got picked up at the start of our 3 day guided tour in the Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair National Park.
This trip went off to a good start as the guide turned up in a 20 seater mini bus, saying we were the only two on the tour. Our own chauffeur driven bus, and dedicated chef.
The trip started at a hectic pace with a 3 hour drive up to Cradle Mountain, initially through endless poppy fields (Taz is the worlds, or is it Southern Hemispheres, largest grower of medicinal opium). Personally I thought all opium was medicinal but this particular strain has been modified to remove the "recreational" component. The poppy fields turned into alpine meadows with quite impressive rocky peaks glowering in the distance.
Stopping off at the way in a country town we picked up supplies. Aron our guide seemed a bit taken aback when I interpreted this as the need for a large cardboard box full from the bottle shop.
We arrived at Cradle Mountain itself about 1pm, and as the weather was so good, decided to undertake the 6 hour round hike that very afternoon. It was a fair old trip, with the last hour involving a reasonable amount of scrambling. How the trainer clad, placcy bag carrying Japanese tourists manage it is beyond me, or come to think of it the 90 year old stooped pensioner we saw climbing down. The views from the top were well worth the walk, with views disappearing out into the mountains, in full sunshine and no heat haze.
That evening we arrived at our eco bunkroom cabin (i.e. composting toilets, solar heating and rainwater tanks), drank and ate, and found out that it's cold in the mountains at night, hazah for wood stoves!!
No comments:
Post a Comment