After last night's heavy rain, it was overcast but not raining this morning. That was a good thing since we had three hikes/walks in the park scheduled this morning. The first walk lasted almost an hour and started at a place called Snake Mountain which is odd because there was neither a mountain or any snakes. Both of which were perfectly fine with me. Our pathway was actually a very nicely maintained boardwalk covered with chicken wire which provided much better footing than wet wood. The terrain was along a river, close enough to heart he rushing water but not to actually see it. There was a lot of button grass and a few trees. In areas closer to the water there were also some trees. Most of the animals are nocturnal but we were able to sight a few wallabies and a wombat and several of the local birds.

We were very lucky because the skies had cleared enough that it was possible to see Cradle Mountain, and our next walk was on the shore of Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background . If you use your imagination it was easy to see the cradle and the sleeping baby.

Our final walk in the park was to see Waldheim, a chalet built by Gustav Weindorfer. He was an Austrian and amateur botanist who moved to Tasmania in 1900 and after visiting the area, built a small chalet so that tourists could visit. He was an avid promoter of Cradle Mountain and is responsible for it becoming a National Park. Waldheim means Home in the Forest and is located by a forest of King Billy pines. However across the road from the forest is a large open plain. It is believed that this area and other similar areas were cleared by the aboriginal people to improve the hunting for kangaroos.

After leaving the park we headed north to the coastal city of Devenport for lunch and then to a local cheese factory before going on to Launceston, the second largest city in Tasmania. It was settled after Hobart and was the 3rd English settlement in Australia.

After settling into our rooms we gathered for wine provided by our trip leader, Wayne, and cheeses which we had purchased from the cheese factory. A good time was had by all.