Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain, Australia

The jagged peaks of Cradle Mountain reflected in the still waters of Dove Lake during a golden sunset.

Cradle Mountain is Tasmania's jagged dolerite peak, best reached on foot across lakes, forest and open alpine country.

The place

Cradle Mountain is a mountain and a rural locality in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, the island state off Australia's south-east coast. The peak rises to 1,545 metres and is the sixth-highest mountain in the state. It sits in the north-west corner of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, which takes in the northern half of the wider park. The locality is very thinly populated, and most people who arrive here are heading for the park itself. Access is by Cradle Mountain Road, which runs south from the north and ends at Dove Lake, so the mountain feels like a destination at the end of a long drive. Beyond the lake the land changes quickly, moving from wet forest through heath and button grass to open alpine plains, tarns and rocky ridges. The summit is capped with dolerite, a hard igneous rock that formed when molten material pushed into older sedimentary layers and cooled. Glaciers later stripped away the softer rock around it, leaving a steep, craggy profile that looks more dramatic than its height suggests. Weather is the main variable. Summers are cool, winters are cold and snowy, and rain falls through the whole year. Snow can fall in any month. Layers matter even on a mild day, because cloud can roll over the summit within minutes and hide the view for hours. Most walkers spend a day or two on the lake circuits or the summit track when conditions allow.

Its story

Cradle Mountain stands on country long held by Aboriginal Tasmanians, including the people of the northern part of the island and those associated with the Big River. European settlement brought displacement and violence, and records of the last free Aboriginal people in the district place them just south of the mountain at a time of heavy conflict. European explorers arrived in the late 1820s. Joseph Fossey and Henry Hellyer, surveying for the Van Diemen's Land Company, are recorded as the first Europeans to explore the area and reach the summit. From the mid-nineteenth century, trappers worked the high country. They built simple huts and burned patches of scrub to encourage fresh growth that drew game. The fur trade collapsed in the mid-twentieth century, although hunting inside the park had already been outlawed. Logging of the old King Billy pines went on for decades, and later cutting on private land beside the park provoked a large public protest that brought it to an end. Cattle and sheep also grazed Cradle Valley for a time. Conservation grew out of the love that climbers and walkers felt for the place. Gustav and Kate Cowle, who scaled the peak in the early 1900s, were so moved by the landscape that Gustav declared it ought to become a park set aside for the nation as a whole, and kept that way forever. That idea outlasted the logging and grazing, and today the park draws walkers to a landscape shaped by both ancient and recent human hands.

What to see

Culture

Residents of the island typically come across as more relaxed and welcoming than people on the mainland, and they usually don't mind stopping to point you the right way or share a local tip when you ask. Convict history is a subject people here discuss openly and without much fuss, because it is part of the island's everyday story. The Aboriginal history of the land is different and deserves care. Cradle Mountain lies on country that Aboriginal Tasmanians have known for thousands of years, so signs, interpretation panels and guides are worth reading and listening to. Tasmanians can also be sensitive about the mass shooting at Port Arthur, which remains painful for many people even if they were not present. Do not raise that event in conversation, even when you are nowhere near the site.

What to wear

Cradle Mountain has no dress of its own, but the Aboriginal communities of Tasmania made distinctive clothing from the land around them. Their traditional cloaks were sewn from possum skins and worn for warmth and ceremony, a skill that is now celebrated in local cultural programmes. Today, people walking in the park wear outdoor clothing built for cold, wet and changeable weather. Merino wool, synthetic thermal layers and waterproof shells are the norm, with warm hats and gloves common even in summer. For a visit, pack in layers that you can add or remove as conditions change. A waterproof jacket is essential, as is a warm mid-layer, and cotton is best avoided because it stays wet and chills the body. Sturdy closed footwear with good grip suits the boardwalks, mud and rocky tracks, and it is worth breaking in boots before you arrive. Sun protection matters too, as high-altitude light is strong even on overcast days.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. December to April suits most walkers, when days are longest and the summit track is most often clear. Cool summers keep temperatures comfortable for walking, but cloud is common in every season. Winter brings snow, cold winds and the chance that tracks will be closed or hazardous.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly into Launceston or Hobart from mainland cities, then drive. Cradle Mountain lies about 109 kilometres west of Westbury, and the last stretch is by Cradle Mountain Road to Dove Lake. Hire a car or book a transfer, as public transport to the park is limited.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources