Tasmania's Cradle Mountain

Tasmania's Cradle Mountain is in the south west part of Tasmania and is quite popular as a tourist destination. We drove there from Arthur River in the north west corner of the island. On the way in, we passed miles and miles of forest that was burned in a wildfire last fall. Although it was depressing, it was also possible to see fresh green regenerative growth.

There are many hiking trails at Cradle Mountain, but due to the number of people who visit and concern for the environment, they have built boardwalks so that you are walking on an elevated platform. While I can understand how this is helpful for the environment and probably wise given the masses who flock there, it isn't a super great hiking experience. It just seems weird to walk on an elevated boardwalk and somehow it is disconnecting. We were there on a holiday weekend, and it was very busy, but we were lucky enough to pick a route no one else was on. The photo is looking back at Cradle Mountain, and you can see one of the boardwalks in the foreground.

There was a lot of wombat scat, and I encountered this wombat as he crossed the road.

While Cradle Mountain is beautiful, I much preferred the more remote areas with no one around. Cradle Mountain was the most crowded place we went in Tasmania, complete with screaming infants in the parking lot.