Tasmania: Burnie and Cradle Mountain

Saturday, 08/02/2020: The crossing from Melbourne to Devonport was a bit rough with 6 to 7 wind forces, even though the waves were rather low at 2 to 3 m. Boarding was an adventure in itself and took almost 4 hours, so we left with a one-hour delay. Due to the delay, we arrived in the dark, but we only had a short 10 km drive to the campsite in Turners Beach.

Sunday, 09/02/2020: We spent today in Burnie, a small town on the north coast. The highlight is the Hellyers Road Whisky Distillery, where we not only had an excellent lunch but also took a whiskey walk, where we were the only guests, a very personal tour.

Monday, 10/02/2020: We leave the coast and make our way up into the mountains over more than 1,000 curves on 100 km, our destination being Cradle Mountain National Park. There is a new visitor center at the park entrance. You are not allowed to drive into the park, but there is a shuttle bus that runs every 10 minutes. There is only one caravan park, so we reserve a spot, outrageously expensive. Then we visit the elevator station for Tasmanian devils, a dog-like animal that only lives in Tasmania and is critically endangered. The animals are raised here and then released into the wild. Afterwards, we take the bus to the final stop, Dove Lake, which we hike around in about 2.5 hours, including a picnic on Glacier Rock. The Cradle Mountain is 1545 m high.