We loved every part of our road trip around Tasmania back in March 2015. Hiring a car, we explored some amazing coastal locations including the Bay of Fires, Freycinet National Park, Port Arthur and Bruny Island. As our road trip was made up of only 7 days we were longing to return as we had missed what would have to be Tasmania’s most iconic landmark – Cradle Mountain.
It was a short 2.5 hour road trip, looking quite easy on a map as we head straight west of Launceston to the Cradle Mountain-Lake Saint Clair National Park. Never disappointed by our navigation system TomTom (you may not sense the sarcasm), we were led on a dead-end road that went UNDER the highway we needed to be on. HA. but it wouldn’t be a holiday without getting lost.
We took the scenic route, via Mole Creek and the most winding mountain range road I’ve ever been on. We were visiting the region in December, which is the first month of Summer here in Australia yet we couldn’t believe the weather forecast for the past week was snow, and it wasn’t a lie as day old snow melted on the grounds of the lodges, paths and mountain tops.
We stayed at the Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village in a cottage with spa bath surrounded by dense bushland where we saw our first Pademelon, a small marsupial that looked similar to a wallaby. Cradle Mountain is located at the northern end of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Accommodation is spread out along the road but none are located within the national park itself. The closest accommodation you’ll get to the entry boom gate is Cradle Mountain Lodge (Peppers).
Before you enter the national park, you’ll need to stop at the Visitors Centre to purchase your parks pass. The Visitors Centre is actually located 2km BEFORE the entrance to the park. The parks pass can be used throughout Tasmania so if you are visiting other national parks, it will be worth buying a pass to suit the duration of your visit.
Daily (up to 24 hours) = $24 per vehicle
Daily (up to 24 hours) = $12 per person (via walking or shuttle)
Holiday (up to 8 weeks) = $60 per vehicle
As we planned on visiting Cradle Mountain over 3 days, we opted for the 8 week pass at $60 (per vehicle).
There are a number of options to get into the national park. From the visitor centre you can jump on the shuttle bus, drive yourself in or you can start one of the many Tasmania short walks that lead you into the national park.
Keep in mind they only allow a certain number of vehicles into the park and once they’ve reached capacity, the boom gate will no longer open and you have to drive back to the visitors centre to jump on the shuttle.
Before you visit Tasmania, I recommend following some awesome social media accounts including @tasmania and @australia for great photos and travel inspiration to help plan your trip. Be sure to hashtag any of your Tasmanian shots with #discovertasmania to be featured like my photo below as well as #seeaustralia for any of your other Australian themed photos to be featured on the Australia tourism page.
Keep an eye out for new blogs coming shortly with more in-depth info on the Dove Lake Circuit and other Day walks in Cradle Mountain….
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 