Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park

The jagged contours of Cradle Mountain epitomise the feel of a wild landscape, while ancient rainforest and alpine heathlands, buttongrass and stands of colourful deciduous beech provide a range of environments to explore.
Icy streams cascading out of rugged mountains, stands of ancient pines mirrored in the still waters of glacial lakes and a wealth of wildlife ensure there is always something to captivate you.

-Visitor's Guide

The park covers an area of 124 942 ha which is characterised by a rugged, glaciated landscape of over 25 major peaks and a wide range of glacial formations - tarns, glacial lakes, moraine deposits, U-shaped valleys and waterfalls. It is indeed one of the most spectacular and scenic areas in Australia. The above formations are due to the fact the the area was heavily glaciated during the last ice age. It is thought that a 6km Ice cap formed in the region and that this produced the glaciers which carved out the landscape as it is today.

The National Park provides many walks catering to experienced hikers and novices alike. The most famous of these is The Overland Track which meanders down the entire length of the park from lake Dove in the north to lake St Clair in the south. This walk generally takes 5 - 8 days to complete (depending on how many of the offshoot 'daywalks' you do and how fast you walk - obviously). This can be extended by walking the Penguin - Cradle trail which begins at the town of Penguin on the north coast and adds an extra 3 days to the walk.

At the time of writing there are several groups offering tours in which participants traverse the Overland track in the company of several guides. Depending on which group you choose you may get to sleep in wooden huts or in a tent and sleeping bag.

Of course there are many other tracks available, ranging from about 3 hours to several days these explore various landscapes and areas of the park and make for an interesting and worthwhile afternoon's sightseeing. Accomodation is available in the park in the form of the Cradle Mountain Lodge and also self contained cabins at Waldheim.