highlands. As we went up, the temperature went down. 3 degrees as we approached the Visitor Centre at the Cradle Mountain National Park ..... and the rain turned to sleet. It had snowed at the Centre 5 minutes before our arrival.

050315 The car's thermometer at 1116 hrs EST

We took a shuttle bus the last 9km to Cradle Mountain and in those 9 km we experienced four seasons in one day five times.

Cradle Mountain and the mountains nearby had a dusting of snow on them and with Dove Lake in the foreground, we were blessed with a spectacular sight. It was made even better as the clouds, hurtling by, dropped their rain and gave way to brief periods of rainless sunshine. We struggled to get a complete picture of Cradle Mountain as the passing clouds persisted in covering the higher peaks.

050315 Cradle Mountain with Dove Lake in the foreground

We did not do any of the walks in the Park as the weather was just too inclement. We took the bus back to the Centre and returned in the car. This enabled us to look around a bit more, at our leisure.

050315 Typical countryside near Cradle Mountain

050315 Low growing ground cover on the highland

050315 Blooms even in the cold country

050315 More blooms in the cold country

050315 Highland grass waving in the wind

050315 Lilla Creek near Cradle Mountain

050315 Ronny Creek near Cradle Mountain

050315 The board walk runs 9km from the Visitor Centre to Dove Lake

050314 It's old, it's still alive and it's covered in moss and lichen

We returned home via Moina, Wilmot (Valley of Views) and Forth. The temperature increased to about 14 degrees as we descended to the coast. The weather remained predominantly overcast with occasional showers and a persistent 50+ km/hr wind. Even the animals were scurrying for cover.