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  • Mojokerto

    Bologna was my first CouchSurfing experience and still stands out as one of the best. This was due in no small part to my incredible host Valentina. She ended up moving to Mojokerto, Indonesia to teach English for six months. Vale has since left, but let me know to drop by and visit the little city while I was in Java. I did.

    I didn’t have internet access in Probolinggo and wasn’t able to get in touch with Valentina’s friends prior to my arrival. When I got into town at 5pm on a Tuesday, I called Valentina’s friend Susi, mentioned her name and the rest was history.

    Susi is an administrator/teacher at one of Mojokerto’s junior high schools and an incredibly gracious, kind, and funny host. With no advanced noticed, she picked me up, found me a place to stay, then took me to dinner. Susi let me know that if I wanted to visit her school and teach, I was welcome to. I really, really enjoy teaching and jumped on the opportunity. I was in the classroom at 8am the next day!

    I’m not sure if it’s because they don’t get many foreign visitors or if the people of Mojokerto are just that awesome, but I was treated as nicely as I’ve ever been, anywhere. The faculty, support staff, and students treated me like a VIP. I have to admit, I liked it. A lot.

    Class was fairly straightforward and similar to what I had done in France the year before. The kids were polite, involved, and an absolute pleasure to work with. After my second day of school, I was accompanied by two teachers and five students for a private tour of the area. We visited a place where they make batik, traditional Indonesian fabric as well as a museum, a temple, and a reclining Buddha.

    Susi’s hospitality didn’t end with the school day. After the first day of class, she invited me to have dinner with her family at their home. Her husband, son, and daughter were just as friendly and nice as she. The next night they invited me to have the best nasi goreng in Indonesia from a street vendor near their home. It was so good I ended up getting a second bowl. In addition to making amazingly delicious rice, Mr. Benny, the man that runs the cart, is also quite a character and had us laughing so hard our very full stomachs hurt.

    Other food highlights from Mojokerto were the goody boxes that greeted me upon arrival at school each morning and plenty of bakso. I had spicy duck a couple times and it was quite tasty, but not as spicy as in Bali. Mojokerto is known for its sweets, most notably onde-onde, which is a medium sized dessert ball.

    The nature of this trip prevents me from spending more than a few days in any given place, but I could have easily spent weeks or months in Mojokerto. Out of all of the places I’ve been and experiences I’ve had, Mojokerto has a special place in my heart. The people and place appealed to me on so many different levels and everything just felt right there. If you are interested in paying Mojokerto a visit and teaching at the school, just let me know and I’ll put you in contact with Susi.

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  • Singaraja

    While Bali isn’t anywhere near the size of Java, it’s not a tiny island either and there is much more to it than just Denpasar. I rented a motorbike for 50,000 IDR per day (about $5) and my CouchSurfing host, Nina drove us to spend a couple days on Bali’s north shore. The drive took about 5 hours, with stops to check out Pura Ulun Danu Batur Temple and Gitgit Falls.

    Built on a lake, the temple is a huge draw for visitors, but didn’t do anything for me. The loads of tourists took away from the pristine serenity of the temple on the lake. Gitgit, on the other hand, was totally worth a stop. There were a couple pretty big waterfalls and pools for swimming.

    Singaraja’s main draw is morning dolphin watching at Lovina Beach. A 2 hour boat ride costs 60,000 IDR (about $6) and departs before dawn. You aren’t guaranteed to see any dolphins, but we managed to see a few. What we mostly saw were hundreds of tourists on dozens of boats that blanketed the water. Like the Monkey Forest in Ubud, the best part of dolphin watching at Lovina was marveling at the massive number of tourists. Irawati dolphin watching near Don Khon was a much, much better experience.

    Banjar Hot Springs is a short drive from Lovina and a great option after taking in the dolphins. At just 5000 IDR (about 50 cents) it was ridiculously cheap to enter and not a bad way to spend an hour or two. We alternated between soaking in the baths, which weren’t terribly hot, and standing under falling water spouts that gave a nice massage.

    Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Bali is mostly Hindu. In addition to a relaxed approach towards alcohol and pork, this also means there are opportunities to take in some Hindu culture. I was lucky to catch a sunset ash scattering ceremony at a beach in Lovina. The ceremony involved singing, chanting, a naked boy, and 2 birds.

    I love it when a place has a signature dish. Singajara is known for its siobak, which is actually Chinese. Siobak Singajara consists of pork, pork offal, and chicharones covered in a pork-soy sauce. It was very Chinese, pretty good, and not-so-spicy. I definitely prefer BABI GULING.

    It was nice to take in a part of Bali outside of the greater Denpasar area. I didn’t fall in love with Singaraja, but had a decent time there. The dolphins alone are not worth the trip, but the journey getting there is quite scenic and it’s a pleasant place to spend a few days away from the congestion of the island’s south.

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  • Mount Bromo/Probolinggo

    “Bromo?”

    “Bromo?”

    “You want see Bromo?”

    From the moment I arrived in Probolinggo until I boarded the bus to leave, I was constantly bombarded with offers to see Bromo. Mount Bromo is one of Indonesia’s top tourist destinations and the nearby town of Probolinggo is the staging area for most visitors. Locals know what draws people to their town and do everything they possibly can to cash in on it.

    My ten hour journey from Denpasar ended up taking 15 hours and I didn’t get into town until 2am (buses in Indonesia are notoriously late). Despite arriving in the middle of the night, my CouchSurfing host Indrah and his parents woke up and warmly greeted me with tea and cookies. His family doesn’t speak much English, but they have really embraced CS and seem to truly enjoy it.

    Indrah wasted no time and quickly briefed me on the options for viewing Bromo. It seems that the best way to go is via motorbike. In true Probolinggo fashion, the going rate for a bike is 250,000 ($25) per day. The standard for the rest of Indonesia is 50,000/day.

    Indrah’s cousin, Budi, was kind enough to wake up ridiculously early in the morning to drive me up the mountain for sunrise. The lookout is about a 2 hour drive from Probolinggo and should only be attempted by people who know what they’re doing. You must go up a mountain on narrow, ash covered roads dotted with scores of giant crevices in total darkness. I was very thankful to have Budi!

    The breathtaking sunrise from high above the clouds and volcanic terrain were reminiscent of Maui’s Haleakala National Park. Once the sun was up, we crossed the Sea of Sand and climbed the volcano. The climb itself isn’t very demanding and there are horses for hire if you don’t want to walk. From the top you can see the crater in the volcano’s center, which has a bubbling pool of hot volcano juice.

    Bromo is also home to a very old and storied Hindu temple, Pura Luhur Poten. Indrah filled me in on the background and it’s quite fascinating, but I won’t bore you with the details. He helps out at a big annual festival where the people of the temple throw offerings into the volcano. It’s easy to forget that Bromo is still an active volcano; it’s most recent eruption was last January.

    After our time on the mountain, Budi took me to his home in a nearby village. His family’s kitchen was very traditional and even included 2 cows and a sheep! Indrah often has CouchSurfers spend the night at his grandmother’s house, located next door to Budi’s, but it didn’t work out for my logistically. It was still really nice to spend a few hours in the village. Budi showed me all of the various fruit trees in his backyard and even got me a fresh coconut to drink.

    The food highlight of Probolinggo was corn rice. As the name suggests, corn is mixed with rice. It is then topped with a variety of vegetables and fish. This was my first encounter with such a combination and it was really good. Luckily, I got to eat all of mine, some of Indrah’s and most of his sister’s!

    Mount Bromo was magnificent and is definitely worth checking out. It’s unfortunate that rather than using the visitor traffic generated from Bromo to build a diversified and robust hospitality industry, Probolinggo just tries to suck every penny out of people coming to see the mountain. Groups of people from local tour agencies have already visited Indrah’s home and asked him to stop helping visitors see Bromo for free!

