04.02.2023 from Stanley to Cradle Mt. NP

We're up early, it has been chilly overnight, only movement can keep the warmth of the bed. We stop by the same roadhouse from yesterday to upload some pictures online and we're back on the road. It's 17 degrees on the coast and we're heading to the mountains, so we need to keep our expectations for the temperatures low. A huge modern visitor center awaits us in the NP and to our satisfaction, our NP pass from yesterday is still valid here. We decide to hike around Lake Dove, a must for every Cradle Mt. visitor. But first, I buy a nice, red, warm, lined hat, it's now 21 o'clock and I haven't taken off the hat yet.

A shuttle bus stops at various hiking stations, including Lake Dove, and we start our hike, 6.2 km on a moderate trail around the lake, which initially appears to be huge. It's raining, it's stormy, it's misty, but still, we hike and today we will almost be the only people here, we're not made of sugar after all. The lake is surrounded by mountains, from which small streams flow down, covered with often dense impenetrable rainforest consisting of eucalyptus trees, palms, conifers, and tall grass bushes. We don't see any animals, only their droppings, and judging by that, there must be many. Some birds are singing, but mostly it's very quiet, the strong wind is the main source of noise. When we hike in the rainforest, we hardly notice the rain and the wind, but in exposed areas of the mountain, it's quite windy. Our pure hiking time is less than 2 hours, with many wooden or stone stairs to climb up and down. It's truly a beautiful landscape, even in bad weather. However, it's hard to imagine hiking here in good weather when 500 people are moving around the lake.

Unfortunately, it won't get much warmer today, so we prepare for that and visit the warm camp kitchen with an open fireplace to write this post and discuss what we'll do tomorrow. Actually, we should stay here much longer.