Dove Lake Circuit - Cradle Mountain
After finishing the Three Capes Track I wanted to head north to Cradle Mountain.
After finishing the Three Capes Track I wanted to head north to Cradle Mountain. I originally wanted to do the cradle mountain circuit but the previous night had dumped snowfall on the track and I don’t have walking gear for snow so I opted to do the Dove Lake circuit instead. I normally bushwalk with trail runners that are not watertight. Coming to Tasmania, I realised that my shoes were actually summer shoes. If your feet get wet they dry pretty easily with warm weather. Down here in Tasmania, when your feet get wet they stay damp and cold longer.
After catching a bus to Ronny Creek from the visitor centre, I start heading up the mountain. There’s a light dusting of snow and almost immediately I’m greeted by two wombats grazing on the grass. I must admit these wombats are much cuter than the mainland ones.
I continue up the trail to Dove Lake. The snow on the trial is making this walk mystical. As elevation gets higher, the dusting of snow gets thicker.
After while I get to Dove Lake and the highly photogenic Dove Lake Boatshed. There is quite a lot of people around so I don’t stick around long and start to walk around the lake in a clockwise direction.
As I start the loop it begins to snow and I start to layer up my clothes. This is where I accidentally left a glove behind on a rock about five minutes prior on the trail. I realise I left my glove on the rock and head back to pick it up, unfortunately, the glove is gone. A little annoyed, I continue on the trail but I don’t let the lost glove dampen the mood.
The walk stays very close to the water which makes for a very picturesque walk. You can look up and you can see Cradle Mountain, Mount Campbell, Hansons Peak and various other mountains.
I’m taking it all in. With the light dusting of snow, everything looks mystical. I wish I had researched the types of trees before I started this walk as they’re some spectacular ones.
After while I reach the Ballroom Forest and what a sight. The forest, which is normally green and lush is frozen and white. Some of these trees look extremely old.
After stopping for some lunch head around to the start of the loop and catch the bus back down to the visitor centre. I spontaneously get off at Ronny Creek again to get some more photos of the wombats as now the snow has melted. As I’m walking along the boardwalk, I pass a large rock and lo and behold my glove is on top. I am taken aback by the chance of finding the glove again, hours later in a complete different section of the park.
This was my first walk with snow and I’m already thinking about my next winter trip using snowshoes.
