Cradle Mountain
Your free eMagazine from CradleMountain.net
AUTUMN 2011
Image: Adam Holbrook - Wilderness Photography of Tasmania
Welcome to Cradle Mountain
Did you miss these new articles on CradleMountain.net
Welcome to Autumn at Cradle Mountain.net
There are many articles hidden away in cradlemountain.net. Click below to see more on these selections...
What a wonderful time to visit Tasmania and, of course, Cradle Mountain.
Spiny balls of fluff
In this issue, Autumn, we have highlighted Adam Holbrook’s photography of a special tree, unique to Tasmania, the Nothofagus gunnii or Deciduous beech.
Do you know what those spiky little fur balls you see snuffling about at Cradle Mountain National Park might be?
It’s spectacular Autumn show can be enjoyed by those who visit Cradle Mountain from late April through late May.
They are echidnas – but not your common garden variety, because the echidnas at Cradle Mountain are different from their mainland cousins.
If you can escape to Tasmania, even for a weekend, it is well worth the effort. This article Fantastic Fagus Fun tells a story of how we did it last year! We have also included brain teasers to test your Tassie knowledge with a “10 question quiz” and “Where is this” challenge. Good luck finding the answers! Tasmania is also a mecca for great food and quirky festivals. In this edition we highlight four terrific festivals and three interesting cooking schools. Nine great reasons to visit Tasmania in Autumn. Finally photography. If you are looking for a new camera and lenses, or just want to understand how it all works, Matthias Siegal shares an interesting write up on how he chose his new gear. If you have never visited Cradle Mountain or Tasmania we hope you enjoy some snapshots of adventure and fun in this beautiful place. If you are an old Tassie hand, then sit back, relax and enjoy rediscovering Cradle, you will be back.
Cradle Mountain Lodge Luxury accommodation with a touch of heart. You can experience the Tasmanian wilderness at its best while enjoying the Cradle Mountain Lodge hotel.
Tasmanian Devils - What’s that growling at night? Cradle Mountain National Park has devils. But not very many of them. The spine-chilling screech you might be lucky to hear at night might not seem belong to this cute little Tassie icon, but it does.
Ancient trees, spectacular displays A living remnant of when Australia was part of Gondwana can be found in Tasmania. This descendant of ancient trees still has distant relatives in South America and New Zealand and is commonly known as Fagus. A great name for a gnarly tree that puts on a magic display every Autumn in Tasmania, especially in the Cradle Mountain area.
Deciduous beech (Nothofagus gunnii) usually grows to 2 metres or less. And it has a terrific root system , tough and bendy, designed to grasp onto the sides of mountains for survival. It is Australia's only winter-deciduous tree, and you will find it nowhere else in the world except Tasmania. Every year from late April through May, this tough survivor rewards visitors with a display of colour. The leaves , which are only 1.5. - 2 cm long, start changing from green to a rusty red, and then finally, before separating from their tree, a brilliant gold.
Some of the best fagus is found around Cradle Mountain. The closest access is either around the Dove Lake circuit or Weindorfers Forest Walk. (see our free map for details) For the more active, walk into Crater Lake from the Ronney Creek car park to the boat shed and enjoy sheets of colour on the face of the lake. For an even more spectacular view, climb up the steps to Marion’s Lookout and look back across Crater Lake. It can be spectacular.
Just to reinterate, the colour change has usually started by the end of April and continues for a month or so, but the actual time varies from year to year and place to place. It is best to phone the relevant Parks Tasmania office before visiting.
Images: Adam Holbrook - Wilderness Photography of Tasmania
Winter wonderland special Cradle Mountain Lodge
Cradle Mountain in winter is special. Staying at Cradle Mountain Lodge in winter is doubly special. We love rugging up in our winter woollies and exploring on the cool and crisp days. Visitor numbers are reduced and it can be a truly delightful wilderness experience. As a bonus, there is often a sprinkling of snow or frosty mornings to enjoy, so don’t forget warm clothing and strong shoes. One of the best parts of the experience is escaping back to the cosy warmth of Cradle Mountain Lodge after a day exploring. Winter is one of the best times to enjoy the Lodge experience. From 1st May until 30th September 2011 save 22% off the standard nightly rate*. The Winter wonderland package includes: • Accommodation • Full buffet breakfast daily • Many Lodge activities including, 20 different self guided walking tracks, native animal briefing and slide presentation • Children 12 years and under stay and eat breakfast FREE* PLUS upgrade to include 3-course dinner in the award winning Highland Restaurant for only $65 per person. Children can dine from the children’s set menu, one meal plus one dessert for $15 per child. Click here to check availability at Cradle Mountain Lodge , these specials often disappear quickly.
Photo of the edition Cradle Mountain is a photographer’s heaven. In each edition we highlight one special image taken in the Cradle Mountain National Park.
Well done to Steven Young for capturing Cradle Mountain at sunset. We love the stillness and subtle colours he has captured of Cradle Mountain. If you have a favourite Cradle Mountain area image to share, contact Frank via email.
Want to Improve your photography? We Recommend...
Great produce, great food and wonderful chefs! This edition we highlight three northern Tasmanian cooking schools. Learn the secrets of these three fine establishments and enjoy cooking their specialties during a visit to Tasmania. Alternatively, take a short break and fly down for a long weekend to participate in some of the excellent classes on offer. These three cooking schools look like winners:
Brilliant Cup Cakes Alps & Amici Launceston
Sally Alps and her team specialise in and create fun and exciting occasion cakes and handcrafted cupcakes that don’t just tastes good but look good too! Classes are hands-on where you will learn how to prepare, cover and decorate fondant icing cupcakes. You will receive the recipes from the afternoon and take home the cakes you decorate along with a 10% discount on anything purchased on the day.
Offering two different classes, an Introduction to Sourdough and Advanced Sourdough Techniques, these popular classes include a Baker’s Cap, Lunch and Sourdough Starter. For more information head across here: Companion Bakery classes
Red Feather Cooking and Lifestyle Hadspen (near Launceston) (click for map) From ‘back to basics’ through to ‘celebrer le cochon’ the Red Feather Cooking & Lifestyle School aims to help you extend your culinary boundaries, whilst having an entertaining and enjoyable break in the company of like minded people.
Click here for more information
Sourdough Baking Classes
companion bakery Oatlands (click for map) Sourdough is the ancient art of rising bread using natural fermentation. Classes are hands on, guiding guests through every stage of the sourdough baking process.
With classes titled summer’s harvest, the wild larder and smoking & curing , spots book quickly. For more information head across here.
Conservation works for historic Waldheim Chalet
said when the conservation works are complete the historic structure will be set to withstand the elements for decades to come. “The importance of the chalet itself is that it represents the origin of heritage conservation and national parks in Tasmania and for that it has both national and international significance,” Mr Deka said. The conservation works include the replacement or repair of weathered and decayed materials such as roofing shakes or shingles, wall palings and pole frames that support the building on both the bathhouse and the chalet. At the chalet, works completed last year included construction of a new section of roof with a steeper pitch aimed at providing better drainage of rainwater and reducing damp problems within the building. This year’s works which will finish the restoration include replacement of the celery top pine supports for the entry way roof structure, replacement of split shingle flooring and replacement of another section of the shingle roof. The works are being undertaken by local heritage restoration builders Tim Youldon and Rudi Velthuis.
Dennis Harding - Tasmanian Photography
Conservation works aimed at preserving the historic Waldheim Chalet at Cradle Mountain have recommenced after a winter break. Tasmanian conservation pioneer Gustav Weindorfer pushed for the preservation of the Cradle Mountain area as ‘a national park for all people for all time’ and built Waldheim, German for ‘forest home’, as a chalet for visitors in 1911. The mountain weather took its toll on the timber structure over the decades and it had deteriorated to such an extent that the decision was taken by the then Parks and Wildlife Service to demolish it and replace it with a replica structure on the same spot. This was completed in 1976. Cradle Mountain Parks and Reserves manager Nic Deka
Waldheim will be closed to the public while the conservation works are under way. The project is funded by an Australian Government Jobs Fund grant that totalled $491,000 for improved Cradle walking tracks and the Waldheim conservation works. Thanks to Parks Tasmania for this information
What’s on around Tasmania in Autumn Tasmania has something to offer visitors all year round. We have chosen five very diverse festivals and activities for you to enjoy during Autumn.
TEN DAYS ON THE ISLAND 25 MARCH TO 3 APRIL 2011
Image credit - 10 days on the Island
A biennial event, Ten Days on the Island will return to Tasmania in 2011, bringing its extensive ten-day, multi art form programme to Tasmanians and visitors. Ten Days offers a ticketed and free schedule of theatre, dance, visual arts, music, film, opera and literature, performed by the very best Tasmanian and Australian artists, and other performers from island-based cultures around the world. What: One of Tasmania’s premier multi-form arts festivals, Ten Days on the Island When: Friday 25 March to Saturday 3 April 2011
*NEW* LONGFORD REVIVAL FESTIVAL 1 APRIL – 3 APRIL 2011
A new festival on Tasmania’s events calendar, the Longford Revival Festival is set to make its debut in 2011, celebrating the international motor racing heritage of the town. Longford played host to the world’s greatest F1 racers in the 1950s and 60s, when it hosted the Australian Grand Prix on its 4.5 mile (7.2km) track. Fashion, food, music and cars will set the stage, with historic vehicles racing down The Flying Mile in speed demonstration shows for the first time in 43 years. The festival will also include display vehicles, entertainment, exhibitor’s stalls, a children’s area, picnic spots and fine wine and food. Visitors are encouraged to dress the part.
Where: Various outdoor and indoor locations across Tasmania
What: A 60s themed celebration of Longford’s illustrious racing past, with car races and displays on The Flying Mile
Info: Contact 03 6233 5700 or: tendaysontheisland.org
When: Friday 1 April 2011 to Monday 4 April 2011 Where: The Flying Mile, Longford, 20 minutes (24km) south west of Launceston Info: Contact 03 6221 8811 or visit www.longfordrevival.com. au.
THE AUSTRALIAN THREE PEAKS RACE 22 APRIL – 30 APRIL 2011
One of Tasmania’s top endurance events, The Australian Three Peaks Race is a non-stop, offshore sailing and mountain running competition. In the event, teams of five race each other over land and sea along the East Coast, starting at Beauty Point on the Tamar River (north of Launceston), and finishing on Derwent River in Hobart. Visitors can watch the action from the Coles Bay jetty or cheer the teams on at Kings Pier (Sullivan Cove, Hobart), when the runners begin their final run to the summit of Mt Wellington. What: A challenging sea and land race traversing three of the island’s mountains and the East Coast When: Good Friday, 22 April 2011 to Saturday, 30 April 2011
DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: SHEFFIELD
INTERNATIONAL MURAL FEST & TASTE OF THE NORTH WEST
24 APRIL – 30 APRIL 2011
Situated in Sheffield, known to locals as The Town of Murals, the 2011 International Mural Fest is set to captivate audiences once again with nine artist finalists painting a 2.1m by 4.8m mural live over six days. The murals will reflect each artist’s interpretation of the 2011 theme "Power of Community” and will be left for the public to admire till the International Mural Fest the following year. The final day of the International Mural Festival will coincide with The Taste of the North West, a celebration of the North West Coast’s finest food, beverage and produce. Held in Sheffield’s picturesque King George V Park, the event features the region’s outstanding local food including rabbit pies, German-style small goods, smoked salmon, wood-fired pizzas, free range lamb sausages, beef pies, ale, beer, mead, cider, fruit wine and wine.
Where: Beauty Point, Tamar River (45km north of Launceston on the West Tamar Highway), Coles Bay jetty (Coles Bay, 195km from Hobart on the A3; 175km from Launceston on Route 1); and Kings Pier / Mt Wellington (Hobart)
What: A public art "paint-off" over six and a half days followed by a celebration of the best of the North West Coast’s provenance
Info: Email alastair@threepeaks.org.au or visit: www. threepeaks.org.au
When: Sunday 24 April to Saturday 30 April 2011 (Mural Fest). The Taste of the North West will take place on Saturday 30 April 2011 only Where: Mural Park, Sheffield (Mural Fest) and King George V Park, Sheffield (Taste of the North West). Sheffield is 23km drive from Devonport. Info: 2011 Mural Fest, visit www.muralfest.com.au. and the Taste of the North West, www.tasteofthenorthwest.com.au.
Devonport Food and Wine Festival 1st - 31st March
Highlights of the month will be the appearances of the hugely successful Australian celebrity chefs Luke Mangan, Peter Kuruvita and Teage Ezard, who will all perform cooking demonstrations at various venues.
Test your
Tassie knowledge 10 Questions to find out what you know 1. What is the name of the small peak to the side of Cradle Mountain? 2. Which way does a wombat’s pouch face? Forward or backward? 3. What is the name of the restaurant at Cradle Mountain Lodge? 4. In Tasmania, do motor cars drive on the left hand side of the road? True or False 5. Is the ferry that travels to Tasmania from Melbourne called the Bass Strait Ferry? True or False
Image credit - Paradoxiko*Beck*
Mr. Mangan will be the event’s official ambassador and his presence and appearance in early March will get the event off to a flying start. Mr. Kuruvita will closely follow to keep the momentum flowing and uber-chef Mr. Ezard is scheduled to appear towards the end of the month in a climatic performance sure to thrill one and all. Every day of March is booked out with theme nights, cooking shows and wine and beer tastings. What: A month of food, wine and locally grown produce will be celebrated throughout Devonport When: 1st March - 31st march Where: various locations around Devonport. Info: Visit the festival website
6. What is the name of the hiking trail that runs for 65km from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair? 7. The Salamanca Market is held in Hobart every Sunday? True or False 8. The Tasmanian Wilderness area covers 20% of the State of Tasmania? True or False 9. Mt Ossa is the highest mountain in Tasmania? True or False 10. Are there koalas in Tasmania? True or False Check your answers on the last page!
Where in Tasmania was this taken? Just for a bit of fun we have selected four images that show very different views of Tasmania. They take our breath away. Your job is to guess where they were taken.
3
Find the answers on the last page.
2
1
4
1. Hello Daniel via Flickr; 2. Stefan Karpiniec via Flickr; 3. Stephan Roletto via Flickr; 4. Brent Pearson via Flickr
Photography equipment for travel and wildlife Matthias Siegel is a Web developer, software architect, geek, bushwalker, friend, MacGyver fan and photo amateur, currently living in Hobart, Tasmania. In this article he shares his ideas for travel and wildlife photography with some great examples. Visit his site, Matt Down Under , to check out some of his great Tasmanian images and read his stories about exploring Tasmania. Over the last months I found myself diving more and more into advanced fields of hobby photography and since I’m happy with both my equipment and the results it produces, I thought I should write a short piece about my current equipment and what I use it for.
me of the wonderful moments I had. Whenever I think my life it boring I look at the photos only to be impressed to see what great places I visited. I mostly take photos of nature and wildlife, there are simply a lot of opportunities in Australia to take stunning nature scenes. For me as a German who didn’t grow up with such an abundance of wildlife and colourful birds it is also very fascinating to photograph wild animals like parrots and kangaroos, it just feels very exotic and makes for a great photo.
My equipment requirements The basic requirements on my camera equipment are: • lightweight for traveling and hiking • long zoom so I can capture close wildlife shots from a distance • high image quality • easy to use (I love automatic modes) • GPS would be great, so all photos are geo-tagged automatically Until recently I used a Panasonic DMC FZ-28 superzoom camera, I found it was the perfect combination of all my requirements, only GPS was missing - which is still not common in cameras. Over time, with growing expectations, I also started to dislike the lack of image quality and detail sharpness compared to more expensive DSLR cameras. For a compact camera the quality of the Panasonic was great, but somehow I realised I would have to switch to a DSLR sooner or later. The only problem was, I just couldn’t imagine carrying around a bulky heavy DSLR and a bag full of lenses, I was looking for a bit more convenience, or at least a more compact camera body.
