The last full day we had at Cradle we did a big loop around. Starting at Ronnie Creek, we went up the Horse Track past Crater lake. Up to Kitchen Hut, along the Face Track and then down to the Rangers Hut. From there up to Hansons Peak and back down to Dove lake carpark. In summer you can use the shuttle buses to get you to/from the various carparks. The loop took us about 5 hours with a couple of stops at the nicer spots. The lookout down to Crater Lake is amazing, sadly my photos don’t do it justice. Likewise looking up to Cradle from the face track. We were thinking about climbing Cradle on the way through, but unfortunately it was clouded over. Of course it cleared up when we got further around towards Hansons Peak :P
This was the first time for both of us to walk the Horse track, I think if I were going back it would be the way I would go. Its a bit longer and a bit higher than the Marions lookout track, but it isn’t as steep … which is nicer with a pack on your back.
