{"id":1105,"date":"2018-04-10T11:05:24","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T18:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/?p=1105"},"modified":"2018-05-20T10:47:15","modified_gmt":"2018-05-20T17:47:15","slug":"launceston-cradle-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Launceston and Cradle Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Thursday, March 15<\/u><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>This was a bit of a \u201cwetlands\u201d day, some disappointments, but ended up well.\u00a0 It was very cloudy this morning and we decided to visit the Tamar River Wetlands.\u00a0 We were there about 20 minutes and it started sprinkling.\u00a0 A duck hide was nearby, so we sheltered in there, waiting for the rain to pass.\u00a0 It never did, so we explored the rest of the wetlands in the drizzle.\u00a0 The visitor center was open when we headed back and it was nicely set up and the docents were very helpful.\u00a0 We even found out what the pretty little blue bird was we saw while in the duck hide.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>West of Tamer River is an area with cheese and chocolate places.\u00a0 I had also read about a \u201cRaspberry Farm\u201d that appeared in many itineraries.\u00a0 The Raspberry Farm was really a caf\u00e9 and gift shop and ended up being a huge tourist trap and disappointment.\u00a0 The cheese place missed the mark with me as well.\u00a0 It was nothing more than a big gift shop with some plates of cheese for tasting in the back.\u00a0 There was no one to explain how the various cheeses are made or why one cheese tastes different from the other.<\/p>\n

At least the chocolate shop didn\u2019t feel so touristy.\u00a0 So we were 1 for 3 on that excursion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We then went to Narawntapu National Park and did the short Springlawn Nature Walk.\u00a0 The walk meandered along the shore of a lake and ended up at a duck hide.\u00a0 We saw wallabies and pademelon along the walk and the shoreline had some really interesting trees.\u00a0 It reminded me of the bayous (not that I’ve been to the bayous).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Next, we went to the Platypus House.\u00a0 It\u2019s a tourist attraction with Seahorse World next to it.\u00a0 They are both housed in large buildings on a wharf on Tamar River at Beauty Point.\u00a0 We made it just in time for a tour and it was really interesting.\u00a0 They have both platypuses and echidnas (looks a bit like a porcupine or hedgehog).\u00a0 These two animals are the only two monotremes (egg-laying mammals) on the planet.\u00a0 Male platypuses have a spur at their hind legs with venom that can leave you in agony for months. \u00a0There is no antivenom and the pain doesn\u2019t respond to morphine.\u00a0Don\u2019t mess with them!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In contrast, the echidnas are very docile.\u00a0 We went into their enclosure and sat on the ground with them as they walked around us, often over our feet.\u00a0 We watched them eat and their tongues are like earthworms shooting out of their mouth.<\/p>\n

The trip to Platypus House was a win for us and we learned a lot.<\/p>\n

Before heading back to Armalong, we stopped for wine tasting at Wines for Joannie.\u00a0 It was located back in the hills, off the main roads.\u00a0The wine tasting is done in a huge shed with a large dining table in the middle of it.\u00a0 We were the only ones there and the woman hosting the tasting offered us a seat and we did our tasting there.\u00a0 It was a very nice way to do tasting, like friends relaxing at the table, talking about wine and travel.\u00a0 It turns out that the woman was from Tennessee!\u00a0 She told us about the history of the winery and history of the wine-makers.\u00a0 Joannie was the mother who motivated the wine-maker to open the winery.\u00a0 She passed away before it came into fruition.\u00a0The entire property was refurbished historical buildings.\u00a0 You felt a connection to the wines hearing about its history and philosophy of the winery.\u00a0So another win to finish up the day.<\/p>\n

Friday, March 16<\/u><\/h3>\n

Time to leave our lovely winery apartment and head to Cradle Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Right near the central area of Launceston is Cataract Gorge.\u00a0 It is probably the #1 thing to do\/see in Launceston.\u00a0 There are things to really love about the gorge, and things not to love.\u00a0 I loved the natural beauty.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t love the swimming pool and chairlift in the middle of it.\u00a0 There are a few hiking trails along the gorge, but no map of them \u2013 neither online nor posted there.\u00a0 I loved the suspension bridge and our hike to Sentinal Lookout.\u00a0 It got away from the school groups and tourists at the main area and was beautiful.\u00a0 We enjoyed our morning there only because we got away from the commercial area.\u00a0 The other end of the gorge is at an adventure park, hotel, and cafes, so it could have been worse.\u00a0 I think you should leave nature natural.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Our journey took us east and we did another one of the \u201c60 Great Short Walks\u201d at Alum Cliffs.\u00a0 This was an easy walk along a ridge, ending at a viewpoint of the gorge and cliffs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Then we went to do the tour of Marakoopa Cave.\u00a0 Cave tours leave almost every half hour, so no need to prebook.\u00a0 This was a very well preserved cave with huge chambers and loads of straws, stalagmites and stalactites.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then up the mountain road to Cradle Mountain.\u00a0 We found the Highlander Cottages, checked in, and were assigned Pademelon Cabin.\u00a0 A short walk away is the visitor center, where we obtained (it comes free with the park pass we purchased for all the parks on our first day) a shuttle bus pass.\u00a0 We would make good use of the pass the following day.<\/p>\n

