Cradle Mountain is a distinctive mountain in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania, Australia. Rising to 1,545 metres above sea level it is one of the principal tourist sites in Tasmania, owing to its natural beauty. The mountain is composed of dolerite columns, similar to many of the other mountains in the area.

Access

The area around the mountain has a large number of day walks, as well as being one terminus of the Overland Track. The mountain is climbed very regularly by tourists, and can be climbed virtually year round. It is a strenuous 6.5 hour return climb from the Dove Lake car park. The climb up the rocky part of the mountain involves scrambling over large boulders for 2 hours. The entire climb is exposed to any bad weather which may arrive at any time. From the summit, (where there was a trig point tower) there are spectacular 360° views, encompassing Dove Lake, Barn Bluff and Mount Ossa.

Features

The mountain rises above the glacially formed Dove Lake (934m), Lake Wilks, and Crater Lake.

The mountain has four named summits. In order of height they are Cradle Mountain (^[1]), Smithies Peak (^[2]), Weindorfers Tower (^[2]) and Little Horn (^[2])

Flora

The area is covered in a wide variety of alpine and sub-alpine vegetation, most notably including the colourful deciduous Nothofagus gunnii (Deciduous Beech), itself an anomaly given that most Australian native flora is evergreen, and the Mesomelaena sphaerocephala (Button Grass) which dominates the alpine wet sedgelands. Some plants that grow on the mountain include the mountain buzzy, the heart berry, the alpine strawberry, the waratah, the King Billy pine and the pencil pine.

Access to the Park and region

There is a parking area at Ronny Creek, the outlet of Lake Dove, which is approximately 7km from the national park visitors centre. A free shuttle bus runs between the two.

Apart from private transport, or walking the Overland Track, there are public bus services to the Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre. Many tour companies also stop here.

External links for public transport access

• Tassielink have buses to/from Devonport and Queenstown/Strahan.
• McDermott's run buses between Cradle Mountain and Launceston (not every day)

Cradle Mountain, from Marions Peak
Left to right, Little Horn, Weindorfers Tower, Smithies Peak, Cradle Mountain summit

References

External links re park

• Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Page
• CradleMountain.com
• A Personal Photo Gallery
• Cradle Mountain Tourist Attraction