Friday 10th December 2010 - On Tuesday I took a boat tour from Strahan round McQuarrie Harbour and up the Gordon River which was very good but a bit overcast. Then on Wednesday I packed up and headed for Cradle Mountain. It was dry when I left Strahan but about 20 miles into the trip the rain started again. By the time I got to the turn off for Cradle Mountain, the fog was also coming in. Before long it was so thick I had to pull over and stop as I could barely see in front of me. I eventually made it to the National Park and found the campground. I had booked an "Alpine Hut" which was basically a wooden hut with 3 bunks in it – no electricity or heating. So I spent the rest of the afternoon in the Camp Kitchen trying to dry off. A really nice couple from Geelong, Mark & Judith, came in and started chatting and before I knew it, about half a dozen people from various places were all joining the party.

Next day the fog lifted and we could see Cradle Mountain so I caught the park shuttle bus up to the start of the Dove Lake Circuit and spent a very pleasant 2 hours walking round the lake at the base of the mountain.

On the way back I stopped at the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary and got to see loads of gorgeous little Devils. Apparently they’re not that ferocious really so I was even able to stroke a couple of them.

In the evening Mark and Judith did a “loaves and fishes” dinner for everyone to use up all their veggies before returning to the mainland – delicious.

So today, after a very stormy night in my hut, I set off for Devonport and the ferry in the sleet. Tasmania has been a wonderful land of contrasts – sunshine and sleet, sea and pastures, forests and flowers. My bike was coughing a bit on the way to Cradle Mountain, but seems okay again today, but I think I’ll run it up to Raceway Suzuki when I arrive in Melbourne tomorrow for a check-over before I head north to Canberra to meet Nick.