geospyder wrote:We talked about heading up to the Cradle Mountain and /or the Launceston areas but we're not sure we'll have the time. Are either worth the drive from Seven Mile Beach? We only have ten days.
Yes, both are worth the drive BUT if you only have 10 days then you will have to make strategic choices and may have to leave them out. People always underestimate the time needed to see even a fraction of what Tas has to offer. You can easily fill 10 days in the southern region (places like you mentioned).
You could do Launceston and back in a day, but you wouldn't get to see all that much (probably do the gorge); if you wanted to do Cradle Mtn from Seven Mile Beach I think you'd want to allow an overnight stay: it's a fair drive and there is plenty to explore.
If you want some pseudo Cradle Mtn country without the overnight stay and long drive, go up to Mt Field National Park (allowing yourself a really full day as it is still 1-1.5 hours from Hobart), and take the road up to Lake Dobson (drive carefully on this last section: it's narrow gravel ... and you still have keep remembering to drive on the left!) and walk up to Tarn Shelf. You'll get lovely lakes, alpine shrubs, views of glaciated valleys (no glaciers of course), mountains, and there may even be a hint of snow depending on what the weather's been doing (less likely in Feb but still possible). It's not a serious only-for-the-extremely-hardy walk, but you should still go prepared as per my previous post (food and water included) and not treat it lightly. And, of course, when you drive back down to the bottom you could go and see the famous Russell Falls (this is a doddle of a walk, but truly beautiful). [Or, you could do the falls first and then Tarn Shelf]