    Probolinggo certainly has more to offer and the way it goes about handling visitors is not beneficial in the long run. Siem Reap is an excellent example of a community handling traffic from a major tourist attraction (Angkor Wat) in a smart, sustainable manner. Probolinggo needs to adopt a “Come for Bromo, stay for Probolinggo” strategy.

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  • Ubud

    Eat, Pray, Love features this little Balinese town located about 45 minutes north of Denpasar. I haven’t seen the film, but I’m thinking at least a few of the hundreds of foreigners occupying the town have. The Jetstar in-flight preview for Bali highlighted Ubud as a small, quiet, peaceful place of beauty that features terraced rice paddies.

    Over the course of my travels I’ve witnessed something I like to call the Lonely Planet Effect, where a place or an establishment is featured in the publication, then changes drastically. The ‘hidden gem’ where ‘only the locals go’ and is ‘off the tourist radar’ goes directly to the center of the map once it makes LP. Ubud definitely has that kind of vibe.

    I’m not sure how long Ubud has been the way it is, but what I witnessed there didn’t remotely resemble what I’m looking for in a destination. The influx of tourist traffic has Ubud priced significantly higher than other places in Bali. The cheapest rooms in town are 150,000-200,000/night (about $15-20). This compares with 50-80k elsewhere. Laundry service is done on a per piece basis rather than by weight as it is in the rest of Indonesia. Food is also overpriced and – even worse – geared towards Western palates.

    What does paying the price to stay in Ubud get you? Not too much. The monkey forest is the number one attraction in town. It is far more zoo than forest. Tourists outnumbered the monkeys by about 10-1 and were more entertaining to watch than the animals. There are also dozens and dozens of galleries and artists’ workshops. Art isn’t really my thing, but the stuff in Ubud is supposed to be really good.

    The food highlight of Ubud is Iba Oka. When Anthony Bourdain declared their babi guling to be the best pork he’s ever had, it spoke volumes. Of course I had to try and it was really, really good. The meat itself was the best I’ve had in Indonesia, extremely flavorful and tender. By Western standards, it’s cheap at 30,000 a pop, but you can get great babi guling nearby for half the price.

    I only spent a couple days and a couple nights in Ubud. My short stay may have kept me from seeing what makes so many people come to the place, but what I did see certainly did not ‘wow’ me. If you have money to spend and love art, white people, and Western food, then Ubud is the place for you in Bali.

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  • Denpasar

    Bali has a bad rap. The Indonesian island is known as a bastian for bogans (Australian for redneck), with an Australian dying in Bali every 9 days. While Kuta is the epicenter of the madness, the tourist imprint definitely extends to the rest of the island. The capital, Denpassar, has significantly less foreign visitors and proved to be an amazing place.

    Like anywhere else, the people make the place. My two CouchSurfing hosts for Denpasar, Nina and Lina, made Denpasar a special place for me. The food they introduced me to was so good it warranted its own post. When I wasn’t eating, I managed to see a few things around town.

    Nina took me to see nearby Uluwatu, a temple located on a beautiful cliff and home to monkeys. One of the monkeys stole Nina’s glasses and held them captive up in a tree! She also took me to beautiful Padang Padang Beach for sunset.

    After one of our many meals, Lina took me for a walk around a track that surrounds a national monument. The track features a stretch of stones imbedded in the pavement. If you feel pain while walking across the stones barefoot, it means you’re sick. After about a hundred meters, I appeared to become ill. That evening we hit up a night market and had some goat. The market was a decent size and I was the only non-Indonesian person there!

    Lina’s brother is a Bali beach boy and took me to spend an afternoon with him and his friends at Double Six Beach. They surf, rent boards to tourists, and chill on the beach playing chess all day. It’s a lifestyle I envy and respect. That evening we all went to Kuta to experience the insanity. It was what it was and I had a great time.

    My favorite part of Denpasar was visiting the little warungs and food places that my hosts frequent. Hanging out with locals and eating what they eat, where they eat it is one of my favorite things to do. They took me to so many awesome little places that I never would have went to on my own and knew exactly what to order.

    I really enjoyed my time in Denpasar and it was all made possible by Nina and Lina. I highly recommend finding some locals and truly experiencing Bali’s capital city. It’s a great place!

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  • Food in Bali

    I like pork. A lot. I’m also a huge fan of spicy food; the spicier, the better. I avoid superlatives and cannot tell you my favorite cuisine, nor can I name my favorite dish, BUT Balinese food (and Babi Guling) is definitely up there. My 8 days in Bali were a pork fueled spice fest made possible by two wonderful hosts I met through CouchSurfing.

    Nina, my first host, picked me up from the airport. As soon as I checked into a hotel and dropped my bag off, she introduced me to babi guling. It was love – or lust – at first bite. Babi guling was the alpha and it was also the omega. My last meal before boarding the bus to pork-less Muslim Java was babi guling, with an extra plate of skin.

    In addition to roast suckling pig, Nina also introduced me to several other Balinese and Indonesian dishes. We tried the Balinese staple, ayam betutu at the iconic Gilimanuk. We also had sate a few times. At only about a dollar a pop, it’s tough to resist!

    While in Singoraja, we tried their signature dish: syobak singaraja. It was pork with plenty of offal coated in a very Chinese tasting sauce. Nina also took me for some Indonese/Chinese food and Balinese rice.

    My second host, Lina, has a one track mind. Two if you include napping. In my first 12 hours with Lina, we had 10 different, spicy, delicious things to eat and took 3 naps. We started with the spiciest salad I’ve ever had in my life, rujak kuah pindang. I told Lina I liked very spicy food and I thought her leading off with the rujak was a test. At the same place, we also had es campur (an ice salad), and bulung (a spicy seaweed salad with crunchy little peanuts).

    After a nap, we hit up the market and had goat sate and a curried goat soup. Then we had nasi jingo, a popular little snack of rice, noodles, and beef wrapped in a banana leaf. The nasi place also had a soft boiled egg with salt and pepper.

    I’ve had some spicy food in my time, but I must say that the sambal we had with nasi tempong lele was the spiciest thing that’s touched these lucky lips. When I opened my mouth, it felt like fire was coming out. I was very happy! This was also my first time trying pete, which is known for being stinky and making your pee the same.

    My best food experience in Bali, and one of the best in my life, was our pre-dawn trip to the secret babi guling restaurant. Lina’s mom also cooked us some delicious meals and picked us up some dog and wild boar from a restaurant near their home.

    Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from the food in Bali. I was just going there because it seemed like a good starting point for Indonesia and didn’t have lofty expectations as far as eating was concerned. I was blown away by the food and it’s worth going to Bali just to eat.

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  • Quest for the ultimate Babi Guling

    Lina, “Do you want to wake up at 3 am for babi guling?”

    Me, “YES!!!”

    When we arrived just before 4:30 am, most of the other patrons were already finishing their meals. Tucked away in an alleyway off of a side street about a 40 minute drive from Denpasar, this tiny little purveyor of pork opens at 4 am daily (3 on Sundays) and serves just one thing: babi guling.

    Prior to coming to Indonesia, the only Balinese dish I knew I had to try was their special roasted pork. There are hundreds of babi guling joints on the island and, if I had the time or stomach space, I’d love to try them all. When presented with the opportunity to check out a secret underground babi guling restaurant, I jumped all over it. I’m glad I did.

    Lina, my wonderful CouchSurfing host/Balinese food expert, had just heard about the place a week prior and had yet to try herself. We were joined by her brother, Agung and the friend that discovered the place, Yater. The fact that these people were not just willing, but wanting to wake up at 3am to drive nearly an hour for pork spoke volumes about their character; they were my kind of people. It was interesting that all three of them are active on twitter as well.

