The Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park stretches over a vast 1262 square kilometres, and offers spectacular scenery and fantastic bushwalking. It is also home to Mt Ossa, which is the highest mountain in Tasmania, as well as Lake St Clair, which is the deepest natural freshwater lake in the whole of Australia.
In 1827 Joseph Fossey, a surveyor with the Van Diemen's Land Company, saw a dramatic mountain peak at the northern end of what is now the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, in the World Heritage Area. He immediately named the peak Cradle Mountain, and as soon as you see it you will know why he chose the name.
The mountain is one of the favorite features in the park and is surrounded by stands of native deciduous beech rain forest, alpine heathlands and buttongrass. Icy streams cascade down the mountainsides, and ancient pines are reflected in the still glacial lakes. The track to the top of the mountain (1,545 metres/5,068 feet above sea level) is an eight-hour return walk, but there are many other shorter, easier walks lower down, such as the walk around Dove Lake. For the convenience of visitors, and to help protect Cradle's delicate natural environment, an optional shuttle service operates from the information center to Dove Lake and other popular destinations within the park. |
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| Cradle Mountain National Park ŠTourismTasmania/GeoffMurray |
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