Heart Attack!

Well today should've been about my trip to Cradle Mountain. But it wasn't the scenery which caused my heart to stop!

It started so well. I got up pretty early and it was a magnificent morning – bright and sunny and the temperature around 20 degrees.

I walked in to 'down town' Devonport to get some breakfast. The plan was to get a reasonably 'substantial' breakfast in order to sustain me through my Cradle Mountain adventure!

I had look around and decided on Stonies Cafe. I got a 'Brekkie wrap' and a flat white. The 'Brekkie wrap' turned out to be bacon, sausage, fried egg and tomato in a wrap. Oh and there was an 'unwrapped' hash brown. I ate out side in the fabulous sunshine.

After my breakfast I had a quick look around town – it hadn't got anymore exciting overnight! I walked back to where I was staying and wasted no time in setting off for Cradle Mountain.

My first stop was to get some petrol.

It wasn't long after I left my motel that I was doing a mental inventory of the stuff that I'd need for my excursion in to the National Park. It dawned on me slowly that I wasn't totally sure where my camera was. Then I realised that as I walked back to the motel in the glorious sunshine I wasn't carrying my camera. Shit! I must've left it at the place where I had breakfast. Thankfully I was able to get into a car park pretty close to where I had breakfast. I sort of ran (I was wearing flip flops) to Stonies Cafe. There were a couple of women sat where I had been earlier, but no sign of my camera. I went inside the cafe and explained what I'd done. In a very nonchalant manor the girl behind the counter produced my camera, as if by magic. My heart started to beat more normally again!

I got back to my car, filled up with petrol and just over an hour later I was parked up at the Cradle Mountain 'Transit Centre' – basically a car park just outside the border of Cradle Mountain National Park.

I paid my park fees, got a map and then waited for the shuttle bus to take me to the Dove Lake car park. My plan was to do a walk that would last over 3 hours (it was just after midday when I parked up). Unfortunately this ruled out actually climbing to the summit f Cradle Mountain (c. 8 hours return). Instead I settled for the 'High Level' circuit of Dove Lake.

This walk turned out to pretty damn tough in places – really steep sections of climbing and descending. Some parts were pretty hair raising. Fortunately the weather was pretty kind – not too warm or massively sunny. I still had to slap on a load of sunblock though – very high levels of U.V. In these parts!

After my walk I stopped off at at Devil@Cradle – a Tasmanian Devil place close to the entrance of the National Park. Unfortunately when I stopped by it was the limbo time between the last Ranger lead tour and the 'Feeding' tour at 5.30pm. I wasn't going to hang around to 5.30pm.

I drove back to Devonport. My first stop was to get a shower and then it was off to Coles to get some bit and pieces for dinner (I was staying 'in' to save a bit of cash).

Back in my room I grazed on my food whilst enjoying the really good pinot noir I'd bought from Moorilla Estate on Friday.