    The restaurant itself was fairly small, but featured a spit roast – that had a suckling pig spinning on it, hypnotizing us as we dined – and an open kitchen in addition to the dining area. There was a butcher who was working a hog that had already been roasted to perfection and a couple ladies who handled the rest of the work. They were very pleasant but did seem a little concerned at my intense interest in what they were doing and omnipresent ear-to-ear smile. The staff was rounded out by the man who, in my unbiased opinion, has the most important job in Bali.

    The spit was operated by someone who has become my hero, mentor, savior, and role model. This little old man worked the pork with a passion, focus, discipline, dedication, and love that brought a tear to my eye (I blamed it on the smoke). In addition to keeping the pig rotating, he would either add more wood or coconut husk to stoke the fire or douse it with water to keep the flames down. He would occasionally toss a handful of salt on the sensuous swine. This really got me going! His wearing a baseball cap adorned with cannabis leaves earned him additional points for style – not that he needed it.

    And the food? I’ve yet to have bad babi guling and this was no exception. The skin was like glass, glass that has one side covered in pork fatty deliciousness. The meat itself was not the most tender and flavorful I’ve had (that distinction goes to iba oka in Ubud), but was respectable. The crispy coagulated blood bits were on point and the sambal had an adequate level of heat and was flavorful. The unexpected star of the show was the blood sausage. Everywhere else I’ve tried it, it’s been a tad on the dry side, but here it was rich, creamy perfection.

    The overall experience was surreal. I’m not sure if it was the time of day or just the pork, but it all seemed like a (very, very pleasant) dream. This is what every traveling lover of food fantasizes about. The location, the people, the place, and, of course, the food were the stuff of legend. It was easily the best 18000 IDR (just under $2) I’ve ever spent.

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    Photos courtesy of Lina Pw

  • Port Arthur

    Like many people, I was aware of modern day Australia’s roots as a penal colony for the British Empire. What I didn’t know was that out of the 165,000 convicts transported to The Land Down Under (where women glow and men plunder), tiny little Tasmania received 75,000. Most of the convicts were released to live freely and given a fresh start in their new land, while repeat offenders were again sent to prison. Port Arthur was the largest such penal station in Australia.

    Port Arthur was known for its brutality. Prisoners were tasked with manual labor jobs that are usually reserved for beasts of burden, including carrying giant blue gum trees (a task that was dubbed the ‘centipede gang’ due to taking 50 men to carry the massive wood) and manually pushing railcars up and over mountains into and out of camp. In addition to death, physical punishment also included lashes from the infamous cat o’ nine tails. This was considered humane when compared to the psychological torture endured by residents. There was a separate prison that had 100 rules, most notably the requirement for absolute silence at all times. Many prisoners ended up developing – or furthering – mental illness.

    There are a number of stories about the characters that inhabited the penal station. The most common is that of Billy Hunt. The only way to escape the peninsula by land was through a 30 meter wide isthmus that was well guarded and eventually had very nasty dogs to supplement the personnel. Prior to the arrival of the canines, Billy Hunt procured a kangaroo skin, put it on, and proceeded to hop to freedom. This worked well until one of the guards (who were severely underfed) raised his rifle to shoot some dinner. Billy revealed his identity and was returned to captivity.

    Much like Alcatraz, Port Arthur is a truly beautiful place to have such a dark past. The most notable difference between the two, something which also separates Port Arthur from most every other prison, is the lack of fences. The campus is wide open, very green, and picturesque. There are about 30 buildings – or their remains – on the property. The two most famous are the Penitentiary and the church. The Penitentiary is a huge building that was originally built as a wheat mill, but, when that didn’t pan out, ended up being a confinement building for the worst of offenders. Built by convicts, the cathedral, or what’s left of it, anyways, is big and beautiful. My host in Hobart was in a wedding that took place there last year.

    As much as I loathe day tours, I’ve found myself on several this trip and Port Arthur was no exception. Unless you rent a car (which makes no sense if you’re on your own), there are limited transportation options and catching the bus can often cost more than a tour. Once again, I found myself riding to a tourist attraction in a van, stopping briefly along the way to snap photos before being herded back on like cattle, and making friends with people older than my parents. This wouldn’t be as bad if alcohol wasn’t so expensive here, but I made the best of it and still managed to have a good time.

