Last day in Tasmania. Cradle Mountain.



It has been a once in a lifetime experience  for me, due to my friends the Durnells  and good luck this
became possible, and I still have two more weeks to see some of the areas of the country that I did not see in my first trip two years ago.
The day started cloudy and rainy, I decided to drive the 90 km to Cradle Mountain because even the  Lonely  Planet book about Tasmania warns the traveler that in this part of the island, it rains 9 out of every 10 days, besides it warns you about the great number of cars visiting the park.
I drove in the rain and fog thru a beautiful highway which meanders thru hilly farm and ranch country, you climb the mesa of Cradle Mountain and arrived to the entrance of the park where the rangers had decided to stop permiting vehicles into the actual park and everybody had to board special buses if you wanted to go  forward. Due to the rain and the fog I decided that I had seen 95% of what makes this forest atractive and decided to drive back to Devonport, even taking photographs was made difficult by the rain and the visibility was quite limited,
My drive back was uneventful except for a young Equidna that crossed the road in front of me looking for food, they are not endangered and you can see them as road kill in this area together with the Wallabees, as a matter of fact I stopped to take some more pictures and at the side of the road hidden by the steep cliff I saw several dead kangaroos, probably roadkill that had been disposed at that spot together with an amazing amount of garbage that I never expected to see in such a pristine environment(beer cans and bottles plastic bottles, papers and pieces of plastic) this problem I have encountered all over the world, but given the efforts of the Australian governent and those of the Tasmanian people I never thought I would see something that seems more prevalent in poor and under developed coutries, but even in America that praises itself as very civilized and educated, garbage on the side of the roads is a persistent problem, I see no solution as education and/or the threat of stiff fines have failed to prevent some people of all ages from doing it.
This afternoon the sun is out and I will be able to dry my gloves, rain coat and jacket and board the ferry early tomorrow.
I will relate to you my route back to Murwillumbah as directed by Dianne I will drift to the outback trying to find the most scenic roads for a motorcyclist, one of them recommended by Gareth , Dianne and Haydn's son who is an experienced motorcyclist.
Victor

                                          No vehicles allowed due to too many trying to get in

                                          Going in a bus with limited visibility did not appeal to me

                                          Constant rain which is the norm in this area

                                          Buses in and out of the park

                                          Very good highway (wet) for motorcycles

                                          Lots of trash at this spot, hopefully only here!

                                         Beautiful rain forest at Cradle Mountain

                                          View of the forest, wet camera.