Although it’s a mere 90 miles (145 kilometres) from busy Launceston, Cradle Mountain is a different world. A mix of easy accessibility and natural wilderness is what makes Cradle Mountain and the rest of the Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair National Park so well-liked with the thousands of visitors who come here each year. As isolated as it feels, this spectacular World Heritage wilderness offers visitors their selection of Cradle Mountain accommodation, from a quiet but relaxed cabin to a sumptuously appointed lodge.

One of the leading drawcards of Cradle Mountain is the challenging Overland Track. This winding, sometimes arduous journey of 40 miles (65km) takes you over and around towering dolomite cliffs, across ice cold glacial streams and through unspoiled wilderness teeming with Tasmania’s unique flora and fauna. The journey begins at Cradle Mountain itself and finishes at the magnificent Lake St Clair. Over time, word regarding the Overland Track has spread by word of mouth until today; it is one of the world’s most famous treks. In order to protect the environment and make sure that the area is preserved for generations to come, the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service, together with its Tasmanian counterpart has taken actions to reduce the potential threat hikers pose to the vulnerable environment surrounding the Overland Track.

It’s not only hikers who’re drawn to  the Cradle Mountain area, either. Tasmania’s dolerite cliff faces are sought after by rock climbers from around the world. Tasmania’s highest peak, Mt. Ossa lies inside the National Park boundaries and is usually the visiting rock climber’s first stop in Tasmania. At almost a mile high, Mt. Ossa offers challenges to all or any levels of climbers. Often, after successful Mt. Ossa, climber’s then move on towards the challenge of Frenchman’s Gap, inside the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.

While Mt. Ossa is Tasmania’s highest mountain, Lake St. Clair is Australia’s deepest lake. It is estimated that the movement of glaciers over a period of two million years is the reason for carving out this 623 foot (190 meters) deep lake – the supply of the Derwent River. Lake St. Clair is the reward for hikers on the Overland Track. Once they finally reach their destination, they can make a choice from staying in the lap of luxury in one of the lodges around the lake or camping out in among the well-appointed campgrounds. Many tourists to Lake St. Clair arrive by car and spend their days fishing for the trout that populate its pristine waters. As they do with the Overland Track, park authorities control use of the lake, to be able to reduce human impact and protect stocks of fish.

If you don’t need to fish, but would like to enjoy the spectacular scenery on the water, you might take the popular ferry trip across the 11 mile (18km) length of the lake. Many visitors to the region are so mesmerized by its splendour that they do very little at all except absorb the view from as many perspectives as possible, from land or from the placid waters of Lake St Clair.

There is a saying that Tasmania’s tourist bureau uses in its ad campaign: "Tasmania: A world apart, not a world away." This really is true of all Tasmania, but it is very true of Cradle Mountain, Tasmania. Even though it’s so close to a major metropolitan area, as soon as you arrive there, you feel like you’re in "a world apart." Time stands still while you fix your eyes on upon the same unspoiled vistas the aboriginals enjoyed many hundreds of years ago. After you have experienced it in person, you will never forget it. Cradle Mountain, Tasmania could even change your life.