Joshua joined us in our travels around Tasmania. In the western portion of the island state is Cradle Mountain National Park. We drove to Cradle Mountain via a southerly route, which took us past one of Tasmania's hydroelectric projects. Giant pipes route water down steep and deep slopes to produce electrical power for Tasmania. The drive was long and twisting, taking us through the rather depressing mining town of Queenstown, but upon arrival at Cradle Mountain much could be forgiven.

Cradle Mountain (photo by Joshua in October on trip with David and Rachel)

The following day we took a moderately vigorous full-day hike and had wonderful views at every turn, despite the clouds and light rain. The walk took nearly six hours, including short stops for snacks and lunch. We didn't see any animals apart from birds (mostly currawongs), though we saw lots of wombat excrement. This is distinctively shaped into rectangular solids and is deposited on high, visible ground and logs. The wombats themselves are very shy and nocturnal; we didn't see any until far later in our travels and then only with the help of a night-viewing lamp.

We stayed at the Cradle Mountain Lodge, which is almost in the park itself. Wallabies (a predominant type in this part of Tasmania are the pademelons) and possums roam nearby and are visible in the evening and early morning. At a naturalist demonstration in the evening we also saw the elusive Tasmanian Devil, which finally appeared for its treat of fresh meat. The Devil is the only remaining marsupial which is carnivorous.