Beautiful limestone caves. Walk through temperate rainforest…read more Great guide took us through the caves and the majesty of the grand cathedral. I would do this again even!

We stopped by here on our excursion to Cradle Mountain. Decor was a cute, quaint little inn with…read morethe forest in the back, definitely cozy in the winter. A local had recommended the beef rissoles to me - I've never had it before, and it turned out to be very tasty meat loaf with mashed potatoes. My husband got the Mongolian beef pie, found it a tad sweet, but we are told it's a proper pie (made properly). Service was scant but friendly but we went late in the afternoon and there weren't many customers. You should stop by if you're hungry and coming back from Cradle Mountain!

This place was the highlight of my honeymoon! We had already visited Bonorong earlier in our trip,…read morebut it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. My hubby realized that I was feeling "meh" about that visit and secretly worked with our trip planner to find another place we can visit. This park is much more open and spacious! We had a private tour and was able to meet a lot of the animals up close and personal. I really liked how spread out the park is because it doesn't feel as cramped. I highly recommend coming here if you're in the area...totally worth the trip!

Visited here last month, it was a definite standout. Nowhere else will you see so many Tasmanian…read moreDevils or get as close to native Australian wildlife. Yes, it is more rustic, so come prepared.

Dove Lake is iconic Cradle Mountain. Who am I kidding? It's iconic Tasmania. A beautiful big lake…read moreat the foot of the mountain, with the most picturesque scenery. It's at the very end of Cradle Mountain road, so very easy to navigate to--though it's within the national park, so you must make sure you have a parks pass visible on your car (or come in via the bus). The Dove Lake Circuit is probably the best walk in the area. It's beautiful, and it's nice and easy for everybody but still takes a good couple of hours (I won't lie, it took me four hours, but the track was literally covered with snow when I went and I stopped every two feet or so to take photos). There's even a bit of rainforest to walk through on the circuit--the ancient Ballroom Forest. Dove Lake will take your breath away. It's a must do. And then if you're lucky enough to be staying nearby, you can head home (with some wombat sightings on the way) and pat yourself on the back with a glass of wine. I recommend.

A beautiful 2 hour walk around Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background…read more I would highly recommend you to walk in the anti-clockwise direction since the right side is tougher. Put on lots of sunscreen on a sunny day :)

After leaving Melbourne, we sailed overnight to Burnie, Tasmania, and we were ready to spend the…read moreday spelunking at the Gunns Plains Caves. During our 45-minute ride through the pastoral countryside from Burnie Port, we soaked in the cool morning temperature, clean, fresh air, beautiful green rolling hills (some slightly hidden in low-hanging clouds and mist), and lazing farm animals. Our guide mentioned that Tasmania is world-renowned for having the cleanest air on Earth, pristine wilderness, tight-knit communities, a favorite location for nature-loving and relaxed life, its unique wildlife (Tasmanian Devils, platypuses, wombats, and bird species), fresh seafood, wines, and whiskey and gin distilleries, and its dark convict history. By the time we arrived at Gunns Plains, we entered a low-hanging cloud or fog, which oddly made me think of the musical Brigadoon, which we had watched on board a couple of nights ago. Anyway, we piled out of our bus and met a young man who warned us about the low-hanging rock formations, the tight squeezes between the "chambers", the wet, uneven, and slippery stone stairways, and the narrow concrete pathway into this 275 m (around 900 ft) long hike. Most of us who wore non-slip athletic shoes and hooded rain jackets were prepared for this experience, but some others who probably didn't read the excursion description before signing up weren't. We descended 54 narrow, steep stairs into the cave and proceeded along the concrete pathway. At the same time, our young guide, who claimed he and his mother used to frequent this area, was well-acquainted with the caves' history and rock formations, and often jumped off the path from the back to "magically" appear at the front of the line. The delicate, shawl-like calcite rock formations were quite dazzling, and our guide often compared them to streaky bacon. He often warned us not to touch the rocks, walls, or water to protect the cave's ecological system. Besides, we looked forward to the treat at the end of the trail featuring glow worms. Parts of the trail were so narrow and steep that access was only available through climbing a ladder and twisting or turning your body to avoid hitting low-hanging or jutting formations, which made me thankful for adhering to physical therapy exercises after my total knee replacement this past August. As in most "show-caves" we've visited, the dim yet well-lit areas allowed most to capture the beauty without high-intensity flash. Also, there were several areas where our guide turned off the lights to demonstrate how naturally dark the cave is, to help imagine the time in 1906, when the local hunter, Bill Woodhouse, discovered the caves using only an oil lamp while hunting for possums. I was glad that my smartphone camera supports "night vision," so I took a couple of photos to compare with those taken under commercial lighting. A visit to the Gunns Plains Caves was a nice tourist diversion, historical, welcoming, and, luckily, not so commercial, with no gift shop or fancy trappings. We spent about an hour spelunking and were then whisked off to nearby Wings Wildlife Park.

