Cradle Of Nature
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday October 18, 2008
Sarah Thomas shares nuggets of trivia in a remote wilderness.
They say you learn something new every day. Today I learn wombats are the only animals on the planet to have square poo. It's good to know, because we see a lot of it over the next couple of days at Cradle Mountain.This nugget of trivia comes from Joel Dawtrey, our walking guide at Cradle Mountain Lodge. Wombats mark their territory with these little unique deposits but no one knows how they achieve such a super feat. "It continues to baffle scientists," Dawtrey says as we stroll along the Enchanted Walk, an 800-metre circuit sprinkled liberally with the wombats' scientific marvel. This circuit, which runs beside a creek next to the lodge, is one of the many trails we take over the next three days, eventually covering almost 20 kilometres and an elevation of about 400 metres. Time outside enjoying the beauty and accessibility of this national park proves to be just as inviting as the shiraz, Tasmanian cheese and good-book-and-log-fire scenarios that had been the region's initial lure. The lodge is at the north end of the 161,000-hectare Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. The air is crisp and fresh and there's snow on the ground. The wombat is one of many short, brown, furry creatures ambling around these parts. Pademelons, brush-tailed possums and Bennett's wallabies are common sightings. Devils and quolls live here too but diminishing numbers mean they're unlikely to be spotted.For now though, Dawtrey's succession of wombat facts keeps us entertained enough. Even more baffling than the square poo is the fact the wombat can reach speeds of up to 40kmh over a distance of about 150 metres, making it as fast as an Olympic sprinter. It's impossible to picture these ungainly, short-legged balls of fuzz snapping at the heels of Usain Bolt. Dawtrey tells us the wombat rarely feels pressure to step on it, however, as there's plenty to eat and no predators. "It's wombat paradise," he says.The park was also paradise for botanist Gustav Weindorfer and his wife, Kate, who were the first people to celebrate the area for its natural beauty and built the Waldheim chalet near Ronny Creek in 1912. Waldheim, meaning "forest home", was the area's first guesthouse and had the motto: "This is Waldheim, where there is no time and nothing matters." After years of campaigning by Weindorfer, the national park was established in 1922. There is now a range of walking routes: easy duckboard paths, rocky climbs past lakes and waterfalls, and the 65-kilometre Overland Track, which now draws so many tourists it's essential to book a place during the summer. On our first afternoon we walk the first couple of stages of the Cradle Mountain boardwalk, from the information centre through Snake Hill to Ronny Creek, a distance of about 51/2 kilometres. It's beautiful, though overcast - a vast, open space with pencil pines alongside the tea-coloured Dove River, dyed from the tannin of the button grass.The next day we walk from Ronny Creek to Dove Lake, a three-kilometre route that mixes luxury boardwalk with rotting wood, mud and gravel. The next day it's a clear sky with brilliant sunshine and we plan to walk up to Marion's Lookout from Ronny Creek. There's still a sprinkling of snow around and the sun is bringing out the startling colours of the landscape. We walk near bubbling creeks and waterfalls, up to Crater Lake, which is a little pocket of untouched heaven. It's as if we have found our own portal to Narnia. We reach the small plateau between Crater Lake and Dove Lake, with Marion's Lookout just ahead of us. It's a steep climb, graded as moderate, reaching an elevation of 1220 metres. I sit near the summit and take in the surrounds. The trees, the lakes, the craggy mountains, no buildings in view. It's magnificent - nothing matters here at all.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald