Welcome to Part 5 of my best Tassie Photography locations. I have to admit being somewhat torn here, not being able to decide whether one of Cradle Mt/Dove Lake or the Lake St Clair area should get a stand alone gong or not… Since they are part of the same national park (don’t worry that it takes 5 or 6 days to walk from one to the other!) I have decided to list them both together.

The Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park is without a doubt the most visited park in Tasmania, and the image of Cradle Mt sitting serenely above Dove Lake (with or without a boatshed!) is arguably the most photographed scene in Tasmania. Without a doubt, Cradle Mt reflecting in  a mirror like Dove Lake with a nice sky, or perhaps a bit of mist in the scene is a pic every photographer and his/her tripod is after. In this case, getting into location is obviously not the challenge (as you need only wander a few minutes from Tasmania’s most scenic car park) rather it is being there when the conditions are exactly right that makes the perfect shot of Cradle so hard to obtain.

Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake, by Starlight

When weather conditions aren’t favourable for epic mountain/landscape shots the rainforest beckons. You can walk around Weindorfers forest (Cradle) or Pine Valley (Lake St Clair) amongst magnificent pine and pandani rainforest; or the waterfalls of Waterfall Valley and near the park entrance at Cradle. Lake St Clair isn’t known for waterfalls, but the rainforest at Watersmeet ( junction of Hugel & Cuvier Rivers) is very picturesque when the clouds are in.

Highlights:

Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake

Weindorfers Forest (Cradle)

Mt Rufus (Lake St Clair)

Summer Scoparia on Mt Rufus

Pine Valley (Lake St Clair)

Rainforest, Pine Valley

Echo Point (Lake St Clair)

Lake St Clair at Echo Point