I’m not a professional photographer, I take photos only for memories and for fun, it simply gives me a great feeling to look through the photos of my travels in recent years - it reminds
When Sony announced the Alpha A55 camera a few months ago, I decided to make the switch since the overall feature package convinced me.
What is so great about the Sony A55 that I’m now happy to carry around a bag of lenses, and what makes it great as a camera for travel and wildlife? • much smaller and lighter than other DSLR bodies, more like a superzoom camera • excellent image quality, praised in many reviews around the web • built-in GPS • very fast burst-mode, great if you want to capture exactly the moment a bird takes off and flies away. The A55 can even keep focus on a moving subject during burst-mode, because unlike other DSLRs it has a translucent mirror that doesn’t need to flip up when the image is taken (which would mean losing focus). • it has all sorts of fantastic special features and modes, such as automatic HDR images, HD movie recording and automatic panorama photo generation - you press and hold the shutter button, move the camera around and it takes dozens of single pictures and stitches it together to one large panorama • quite a large selection of lenses available
Finding the right lenses After I made the decision to buy the A55 I literally spent months figuring out which lenses I should buy. Since my primary use cases are allround, nature and wildlife, I decided to buy these two:
Sony SAL 18250 (on the right in the photo above) - a great allround lens. With the wide angle of 18mm it is good for landscape, but the zoom range of 250mm is also quite capable of experimenting with other uses. For wildlife however, it will be too short in most cases. The noise of the autofocus motor is quite annoying, but I don’t care - there are more expensive lenses available if you don’t like it.
Wide Angle
Telephoto
Sony SAL 500F80 Reflex. This is quite a unique lens. Unlike other telephoto lenses it doesn’t use a large number of glass elements inside to achieve magnification (which makes a lens very heavy). Instead it uses mirrors, like in a telescope. Now this concept has drawbacks and advantages, people either love or hate it, I won’t go into details. I just give my opinion: I love it. Nowhere else will you get a 500mm lens that is so lightweight, so inexpensive and easy to use, and still produces such sharp images. It even has autofocus, and since Sony Alpha bodies all have image stabilisation built-in, it’s quite usable without a tripod. Being lightweight and long-range, it is the lens for wildlife shots when hiking or traveling. It won’t suit professional needs, but everything else, it most likely will.
Accessories Now with the camera body and a lens or two the most expensive parts are set, but the equipment is far from complete. This is some of the other stuff I’m using:
**Note: Please be aware that a few months ago Sony announced this lens will be discontinued. Currently it is still widely available in shops but supplies will probably run out in the near future. Get it while you can. This Laughing Kookaburra was sitting high on a tree across the street from where I was. No problem with the 500mm Reflex lens. You need to keep in mind that the A55 is an APS-C camera, which means it has a smaller sensor than fullframe cameras. Since both lenses were made for fullframe cameras, it means that the focal length is actually a bit longer when used on an APS-C camera. For example, the 18-250mm lens will actually be 27-375mm on the A55, since it multiplies with 1.5 on APS-C, but that’s just technical background. What this means however, is that the 500mm lens actually turns into a 750mm lens, which makes it even more capable of wildlife photography.
• Lowepro ‘Exchange Messenger’ shoulder bag. When I’m hiking I already carry a backpack or two, so I didn’t want another one for the camera. This nice little shoulder bag has enough space for camera, two large lenses and accessories, but it’s still small enough so I could cover it under my rain jacket if necessary or store it inside my backpack. I just wish it had better padding. • 3 spare batteries. Sadly the battery in the A55 doesn’t last very long, but since it needs to power the camera, lens motor, image stabilisation and GPS, it is understandable. I’m estimating one battery will last me for 1-2 days maximum, so with 4 in total I should be equipped for a week-long hiking trip. Always buy the original Sony battery, I heard the cheap 3rd party copies often don’t work in the new Sony cameras and they don’t last nearly as long as the original ones. • Filters. I bought a B+W slim circular polarizer for the 18250mm lens. So far I haven’t figured out exactly when
to use it and what difference it makes, but I think in sunny conditions the colours look better and it avoids reflections. The 500mm lens also comes with two filters, a normal one and a neutral density one.
