Cradle Mountain had been on my must-see list of places for years, and one night in March we bought plane tickets to Launceston pretty much on a whim. For three long months I kept checking the Cradle Mountain webcam obsessively, dreaming of the day when I finally stand on the shores of Dove Lake and witness its majestic beauty with my own eyes. For the last couple of weeks before our flight the mountain was obscured by heavy clouds and rain almost daily, so all I could do was pray for at least a few hours of clear weather for our chance to see it.
It is amazing how everything fell into place. The fact that we decided to start our Tasmanian trip in Launceston instead of Hobart, the closed roads on the shortest route to the area, getting lost multiple times on the way, Daniel’s unexpected, early, long nap in the car. As we pulled into the car park at the lake after our much longer than planned drive, the clouds started to lift, and, a few minutes later, during our little trek to the most photographed boat shed in Australia, I could not believe our luck – the sun came out of nowhere, and the mountain stood there, right in front of us, in all its glory, and I could not help but cry.
The next morning we got up in the darkness, dressed our confused toddler into layers and layers of warm clothing, and did that slow drive to the lake once again, to be greeted by the mountain, by clear skies, by calm reflections on the water, by the sun painting the top of the mountain deep red as it was slowly making its way from below the horizon line.
We only managed to spend a few hours at the lake during our stay, and we were blessed, so blessed by clear weather. It rained for the rest of our time there (which made exploring the most amazing rainforest I have even seen even more special), and those three days will never, ever, be forgotten.