    Like CRADLE MOUNTAIN, the Port Arthur tour was extremely touristy, but the ends justified the means. Upon arrival, we went on a 45 minute guided tour, a free service offered to all visitors. The briefing was informative and interesting. We then had 45 minutes to walk around before our harbor cruise. The half hour boat ride took us past the first boys prison facility in the British Empire, Point Puer, as well as Port Arthur’s cemetery, the Island of the Dead. After returning to land, we had just under 2 hours to explore PA. The weather was absolutely perfect and although I had to be conscious of the time, it was a sufficient window to take in Port Arthur.

    Port Arthur was what I expected it to be and I was satisfied with the experience. The history is fascinating and the setting is beautiful. Unsurprisingly, the place is said to be haunted and ghost tours are offered nightly. It’s worth checking out PA if you find yourself in southern Tasmania.

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  • Maria Island

    In addition to connecting me with hosts in Launceston and Hobart, friend and Tassie native, Edwina told me to check out Cradle Mountain and the East Coast on my visit. Tasmania isn’t exactly a hotbed of Couchsurfing hosts – especially outside of its two biggest cities – but I was able to find a great host in Orford. Orford is on the southeast coast of Tasmania about an hour and fifteen minute drive from Hobart. It is also conveniently located next to Triabunna, the port of departure for Maria Island.

    Maria had a 50% off winter special going on, where the ferry was just $20 ASD return and accommodations at the Penitentiary on the island was $22/night. I went with Maria Island Ferry and was extremely satisfied with the experience. The company is run by a wonderful couple, John and Anne, who provided me with a ton of historical information on the island and surrounding area. They love what they do and it shows in the way they operate their business.

    Maria Island has layers and layers of history. Its peopling began 28,000 years ago when Aborigines first inhabited the island. It was the first part of Australia to be charted by Abel Tasman, before mainland Tasmania, and even before mainland Australia! The island was used as a penal settlement for two periods, 1825-1832 and 1842-1851. An Italian silk merchant named Diego Bernacchi took over the island in the 1880s and attempted to turn it into a vineyard, silk producer, and cement factory. Things didn’t work out well and Maria ended up being used for farming until the 1960s.

    The island was declared a national park in 1972. Since then forests have replaced pasture land and vines. With a huge variety of birds, including a number of rare species, the island is paradise for orniphiles. Several alien animal species have been introduced, most notably Cape Barren Geese and Eastern Grey Kangaroos. During my visit, the island was filled with goslings – and very protective parents. There is an alleged population of Tasmanian Devils on MI, but the rangers I spoke with said they won’t be moved there until the end of the year. I didn’t find out until after I left, but there is a penguin colony in Haunted Bay in the south of the island.

    Like some of the places I’ve been to this trip, Maria Island was pretty much deserted for winter. The only permanent residents of the island are a couple park rangers, who are the only ones allowed to operate vehicles. Other than a French family staying in the penitentiary and a couple of campers, it was just the rangers and myself. Due to it being offseason, the ferry schedule was limited. I left Triabunna at 10:30 on Monday and left Maria at 11:30 on the following day. It was still enough time to see and do quite a bit. We saw 5 pods of dolphins on the 35 minute ride out to the island!

    The weather was absolutely perfect for my first day, without a cloud in the sky, and it even hit 16 degrees C! I took full advantage and walked from the islands “town” of Darlington to the isthmus (the island consists of a northern and southern chunk separated by a very narrow isthmus) via the coastal route, with a stop at the Painted Cliffs. Perhaps the most iconic feature of the island, the Painted Cliffs are made of sandstone and “painted” by iron oxide. There is a huge sandy beach on either side of the isthmus and I was the only person there. I returned to Darlington by way of the inland track. The track returns to the sea at the Painted Cliffs and I made it just in time for sunset. I walked more than 30k in 6 hours and had no problem falling asleep in my cell.