Overview of the focal range covered with my lenses:
• 16GB Class 10 SDHC card. You really need to make sure that you don’t buy a cheap (=slow) SD card. The A55 can take 10 photos per second, but this may only work with a fast SD card. Make sure it’s at least a Class 10 SDHC. • Blower and microfibre cloth. The bad thing with interchangeable lens cameras is that you easily get dust and dirt into your camera body which then sits on your mirror or sensor. With a blower you can safely clean your camera.
Special accessory: 2x tele converter 750mm is already quite a good focal length for wildlife, but as some kind of gimmick I bought a Pro-Optic 2x teleconverter which turns the 750mm into a 1500mm lens. There are drawbacks, such as losing autofocus - you have to focus manually then - but it works well enough with the 500mm Reflex lens. I probably won’t use it often since it’s difficult to get sharp shots without a tripod, but it’s nice to have the option. You can get this adapter for only US$99 so I decided to give it a try.
Conclusion My conclusion is that I’m very happy with my new equipment, and you can be happy too if you have the same requirements and are willing to shell out a few grand for a new camera plus accessories. With two lenses I can cover a focal range from wide angle (landscape) to ‘super-paparazzo’. See the comparison image below. Even when only using automatic and scene modes you can already get a lot out of this setup. * Note: all the equipment shots in this post were taken with a cheap pocket camera, not with the A55. Hence poor quality.
Good Reads
Quick Quiz Answers 1. Little Horn 2. Backwards, it stops the pouch filling with dirt as the wombat burrows. 3. The Highland Restaurant 4. True, in Australia everyone drives on the left side of the road 5. False, it’s the The Spirit of Tasmania 6. The Overland Track
Like what you read?
Share it with your friends!
If you know someone you think would be interested in having a look at this magazine, feel free to forward it to them. We’ve even set up a way for you to do it instantly, just add your friends’ email addresses!
7. False, it’s on Saturday 8. True, at 13,800 sq km, it is one of the three largest temperate wilderness areas remaining in the Southern Hemisphere.
Share with your friends
9. True, at 1617m (Australia’s highest at 2228m is Mt Kosciuszko) 10. False - there are no koalas in Tasmania or Western Australia
Where in Tasmania was this taken? 1. This is a panorama taken from Mt Wellington in Hobart. Daniel then applied some weird software to make it a “helicopter view”. 2. Albert’s Tomb, Organ Pipes, Mt Wellington, Tasmania. The Organ Pipes are one of the most distinctive features on Mt Wellington. The dolerite rock that comprises the towering, columnar cliffs was formed when Tasmania was in the process of separating from Antarctica during the final stages of the breakup of Gondwana. 3. St Patrick’s Church - Colebrook - Tasmania. Located 54 km from Hobart and positioned between the historic towns of Richmond (to the south) and Oatlands and Ross (to the north), it is a quiet little farming settlement originally developed by convict labour. 4. Abandoned Jetty at St Helens , Tasmania. Brent explains: This is my first shot from my trip to Tassie. In fact this image was the last image shot that morning before dawn.This shot is a single 4.5 min exposure taken with a grad ND.
Keep your eye out for the next edition… The next edition, Late Autumn, will be delivered on the 2nd May. In between editions, check out Cradle Mountain Tasmania on Facebook. There is a growing community of people who enjoy Cradle Mountain and all things Tasmania. Drop by and share your stories and pictures of your adventures at Cradle with the world.
Advertise on Cradlemountain.net If you are interested in reaching fantastic people who are passionate about the outdoors, adventure travel, Cradle Mountain and Tasmania, we would love to hear from you. Contact Frank@cradlemountain.net , and let’s have a chat.