The fairy kingdom in the clouds
After the beauty of Freycinet, where could we go next? Much of our camping and hiking so far has been along the coast so it was time to head to the mountains. After a night in Ross to wash ourselves and our clothes, tidy up Fran, and sleep in a real bed, we went west towards Lake St Claire.
Lake St Claire is the end point of the Overland Track. As far as trailheads go, it's a comprehensive facility which includes a huge carpark, ranger station, restaurant and hotel. It's a gateway into the mountainous regions that include Cradle Mountain and the Walls of Jerusalam National Parks. I had bought a paper topographical map of the area earlier in Hobart and fantasised about the many possible overnight and multi-day hikes we could do. However as we got closer to Lake St Claire and the reality of carrying our packs into the national park, setting up camp in the rain and the cold long night ahead set in I suggested a day trip instead with the promise that this would not be our last visit to the area.
Tanja and I have achieved a lot in our short time in Tasmania. We realised we had been hiking almost every day for two weeks. The previous four days hiking around the Freycinet Peninsula was a milestone for us as adventurers. And I need to remember that not every adventure has to top the last. The long hike had also taken it's toll on my body. I was tired and a little sore. My enthusiasm for another three or four nights in the forest was tempered. So we set our sights on walking the loop to Shadow Lake instead.
My goodness I love this trail. From the very start as we began to climb up the ridge from Lake St Claire to Shadow Lake we entered into a new world. This surely is the land of magical creatures. We climbed past rushing creeks and along the edge of quiet tarns. Ancient trees (the largest I have ever seen) tower overhead while every type of moss and lichen cascades over everything beneath.
We paused for lunch at the edge of Shadow Lake on a small beach. For quite some time we shared the lake with no-one. The water and air were still and a silence descended around us as we watched the clouds moving overhead and around Mount Rufus and Mount Hugel that sit on each side of the lake. And as we left the lake we spotted a platypus swimming and diving at the edge of the water.
On our return walk we passed through the swampy basin that forms the start of the Hugel River, before descending again into the forest and down another ridge towards the trailhead. Here a wombat and I startled each other. "Kent", as we named him, was napping on the side of the trail and I was almost on top of him before we noticed each other. Kent scurried a few metres away from the trail and although he was initially wary of us, he soon nodded off again, sitting in the sun with his bum against a tree. This was the closest I have been to a wild wombat, and it was Tanja's first ever wombat sighting. Obviously many photos were taken before we respectfully left Kent to his napping.
I think it's obvious at this point that Tasmania has many incredible natural places to explore. It seems silly to say how beautiful, peaceful and magical every hike has been. This one did stand out though. The forest is so ancient, perhaps less touched by human activity, logging, and grazing compared to the coastal areas, and for almost the whole walk it felt like we had the forests and lakes to ourselves. I really am determined to return to Lake St Claire and push deeper into this wilderness. I hope until then it remains the less popular sibling to Cradle Mountain.