That night we had reservations for \u201cDine with the Devil\u201d, which included wine and cheese, and roasted marshmallows while you walked around the reserve.\u00a0 The Devils are endangered, as there is a rare facial tumor disease dwindling their numbers.\u00a0 They can be noisy and ill tempered towards one another, but really sweet towards humans.\u00a0 Our guide held one while we pet it \u2013 how cool is that!\u00a0 There was only one other couple on our tour and we had a great experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday, March 17<\/u><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This morning, as we headed out the door, a pademelon sat right at our doorstep.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We took the shuttle to Dove Lake carpark and did the Dove Lake Circuit in a clockwise direction.\u00a0Even though it was cloudy, we had beautiful views of Cradle Mountain.\u00a0 We passed some interesting landscapes and even a waterfall.\u00a0 Once at the famous boat shed, we started running into lots of people, whereas before, we pretty much had the track to ourselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>At the boat shed, we took a different trail to Lake Lilla.\u00a0 The track started out a bit rough, with many tree roots and a stream to cross.\u00a0 But then it turned into a boardwalk across some wide open tussock fields. \u00a0(The panorama photo at the top of this page is of this area) Wombat poo was everywhere.\u00a0 We passed another group and asked if they had seen wombats.\u00a0They hadn\u2019t, but then hollered from afar a few minutes later, as they spotted one. \u00a0We quickly headed back and took lots of photos. \u00a0I was told this particular track was known for wombats, but I believe they are more prevalent in early morning or dusk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>From Ronnie Creek, we took the shuttle to the Ranger Station and Interpretation Centre.\u00a0 We walked the Enchanted Walk and King Billy Walk.\u00a0These walks were a lot more up and down and we finally found a bench to sit on.\u00a0 The shuttle brought us back to the Visitor Centre.\u00a0 For a \u201cfree\u201d shuttle, we certainly got our money\u2019s worth!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Adventure Continues>>><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday, March 15 This was a bit of a \u201cwetlands\u201d day, some disappointments, but ended up well.\u00a0 It was very cloudy this morning and we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2018-australia"],"yoast_head":"\nLaunceston and Cradle Mountain - Adventures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Launceston and Cradle Mountain - Adventures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thursday, March 15 This was a bit of a \u201cwetlands\u201d day, some disappointments, but ended up well.\u00a0 It was very cloudy this morning and we…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Adventures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-10T18:05:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-20T17:47:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"des95033\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"des95033\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"des95033\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/0fb5335b0a28bcb7c4ceb309a5ec598b\"},\"headline\":\"Launceston and Cradle Mountain\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-10T18:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-20T17:47:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\"},\"wordCount\":1256,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2018 Australia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\",\"name\":\"Launceston and Cradle Mountain - Adventures\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-10T18:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-20T17:47:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/0fb5335b0a28bcb7c4ceb309a5ec598b\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/\",\"name\":\"Adventures\",\"description\":\""Passion creates possibilities" Lynn Hill\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/0fb5335b0a28bcb7c4ceb309a5ec598b\",\"name\":\"des95033\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2eea038b7e848349c59ee0ae83846cd02e56afce78760bfa085dd35d99482ff3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2eea038b7e848349c59ee0ae83846cd02e56afce78760bfa085dd35d99482ff3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"des95033\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/author\/des95033\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Launceston and Cradle Mountain - Adventures","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Launceston and Cradle Mountain - Adventures","og_description":"Thursday, March 15 This was a bit of a \u201cwetlands\u201d day, some disappointments, but ended up well.\u00a0 It was very cloudy this morning and we…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/","og_site_name":"Adventures","article_published_time":"2018-04-10T18:05:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-20T17:47:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"des95033","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"des95033","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/"},"author":{"name":"des95033","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/0fb5335b0a28bcb7c4ceb309a5ec598b"},"headline":"Launceston and Cradle Mountain","datePublished":"2018-04-10T18:05:24+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-20T17:47:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/"},"wordCount":1256,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg","articleSection":["2018 Australia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/","name":"Launceston and Cradle Mountain - Adventures","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-10T18:05:24+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-20T17:47:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/0fb5335b0a28bcb7c4ceb309a5ec598b"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/2018\/04\/10\/launceston-cradle-mountain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/photos.smugmug.com\/Travel\/Australia\/i-mbqMZKW\/0\/b7ea393f\/M\/P1040124-M.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/","name":"Adventures","description":""Passion creates possibilities" Lynn Hill","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/0fb5335b0a28bcb7c4ceb309a5ec598b","name":"des95033","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2eea038b7e848349c59ee0ae83846cd02e56afce78760bfa085dd35d99482ff3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2eea038b7e848349c59ee0ae83846cd02e56afce78760bfa085dd35d99482ff3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"des95033"},"url":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/author\/des95033\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34SEs-hP","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1105"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1232,"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions\/1232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fmsreliability.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}