- Cradle Mountain
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Cradle Mountain 
Cradle Mountain as seen from the north, across Dove LakeElevation 1,545 m (5,069 ft) AHD [1] Location Location Tasmania Coordinates 41°41′4.72″S 145°57′4.59″E / 41.6846444°S 145.951275°ECoordinates: 41°41′4.72″S 145°57′4.59″E / 41.6846444°S 145.951275°E Cradle Mountain is a 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.
One of the world’s best multi-day walks starts here, the Overland Track,[2] that leads up hill and down dale through a variety of extraordinary landscapes to finish 80 km to the south at Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest lake.[3]
Contents
Access
The area around the mountain has a large number of day walks, as well as being one terminus of the Overland Track.[4] The mountain is frequently climbed by tourists, virtually year round. It is a strenuous (recommended allotted time: 6.5 hours) return hike from the Dove Lake car park. The climb up the rocky part of the mountain involves scrambling over large boulders for several hundred metres. The entire climb is exposed to any bad weather that may arrive quickly and 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
Panorama from west, showing Cradle Mountain and, in the distance, Barn Bluff
Cradle Mountain seen from the south, from neighbouring mountain Barn BluffThe 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 (1,545 m (5,069 ft)),[1] Smithies Peak (1,527 m (5,010 ft)),[5] Weindorfers Tower (1,459 metres (4,787 ft)),[5] and Little Horn (1,355 m (4,446 ft)).[5]
The mountain itself is named after its resemblance to a gold mining cradle.
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 Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus (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 8 km from the national park visitors’ centre. A shuttle bus runs between the two.
In addition to getting here by private transport or by hiking on the Overland Track, there are also public bus services from Launceston and Devonport to the Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre. Many tour companies also stop here.
References
Another view over Dove Lake; the boat shed was built in the 1940s[6]- ^ a b "LISTmap (Cradle Mountain)". Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries and Water. http://www.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/listmap.jsp?llx=412500&lly=5384500&urx=413800&ury=5385000&layers=17. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Overland Track". Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service, Department of Primary Industries and Water. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=7771. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ^ Tim Dub, ''Cradle Mountain: past and present ', Australian Geographic, AG Online, accessed online 7 August 2010
- ^ Megan Holbeck. "Top 10 Australian Walks". Australian Geographic Online. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/outdoor/top-10-australian-walks.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
- ^ a b c "LISTmap (Cradle Mountain minor peaks)". Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries and Water. http://www.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/listmap.jsp?llx=412500&lly=5384850&urx=414200&ury=5385850&layers=17. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ http://contribute.abc.net.au/_Dove-Lake-Boat-Shed/photo/7771171/32422.html?b=
The park
- Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Page
- Photojournal covering Cradle Mountain as part of The Overland Track
- Cradle Mountain Tourist Attraction
- Webcam
Public transport access
- Tassielink have buses to/from Devonport and Queenstown/Strahan.
- McDermott's run buses between Cradle Mountain and Launceston (not every day)
Categories:- Central Highlands (Tasmania)
- Mountains of Tasmania
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