We decided to take it easy on our first full day at Cradle Mountain. Our plan was for all of us to do the Enchanted Walk in the morning while I would do the Dove Lake Circuit on my own in the afternoon.
The day started off with another pleasant surprise (we soon discovered that Tasmania is full of pleasant surprises), a pademelon feeding just outside our cabin.
My daughter absolutely loved the pademelon and every time we returned to our cabin she would look out the window and see if she could spot it. We mistakenly told her that it was a wallaby so she proceeded to ask about the “wobby” for the next two days.
It took us a little while to put all our layers on and get dressed for the day (we’re from Queensland so we weren’t used to the cold) but thankfully we only had a short 5 minute drive to Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge which is where the Enchanted Walk starts. It is an easy 20 minute circuit walk that is entirely on boardwalk or pavement. The map below shows where most people start and finish the walk:
Location of the Enchanted Walk.
You start by walking behind the lodge and within a very short distance you can hear the rushing waters of a stream nearby. The majority of the walk is beside this stream (Pencil Pine Creek). The water looks so pure and is deeply shaded by tannins.
As you approach Pencil Pine Creek you also enter the most ancient looking rainforest. Everything looks so old and so alive at the same time. It literally looks like the forest from a fairy tale.
At the end of the walk there is a bridge with views of the Pencil Pine Cascades. The cascades usually have the highest volume of water in winter as that is when Cradle Mountain receives most of its rainfall. As we were there in July there was quite a lot of water flowing and it made for another highlight on this short but beautiful walk.
I was going to say that the walk would be really good for a family with young children but really it is worth doing for anyone who is visiting the Cradle Mountain area. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here.
Once we had finished the walk we headed to Dove Lake but unfortunately the rain had set in. As a result, my wife and daughter returned to our cabin while I braved the weather and headed back to Dove Lake. I had heard a quote recently from Alfred Wainwright,
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”
With that in mind I grabbed my waterproof gear and ventured out to Dove Lake!