    On Tuesday morning, I managed to check out the Fossil Cliffs and make it to the top of Bishop & Clerk. Back when all of the continents were still together and formed pangea, Fossil Cliffs was part of the bed of a giant river that flowed from southern Australia into the sea. This resulted in the creation of millions of fossils in the cliff’s layers of rock. You get a much better view of the fossils if you drop down from the cliffs to sea level.

    At 620 meters, Bishop & Clerk is the second highest peak on the island. The last bit of the ascent is pretty steep and involves quite a few rocks. The weather wasn’t as nice as the first day, but the view from the top was still decent. On a clear day, you get an excellent view of the Freycinet Peninsula. It’s definitely doable to squeeze Fossil Cliffs and B&C into 3 hours, which I needed to do in order to make the ferry.

    I know this was a long post, but the place deserves it. While I was slightly underwhelmed with CRADLE MOUNTAIN, I was totally blown away by Maria Island. It isn’t really on the Tasmanian tourist radar and I consider it a bluechip, hidden gem destination. The perfect weather and discounted price certainly enhanced the experience, but the place is phenomenal. Go there!

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  • Cradle Mountain

    Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park is arguably Tasmania’s biggest attraction. The park’s Overland Track is considered to be one of the greatest walks on the planet. Conditions can be extreme even in summer and it is not advised to attempt the walk during the winter, especially by yourself without proper equipment. The situation tragically reminded me of Milford Sound. The Milford Track also ranks among the world’s best walks, but is closed during winter. I did a day trip to Milford Sound from Queenstown and had a great time, so decided to do the same for Cradle Mountain.

    The tour setup was very similar to Milford Sound. The bus departed the city at about 8 am and returned at about 6 pm, with the drive accounting for 5-6 hours return. At $100 ASD, the price was just about the same as well. The tour is normally $120, but I was joined by Tina, a university student that rents a room in the house I stayed at in Launceston, so we got a discount. Cradle Mountain is known for being cloudy and rainy, but we lucked out and had a beautiful day.

    The centerpiece of any day trip to Cradle Mountain is a walk around Dove Lake. In addition to circling the water, Tina and I also went up to Marion’s Lookout, or at least we thought we did. The guide said it was a demanding 3 hour return trip to the Lookout. I found it odd that I arrived there in less than 30 minutes and it turns out that the platform we thought was the lookout, was not the lookout. The view was still nice and I had my first encounter with a wombat on the way up!

    In addition to the wombat and several wallabies (including one that looked either drunk or depressed), I also saw a duck billed platypus! It was a very small platypus that was busy trying to eat something from the bottom of the stream. I couldn’t get a good photograph because it kept to the edge of the water, partially concealed by bushes and had its head submerged. It was still awesome to see the only mammal that lays eggs in its natural habitat.

    The walk around the lake was pretty and scenic. There was snow and ice in some spots as well as a few inclines, but it was still a fairly easy stroll. A rainbow even appeared just as I finished the loop around the lake! As nice as it was, it still didn’t “wow” me like Milford Sound had. Perhaps I’m just too spoiled when it comes to things like this?

    I definitely enjoyed my day, but what I saw of Cradle Mountain didn’t impress me the way other places have. Seeing the platypus definitely earned the place some points and I’m still happy I went, but, for me, the experience didn’t quite live up to the hype. For what it’s worth, the other 15 people on the tour thought it was the most beautiful place they’d ever seen.

    On the way back to Launceston, we made a stop in Sheffield, “The City of Murals.” In addition to the murals, this sleepy little town even had a marble store. I was rather excited to see an entire store devoted to the little glass balls, but, unfortunately, it was closed.

    The tour was pretty touristy, giving us just over 3 hours of actual time in the park. This was my only real option for seeing Cradle Mountain and I’m happy I went for it. It’s definitely worth checking out Cradle Mountain when you visit Tasmania and I’d love to come back in another season and have a go at the Overland Track.

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