AusTourer: 250414 Devonport to Cradle Mountain.

Today i arrived early in Devonport after a nice boat trip and a good sleep with the motion of the sea.

I was rather surprised at the amount of vehicles that the ferry takes onboard, including many semi trailers fully loaded. I suppose they have to get freight over to Tasmania somehow.

Leaving Devonport I drove to west to Wynyard along the coast to view the scenery.

I found it quite amusing when the petrol station attended at Bernie came upto me and apologised that she had not been quick enough to prevent me from having to start filling my own tank. How nice, I felt like I must have been back in the 60s...

Next I headed south to Cradle mountain. I has been warned of impending weather in the next few days.

When I got to Cradle mountain it was 3 degrees and bloody cold. I dropped my dacks in the car and put my thermals on. There is one thing said for being prepared. Where many tourists were all but prepared I had boots that did the job allowing me to walk in water and keep my feet warm, a good jacket and Jays hat ( which i had named his "Russian Frau hat" when he wore it in New York years ago. The lesson here. Buy a quality pair of boots and Jacket and they will last you a decade or more and serve you well.

I chose to the do the 6.6km walk around the circumference of Dove Lake, which is surrounded by the mountain. Snow had started hitting the peaks which was nice. From blizzard like sleet to small bursts of sun, the scenery was wonderful. As Ian and I had found in the Snowy Mountains, sometimes a burst of wet weather just makes everything glisten.

Note all the colours in the following photos. The place is just beautiful.......