A Very Tassie New Year


After our big Christmas adventures we sent our guests off to Tasmania while we finished off the work week.  We meet them in Hobart and made an important first stop at Lark Distillery where those who think whiskey doesn't taste like ass partook in a tasting.  Then we strolled through the Salamunca Market, stopping for a lunch of Wallaby Burritos.  That put a skip in our step as we headed down to Kingston where we stayed for the night.
Whiskey tasting

Wallaby burritos
We set off on New Years Eve morning for Cradle Mountain, taking the longer route via Lake St Clair.  There's not a lot between Hobart and Cradle Mountain except for rolling pastures and curvy roads.  The last time we had been to this lake it was raining so hard we couldn't see past the parking lot.  This time it was only raining lightly so we got to see what the area actually looked like.  
Lake St Clair

Echidna spotting 

Real Echidna.  The only place you'll see them in the wild is crossing the road, and you have to yell "Echidna!"
After a couple more hours in the car, we finally made it to Cradle Mountain and enjoyed a nice New Years Eve dinner at the lodge.  We followed the meal with a tipple in celebration of the New Zealand New Year at 10 pm.  A few stayed up later, but for me as long as it's 2018 somewhere I was happy to call it a day.  year.  whatever.
New Zealand New Year


On New Years Day we took the park shuttle bus to Dove Lake and had a nice 5k walk around it. It was cold and a little rainy, though still warmer than the 4 degrees C it had been the previous night.  Just another warm summer day in Cradle Mountain.  Once we circumnavigated the lake we decided to keep walking and hiked up the nearby mountains.  We had some beautiful views along the way, though towards the top the weather got worse.  We headed back down the other side and meandered through the valleys back to the shuttle bus.  It was a nice hike and a great way to bring in the new year.
Pademelon

Cradle Mountain Hike












For some reason all of the Ls were missing from the signs...

The parking lot is just there-





Wombat!

Square wombat poo 

That evening we went to Devils at Cradle Mountain to watch the Devil feeding.  They didn't seem particularly hungry for roo carcass that evening, but it was interesting seeing them nonetheless.  After dinner it was time for another night's sleep in our cozy abode.
Sun Devil

snack time

Spotted Quolls

Cozy accommodation
The next morning we drove to Launceston and stopped at some tasty wineries.  From there we said farewell to our friends who were headed for Sydney and we had lunch and beers before the flight back to Melbourne.
Moo?

Stopped at a cheese shop on the way to Launceston

Winery

Fancy Siblings


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