Cradle Mountain & to Bay of Fires - 9 and 10 September

Monday 9 September - Cradle Mountain

It poured overnight and didn't let up all day, so we spent a very relaxing day in front of the fire. The view from our cabin is certainly easy to take. We were joined during the day by our resident currawong, who even brought a mate along a couple of times.

I spent the day either reading (I'm reading Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper at the moment) or doing some sewing. I am working on an applique quilt called Charleston Rhapsody, a design by Carolyn Konig, and its progress has been given a boost after today.

One unfortunate consequence of the heavy rain today was being unable to visit Devils @ Cradle. We were going to do the tour tonight which also took in the feeding of the Tasmanian Devils. We had heard good things about it but it was not to be.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time at Cradle Mountain and will be very sorry to leave. It is such a beautiful place. But, tomorrow we move on to another area - one we haven't been to before, the Bay of Fires National Park.

Tuesday 10 September - to Binalong Bay and Bay of Fires

It poured during the night and we even had thunder. It was still raining when we got up this morning. The forecast is for a cold front coming through later today bringing snow down to 200 metres and sea level in places. The snow would certainly look a picture at Cradle Mountain.

We got away early and not long after leaving the mountain, the rain stopped. Our first stop was at Sheffield, about an hour from Cradle Mountain. We have stayed here twice before and really like the town and the area. It is called the Town of Murals and Mt Roland forms quite a distinctive backdrop, rising to about 1200 metres. There are about 60 murals around the town and the surrounding area, telling the story of the area. The town runs a mural competition each year and so a new mural is added each year. There was also a shop in town that had lots of different tea cozies in the window.

Leaving Sheffield, we then stopped at Deloraine for a cuppa. Deloraine is a town of artists and craftspeople and there is a big Craft Fair in November each year since the 1970's. I went in to one of the galleries before joining Bruce in the café. There were some beautiful quilts and knitted garments, paintings, woodwork, etc. on display. I can imagine what the Craft Fair would be like.

We bypassed Launceston and headed towards Scottsdale and St Helens. About 25 kms the other side of Scottsdale we saw a sign to Legerwood, 3kms off the main road. They have an Anzac memorial in the park in town which was fabulous.

In 1918, 9 trees were planted to honour the 7 soldiers killed in WW1 and a tree each for Gallipoli and the Anzacs. The trees were declared dangerous in 2001. A committee decided to hire Eddie Freeman to chainsaw carve into the trees a likeness of the men killed. By Anzac Day 2006, the carvings were completed. Each tree has a plaque at the bottom of the tree with the name and biography of the soldier killed. They now draw in tourists. It really was very good.

We stopped off in St Helens to buy a few groceries for tonight and brekkie before driving out to Binalong Bay, about 20 mins north of St Helens, arriving about 4pm. We are staying at Character Cottages, a cluster of cottages on the hillside looking out over Binalong Bay and up the coast. We are staying in the Deluxe cottage. It is a lovely cottage with a glorious view. We even sat outside on the deck to have a cuppa when we arrived but half an hour later, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up and was strong enough to blow one of the chairs across the deck!

 

There are quite a few walks in the area so we should be able to get some walking done. If that doesn't happen, it certainly won't be a hardship to sit and admire the view!