Cradle mountain NP 2 day Hike.

Hike Goes left up to Hanson Peak then down from the saddle to a large lake. 

Snow in gulley on East face of Cradle Mnt. 

Magical Lake Just before the Hut. 

The custom mossie net worked well and was essential due to lots of march flies. 

Cooking in the tent with a wooden board for safety under the cooker. 

Looking back at the camp from the plateau

At the plateau, Barn Bluff in the distance South.

Neat Emergency shelter. 

A very nice hike, one of the few overnight options in this part of the park unless you pay up the 200$ for the Overland track.  It goes left of Dove lake, then down to the Scott Kilvert memorial hut.  I camped on the lake just before the hut. 

The lake just before the main lake was magical, with dragonflies gliding, Cradle mountain behind, with some snow in a small gully (see above). It had snowed 6 weeks before (mid december) about a foot of snow... 

The heat was intense on non-cloud days - a very burning tasmanian sun. And quite a few March flies around lakes...  a mossie net for the tent a must - fortunately I had just spent a few days customising the tent with velcro and a mossie net. 
I retreated into the tent under shade to get out of the sun for the middle of the day.  

Day 2, hiked up 300m to the Plateau where the overland track is, behind Cradle mtn. Then back North to Kitchen hut and down the steep track with waist high chains from Marion's lookout to the lake. Back to camp via the free shuttle.

Hitched out that afternoon and got a lift with an American-Australian, right back to Launceston. We also Bouldered together in Cataract Gorge, a few minutes from Launceston CBD. 

Hitck-Hiking is very easy in Tasmania. And the distances are small.