On our second full day in Cradle Mountain I drove out to Dove Lake at dawn while my wife and daughter got ready for the day. When I arrived it was a little overcast and chilly but there was not a breath of wind. It was so quiet, still and peaceful. I quickly took some photos by the lakeside before heading to the boat shed.
It was an absolutely beautiful morning. Cradle Mountain had received a dusting of snow and I loved the reflections of the mountains in the water. When I reached the boat shed I was also struck at how the light and colour kept changing as the sun poked through the clouds.
After a good 30 minutes or so I headed back to our cabin to pick up my wife and daughter. The plan for the rest of the day was for a family visit to Dove Lake and then I would spend the rest of the day walking in the area on my own.
On our way to Dove Lake my wife noticed a pair of wombats grazing in a paddock by the side of the road. She was thrilled! Seeing a wombat was one of the things at the top of her list for Cradle Mountain. So we all got out of the car to watch the wombats graze.
We were soon on our way again but were stopped by a boom gate due to the high traffic volumes. No matter, a short 5 minute drive had us back at the Visitor Centre and before long we were on a shuttle bus to Dove Lake.
When we arrived I carried my little girl on my shoulders as we all made our way to the boat shed. It was great for my wife to spend some time taking photos while my daughter and I played with the rocks by the shore of the lake. We were so grateful to another tourist who kindly took a photo of our family. It’s one of my favourite family photos thus far, all of us out enjoying nature together.
I was having such a good morning but even better things were yet to come. We returned to the shuttle bus stop where I waved goodbye to my little family. They were headed back to the cabin for lunch while I headed off on another adventure.