Diane and I explored these caves earlier today, and really enjoyed the icy-looking formations,…read morerugged passageways, and even the total lack of light when all electricity and candle power were turned off. Seeing illuminated glowworms on the ceiling was also a nice sight, although I hoped to see more of them. The difficulty of moving deep into the cave was somewhat understated in advance advertising, for there were numerous steps required up and down from precarious positions and ultra-steep inclines, and the trek is definitely not advisable for anyone with any mobility or cardiac problems. Metal guardrails were very helpful, and arm power was required as well as leg power. Completing the full guided passage available to the public from beginning to end provided a good workout; bestowed a feeling of accomplishment as a novice caver; and made me believe that I may be ready to tackle the visually intoxicating Inca ruins of Machu Picchu afterall, if I make the attempt soon before I age much more and physically decline--although there the element of very high attitude is added to a strenuous climb. A nice practice run with interior instead of exterior beauty as the main payoff! 4-1/2 stars overall, and highly recommended to the physically fit!

Although there's def ways this place could be improved and I lean towards a 4, without having been…read moreto another place like this, I'd have to give them a 5. They have so many different animals and enclosures to look at and some that you can actually interact with. It's pretty big too. Since we were with a tour group for our cruise though, we didn't have time so we couldn't see the side of the park with the large animals. The main things we came to see though are the Tasmanian Devils, kangaroos and the koalas. They have these experiences/encounters that you can pay for like going into the enclosure to take a pic with a koala, holding a baby Tasmanian devil and buying food to feed the kangaroos. In the kangaroo enclosure it's just a large area with a bunch of kangaroos roaming around. You are free to pet and interact with them at their leisure. People were so nice too, everyone was sharing their extra food with each other (not even in the same tour groups) so that everyone could get a chance to feed them.

After a short 10-minute ride from the Gunns Plains Cave, we eagerly peeled off our rain gear,…read moresweaters, and hiking boots to warmer yet Autumnal cool weather and sunny skies, then roamed the open-air family-owned Wings Wildlife Park. We looked forward to seeing native and unique Tasmanian animals such as Tasmanian Devils, platypuses, wombats, quolls, Tammar wallabies, and Tasmanian pademelons. Soon after passing through the park's entrance, we were allowed to cuddle a Tasmanian Devil. The animal wasn't fully mature, was about the size of a small dog, and didn't seem to be vicious or aggressive. However, we passed on the chance because we had read about the Tasmanian Devil's bite strength, which could crush the bones of its prey, and continued into the park. Soon after passing the meerkats, we encountered a large grassy area surrounded by a 4-ft-high wooden fence that housed at least six Tasmanian Devils. We could clearly see several of them bearing their "battle scars" and wandering about growling, barking, and screaming. I suppose their noises were just their way of communicating with each other, not attack sounds. Also, their ears were not bright red which would have indicated their aggressiveness. The next Tasmanian native animal we looked for was the wombat. By their generally shy, calm, and plant-eating nature, wombats are nocturnal. We worried that we wouldn't be able to see anything above ground. However, we searched the enclosure until we finally caught sight of two sleeping wombats. We learned that in the wild, these cuddly, chunky, and calm animals can be aggressive, strong, and fast runners, capable of knocking a person over. We wandered further along, viewing cages of native birds and other birds from around the world, when we came across an albino wallaby behind a fence and at least eight kangaroos roaming freely among other visitors. We got close enough to feed a couple of kangaroos, and they seemed docile. My expectations of having a close experience with a koala bear came true at this wildlife park. However, we were only allowed to pet or pat the koala bear, who calmly nestled himself in the fork of a tree. This experience was exciting and was indeed a highlight of our visit to Australia. There were exhibits of reptiles, but we didn't go in to see them. Wings Wildlife Park is family-owned and run. They maintain the animals and their enclosures, and the park, very well. All the animals appear healthy and unstressed in captivity.

