You’re off to great places! Today is your day!
Dr. Seuss.
Your mountain is waiting, So get on your way!
It was cold, wet and dark at 6 am, as I stood on the curb in front of the Pod Hotel in Launceston, waiting for my minibus to arrive and take me to Cradle Mountain.
Three hours later, I was at the visitors centre and being given safety instructions by the friendly staff. Then it was onto a shuttle bus to the start of the walk. I signed the walkers register, and I was ready to begin.
The walk starts across a grassy plane, which provided good feeding for a local wombat, who was not at all perturbed by the day-trippers and myself taking photographs.
The first climb of the Overland Track begins shortly afterwards. I took the alternative route up the Horse Track with views over Crater Lake.
The track levels out when it reaches the top of the plateau after a 350 metre climb. It then crosses the plateau before rejoining the Overland Track near Kitchen Hut. I saw no other walkers on the Horse Track, but there are a lot of people passing through as I ate lunch at Kitchen Hut.
The Overland Track then works its way around the western side of Cradle Mountain. The weather was clearing and the views were improving. This section of the track is not as easy as most of the other sections of the track as it goes up and down the variations in the topography around Cradle Mountain.
Once past Cradle Mountain, there is an emergency shelter next to the track. It has a strangely alien look about it, as it is as if it is about to take off into the stratosphere. In the distance, Barn Bluff looms.
The track then descends into Waterfall Valley, where there is a modern hut. I took a break for afternoon tea and had a chat with the only people there, a young woman with a baby, the Ranger and the resident hut-keeper.
Feeling refreshed, I continued walking for a few kilometres and then took the side track to Lake Will. There is a nice sandy beach there next to the lake which was a good campsite.
After dinner, I went for a walk around the lake to visit Innis Falls, which is where the lake empties.
