Cradle mountain

[britinozz]

I have seen so many images from cradle mountain and have set it as a photo bucket list.
What I would like to know is .
1. Accomadation close to all the action .
2. Best way to get obviously flying what kind of price and best time to go there.
3 .any tips that would be useful.
Cheers

[old dog]

We stayed near Sheffield which was only about 45 mins away...approx. A really great B and B.....will give you the contact if you want. An easy drive and pleasant as well. If you stay at the lodge at CM etc be prepared to pay a very generous tarrif. We were there in november last year and had good weather.

[ricktas]

Depends what you want. Snow on the ground = winter (but still no guarantees). As said the Lodge is very close, but save your pennies. In April/May (around Anzac Day) you also get the yellow/red/oranges of Australia's only native deciduous bush showing off it's colours. The Deciduous beech or Fagus (http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter,nsf/WebPages/BHAN-54A3PL?open) as it is known puts on a great display of colour to change the landscape for a few weeks. Which gives a totally different opportunity, when the fagus come out at Cradle Mountain (http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.7211718.1.flat,800x800,070,f.jpg)

Summer gives you another scene, with crisp blue skies, that a polariser does wonders for.

There really isn't a bad time to go see Cradle Mountain. Just be prepared for anything. It can be sunny in winter and snow capped in summer.

[jjnic]

We stayed here http://www.cradlehighlander.com.au/accommodation.html Clean, comfortable, quiet, self contained and not too expensive.

jj

[Tikira]

We stayed at the Discovery Caravan Park. Basic cabins at $200 for 4 adults in Feb. Close to the entrance, which allowed ability to drive in early in the morning and at sunset. During the day you have to take a bus (part of the Nat Parks entrance fee $33) as only a limited number of cars are allowed in at any one time. A good tip is to get a 2 month Nat Park pass ($60) which cover all parks for the car load of people. Also keep a good lookout for wildlife, which are typically not afraid of humans and allows relatively close photography. The weather in Feb was very good with little rain and reasonable temperatures, although Cradle Mountain only reached 17 the day we were there. It pasy to check the weather sites when you are down there and try and chose a good day, as we were told the weather at Cradle can be changeable.

We found staying near the entrance to the park allowed a lot more flexibility and with the amount of wildlife in the area the less you need to drive between dusk and dawn the better. When we go back we would definitely stop close by again.

Wayne & Di

[mechawombat]

When I went to CM it was a Balmy 8C at the parks office and POURING with rain. We walked to Dove Lake where the thermometer rose to 40C all in the space of a few hours.

Then back to the office it was still raining!!

Make sure you pack layers. If it wasnt so hot we would have pushed for the summit.

We stayed in Deloraine.

[Avalon]

We have stayed at both the Discovery Park and the Highlander Cottages and would recommend either. Our visits have always been in the September (Qld) school holidays and the park seems to be relatively quiet at that time. I'm told Summer is very crowded. Be prepared for very changeable weather whatever time you go. We found that 3 days was a reasonable amount of time to enjoy the various walks.
PS the park provides a bus shuttle service down to Dove Lake, stopping at several points along the way. It's a great service for those without a car or for those busy times when parking space is limited. It's convenient if you want to walk down to the Lake then get the shuttle back.

[crum]

Its hard to give an accurate best time of year as the weather changes so much up there. It is obviously most spectacular in Winter when there is snow and if you are lucky enough it will be a crystal clear day. None of the accommodation is overly cheap but you have the advantage of being so close to everything, especially if you wanted to do some early morning or late evening photography

[NikonNellie]

My two sons have just come back from Tassie. They stayed at Cradle Mountain and decided to walk to the summit - it was a 9hr hiking round trip but they made it and #2 son who is a keen photographer got some great pics I believe (I haven't seen them yet).#1 son was very angry with #2 son for making him ascend the last very difficult cliff face up to the summit with a heavy tripod and then not using it. :angry0:

[cupic]

To anyone who is venturing down to Tassie here's a link to many many walks as graded to suit different ppl's fitness

http://parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1315


cheers

[Danielle10]

We stayed here http://www.cradlehighlander.com.au/accommodation.html Clean, comfortable, quiet, self contained and not too expensive.

jj
we stayed there about 5 years ago and loved it- highly recommend

[image2paint]

To anyone who is venturing down to Tassie here's a link to many many walks as graded to suit different ppl's fitness

http://parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1315

This is a fantastic Link. I'm heading to Tassy on the 1st of August to take photo's and Cradle Mountain is a High Priority. It's such an incredible looking scene and can't wait to photograph it. Im spending a week driving around to locations and this Bush walk map of yours is PERFECT ! Thanks for posting the link.