What a treasure of a place. From the amazing vantage point perched on the top of town, to the…read moreglorious old building that is the Bischoff Hotel. Steeped in history this grandiose old lady has a lot of it all over her walls for each visitor to peruse at their leisure. Whilst the decor is antiquated and at times mismatched it has a charm that works. The bar is like all good Aussie small towns in that it's a place to meet locals, swap stories and have a laugh whilst enjoying a cold one at the end of the day. The meals are good sized servings and you're left feeling content. I'd recommend the sticky date pudding as a way to round out the evening. Well worth making the effort to visit if you're ever in the area. Accomodation is also available if not staying locally.

Chalets on a beautiful mountain in the great outdoors! This log cabin lodge has a restaurant area…read morefor breakfast and dinner, a huge fireplace in the lounge area and a small store with dvd's to rent and a few household items for sale. We stayed in a two bedroom log cabin equipped with a kitchenette, fireplace and small tv for dvds. The rooms were nice and roomy but the beds are a bit springy. Breakfast is from 8-9:30am and you can order a hot brekkie or have cereals, toast, muffins, fruit etc. This is included with your stay. Nice bathroom with shower and bath. There are many beautiful walks and hikes that leave right from the lodge. You can also see a pademelon and possum feeding on the back veranda of the lodge at night.

I can't rave enough about Lemonthyme Lodge!…read more As a "wilderness retreat" it is way off the beaten path--even for Tasmania--and is situated near Cradle Mountain on a large tract of their own land, which means that there are beautiful nature walks and lots of wildlife to see right off the verandah! We stayed there for only one night, but because my partner mentioned that it was my birthday the proprietor arranged for a discounted room upgrade for us--which meant we ended up spending the night in a luxury treetop cabin for much less than the normal price! The room itself was huge, and had a spa bath, cozy gas fireplace for the chilly Tassie nights, and a large back verandah where you could sit on the lookout for wombats and echidnas. We even managed to spot a few echidnas out in the bush in the short time that we were there! Lemonthyme Lodge also has a restaurant that serves dinner and breakfast. It's a bit pricey, but it's basically the only option that far away from everything else, and it is SO WORTH IT. For dinner, you only have the option of ordering a two-course (~$47) or three-course (~$65) meal, but they were fine with each of us getting a two course meal and splitting one starter and one dessert (the portion sizes are quite generous) so we got to try a bit of everything. The food was, in a word, fabulous, and because the restaurant specializes in cooking with local Tasmanian ingredients, everything was very fresh and the meal was a great taste of what Tassie has to offer. The service was excellent and very friendly--they even put a birthday candle on our cheese platter dessert for me! Also, every night around dusk the kitchen staff feed a group of pademelons scraps off the back verandah of the lodge. As we were enjoying our dessert, pademelons started emerging from the bush in anticipation of their dinner, so we went out to watch them being fed. It was a great way to see cute wildlife and is definitely not to be missed! Breakfast in the morning is included in the price of the room and in following with the quality of dinner that we had it was excellent. Fresh baked muffins, a cooked-to-order breakfast, and bottomless coffee were the highlights--and exactly what you'll need to fuel a day of hiking either around the lodge or at nearby Cradle Mountain. Overall, our stay at Lemonthyme Lodge was brief but magical. The staff went out of their way to make our night special and enjoyable, and the remote setting offered a very peaceful way to enjoy nature and encounter shy wildlife. I would stay there again in a heartbeat, and I highly recommend a stop at Lemonthyme to anybody visiting the area!