Seeing as things change so quickly and that a lot of Tasmanians have knowledge of great places to stay and things to do on this island, it would be nice to have some up to date information on what is on offer for tourists.

It would also be great to hear from anyone who has toured the state

Will pin this at the top to replace the old one soon.

Chelli

I stayed at Cradle Mountain on Saturday night, at a Wilderness Cabin. Highly recommend staying there in Winter, as the snow is just magical and even though my children have seen it often, they never fail to have fun throwing it, making snow angels and making snowmen.

Cabins are self contained, so we were able to cook dinner and breakfast. We had three forms of heating - gas heater that looks like a log fire, reverse cycle air conditioner (which froze over, lol) and an electric panel heater. All located in the loungeroom but cabin was small enough to be heated thoroughly. Keep your shoes inside, as the local wildlife who have been hand fed (not recommended) will come right up to the door and either chew on them or use as a toilet, lol.

If you plan on doing Cradle Moutain in the winter, book ahead because it's very popular when it's snowing. Also very expensive (read exclusive) in some places there, so do your homework to get a decent deal.

There are many walking tracks which are easy, medium and only for experienced walkers. Lots of people underestimate the weather as it can snow on the Overland track in the middle of summer, so come prepared for all seasons.

We did a little track (approx 20 mins) with the kids called the Enchanted Forest walk which is right next to Cradle Mountain Lodge. Very cute walk for little ones on a wooden boardwalk that goes in a loop. Pram friendly (small) but with steps so not wheelchair friendly. Lots of information about local wildlife.

If you plan on staying for an extended period on Cradle Mountain and have a self contained cabin, then shop on the way at a grocery store. Food, fuel (over $1.90 ) and meals are very very expensive there! Basic groceries are available there, but you'll pay top dollar for them.

Also, there are no medical facilities there, so we found out the hard way last year that there is no baby panadol there at all - make sure you pack that if you have little ones!

If you're hiring a car and want to see Cradle in the winter, consider getting a 4wd as sometimes the road is closed to anything else, but not usually for long.

Montezuma Falls

Highest waterfalls in Tasmania. We headed there on the 4wd track on the weekend. It's located just past Rosebery on the West Coast.

Highly recommend not taking the track on your own, it's pretty isolated there. Also, a UHF radio would also be a good idea in case you need to communicate with other users of the track. In hindsight, a good time to start the track would be early in the morning, as there are very limited places for two cars to pass each other if you come across someone coming back. If you break down, you'd be better off doing that in the morning - more chances of getting help than at the end of the day.

The sign says that it takes an hour to get to the falls, and it's 14km - so very rough terrain. We made it to just over the half way mark (which took over an hour!), when we came across people on their way back. The river had risen and washed out the track near the falls, so it was too dangerous to keep going unfortunately. We had two Mitsubishi's - a Pajero and a Triton and they were not really ideal for the terrain, so if you are considering it, grab yourself an old Toyota which has been jacked up, lol!

There are 4wd tours on offer on the West Coast, so if you are down that way, we saw signs in Rosebery at the coffee shop on the wall. That might be the way to go! You can also walk to the falls, but that is 1 1/2 hours each way on foot from a different track. I've done that and it was worth the trip bar the leeches! I was too young to appreciate what I was seeing, it was a school trip. Again, watch the weather forecast before you leave as it also snows down that way.