Lake St Clair

Our accommodation at the southern end of the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National park was at the Derwent Bridge Hotel, well and truly in the middle of nowhere. We were about 5km from the Park and walking tracks so once again had to resort to hitching. Our first lift was with an old french chap who was wearing some sort of uniform and smelt like a well used gym towel. A big sign at the information centre stated boldly that snakes were particularly active in the area because of the unusually warm weather. Half way through our 5 hour circuit past Shadow and Forgotten Lakes I turned a corner and was face to face with a Tiger Snake, lying in front of me on the path. Fortunately it decided that it wasn't as ugly as me and buggered off into the bush.

We spent the rest of the evening at the bar in the Hotel, feeling very much at home in a place that reminded us a bit of the bar at Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg. We had a bit of time to kill the next day, so strolled 2km down the road to an art gallery. A sculptor named Greg Duncan is currently working on a 100m wall of wood, the story of the Tasmanian Pioneers, a creation that has taken 2 years so far and will take around another 6 to complete.