Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania is perfect for those who want to enjoy the outdoors but come home to comfort. Photo / Supplied
Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania is perfect for those who want to enjoy the outdoors but come home to comfort. Photo / Supplied
Neil Porten stays at Tasmania’s Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge
Location: Cradle Mountain Rd, at the entrance to Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania. It is a 2.5-hour drive from Launceston and a 4.5-hour drive from Hobart, in Tasmania’s northwest.
Style: An alpine retreat featuring a lodge building for eating, socialising and relaxing, and cabins set for privacy and views. The main two-storey building, opened in 1971, has a pitched roof and gabled windows, and a wraparound veranda allowing access to the tavern without having to go through the reception, and views of the small lake and grounds. Inside, there are two lounges with huge log fireplaces and comfy sofas and leather chairs in which to rest your tired or chilled bones.
Price: From $550 per night.
Perfect for: Those who want to get outdoors but come home to comfort. It snows here in winter, but at any time of year, this part of Tasmania’s vast wilderness and conservation estate is popular for its walking trails amid spectacular scenery. The six-day, 65km Overland Track starts here and winds through challenging alpine wilderness before finishing at Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest lake. A shuttle van stops across the road, giving access to several smaller hikes in the national park, including the 6km Dove Lake Circuit, with its views of the craggy crown of Cradle Mountain itself. Right by the lodge, the Waterfalls Walk winds through shadowy groves of mossy trees to the Pencil Pine Falls and Knyvet Falls, and the Enchanted Walk lived up to its name by magicking up a young wombat and its mother grazing just a few metres from the lodge.
Come here too for some digital detox: there is next to no cellphone or data coverage, and no Wi-Fi in the cabins. There is complimentary Wi-Fi in the main lodge building, but it’s patchy the further from the centre of the building you are and not suitable for streaming. Snuggle up with a book by the fire instead.
Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania is perfect for those who want to enjoy the outdoors but come home to comfort. Photo / Tourism Tasmania
For Travel - Feb 21
First impressions: We arrived at dusk after a couple of hours’ driving from Strahan on Tasmania’s east coast as part of our Globus-guided holiday. At 800m above sea level, the stark alpine forest covers the hills around the lodge. The rising autumn moon and the crisp mountain air contrasted with the warm lights and the smoking chimneys of the two-storey main lodge building. Individual wooden cabins are scattered around the slopes above the car park.
Rooms: The lodge has 86 timber cabins, some with spa baths and some with balconies. Pencil Pine Cabin 41 is one of a pair with a shared porch. There are a couple of steps up to the door and then a small anteroom with a cupboard, coat rack and bench for storing outdoor gear and wet or muddy clothing.
Beyond the entrance, the main room is large, with a vaulted ceiling. The fresh white walls are accented with green, complementing olive easy chairs and throw cushions. On one side of the picture window is the Queen bed and on the other is a lit gas-flame fireplace. There is also a large daybed, a wide desk with a chair and plenty of storage. With the firelight and the double-glazing keeping out the cold night, it feels roomy and cosy.
If you are peckish, there are snacks and a minibar - guarded by a wombat soft toy you can buy - and a capsule coffee maker.
Bathroom: Pretty standard: shower cubicle, basin and loo, reflecting the overall age of the lodge itself. But like the rest of the cabin, the bathroom was very clean and tidy. The shower ran hot and strong. Lotions and shampoos are Appelles, a New South Wales brand, sporting ingredients such as willow bark and sea buckthorn.
Food and drink: Highland Restaurant is where the standard buffet breakfast is served. At dinner, Tasmanian fare is highlighted: oysters, ocean trout, local cheeses and icecream. The Tavern Bar & Bistro serves a more relaxed menu for lunch and dinner - the pizza was just okay, but a bottle of the local Spreyton cider went down a treat with a plate of calamari and a bowl of fries in front of the enormous log fire.
Facilities: A travelling companion raved about her massage at the Waldheim Alpine Spa, which has a range of the usual spa treatments, plus a sauna, plunge pool and hot tub. There’s an on-site convenience store and boutique selling snacks for a day’s hiking and enough souvenirs to fill a rucksack. The lodge can arrange tours and activities - guided hikes, fly fishing, and canoeing on Dove Lake. Just up the road is the unmissable Devils@Cradle, a wildlife sanctuary where you can watch dozens of carnivorous marsupials crunching their way through a night-time meal of bits of other marsupials.
Cradle Mountain Lodge is an iconic, unique wilderness experience and is the closest you can be to the entrance of the spectacular World Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park. Photo / Tourism Tasmania
For Travel - Feb 21
Family friendly: The family cabins, sleeping up to five, are popular, especially at weekends. Bush walks near the lodge are suitable for younger children and the more adventurous. Searching for wallabies and spotting the cubic poos of the wombats is clean(ish) family fun.
Accessibility: There is a ramp into the reception area and main lounge, and also on to the veranda for getting to the tavern. But there are steps inside the main lodge, from the lounge to the tavern, and to get to the cabins.
