Day 2: Deloraine to Cradle Mountain

After having gone to bed early last night, you'd think that I was ready to jump out of bed when my alarm went off, again, again and again until I rose just before 6am thinking that sunrise wasn't actually going to be worth it, given what I could see out the window. Figuring that I was already up and may as well go for a drive, I grabbed my gear and did just that: drive.

Soon after leaving my motel room I realised that sunrise actually looked pretty good, and I was quickly running out of places to stop and shoot. The morning was frosty, fields and farms around me were shivering under the layer of white ice laid bare from mornings' dew. The wildlife was barely stirring, bar a few birds, as I drove past their choice of grazing pasture.

I chanced upon some Llamas (or Alpacas?) in a field, who, for a split second, were very photogenic and posing for me.

Found many beautiful scenes, some more appealing to the eye than the camera. Nonetheless, a morning drive out around the back streets of Deloraine was a good way to wake up. Ialso found a funny sign, so no doubt I took a photo:

^Did I break a rule?

I returned to my room to have museli and yoghurt in a mug (because no bowls were provided) and listened to some morning television whilst packing my bag, hopefully more intelligently than last time.

I then set off for Sheffield, in the hope of finding a bottleshop before heading up to the mountain. This proved to be silly, as no doubt it wasn't a big enough town to have what I was looking for, so I had to settle for something else.

But the important thing is that I made it. I do not understand how you Tasmanians can do 100km/h on these insanely twisty roads overlooking sudden death. It's like you're all fearless adventurers and seeing how much of an angle you can get your car to go onto as you weave in and out of the chicanes without a second thought, is your idea of fun.

I arrived at Cradle to a typical cradle mood: grey, overcast, wet and windy. Rain falls out of the sky without a moments warning, as if the clouds are incontinent. The rain had set in for the afternoon, so I checked in and began to get setup ready to commence the next few days.

And this is where you find me, looking at shots, downloading and performing backups.

Tonight I'm going along to the meet and greet for Fagus week I know I'll see some friends, familiar and new faces. Back here at last.

Feelin the joy of being alive.

It's time to enjoy the ride, no matter what the weather shall bring...