Best wildlife encounters in Cradle Mountain National Park, Tasmania

Wildlife-spotting can require patience and a good pair of binoculars. Hoping for fabulous fauna to drop from every branch, or alight on your shoulders Snow White-style, is a recipe for disappointment.

Unless you're in Cradle Mountain National Park. This most famous reserve in Australia's island state, Tasmania, is known for its distinctive summit but also for the eye-popping wildlife. I'm rarely the kind of traveller to lie in wait in swamps, hideouts or dawn safari vans to steal a glimpse of a coveted creature, but I didn't have to look far to be amazed. Here are a few of the best animal encounters on my trip to Cradle Mountain.

Skittish pademelons

Don't run away, little guy! Image © Anita Isalska 

This cuter cousin of the wallaby has a rabbit-like face and a daintier gait than a kangaroo. In Cradle Mountain National Park, it's almost difficult to get away from them. It's like being a rock star with dozens of adorable furry fans. In the early morning and at dusk especially, it seems you can barely open a car door, unzip your tent or take a stroll without seeing pairs of dark pademelon eyes blinking anxiously at you before they bounce off into the brush.

Exhibitionist echidna

A snuffling echidna, one of many on our trip. Image © Anita Isalska

I thought these guys were meant to be shy? Several echidnas graced us with their presence on this trip, from shuffling along the roads to ambling around the national park at dusk. The fella above stayed in full view, sniffing out ants, for a good 20 minutes before becoming bored of our camera. Aside from the noble platypus, the echnidna is the only mammal to lay eggs, but the conception is the weird part. Apparently male echnidnas will form queues of up to ten animals, following around a fertile female - sounds like comedy gold, or a really awkward date.

Bone-crunching Tasmanian devils

Adorable, yes - but this little fella can bite through your bones. Image © Anita Isalska

Ok, so these weren't a chance sighting. Your best chances of a Tassie devil experience - if you aren't satisfied with overhearing their harrowing nocturnal screams - is a trip to a sanctuary like Devils@Cradle (or closer to state capital Hobart, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary). Seeing these shy marsupials scamper around and you could be excused for finding them adorable and puppy-like, until someone throws them a piece of carrion. There's nothing quite like this animal's guttural screams, and the sight of it crunching straight through a wallaby's skull, to put you off your lunch. Devils deliver one of the strongest bites (per unit body mass) in the animal world. Luckily for us, they are scavengers who prefer a juicy bit of roadkill.

Furious wombats

Don't be fooled by that cuddly exterior. Image © Anita Isalska

Little furry tanks. That's the best way to describe these stocky Aussie natives. Their teddy-bear looks don't prepare you for how fast these critters can move. I was creeping up on one of these fellas around the national park when a Japanese tourist screamed at me to turn around. When I spun round, I saw a second wombat barrelling past me into the trees.

These creatures are much-feared by motorists. When threatened, they present a muscular posterior armoured with tough cartilage that can tear through a car. If this creature won't survive a car strike, it plans to take you down with it.

Almost too many pademelons at Cradle Mountain Lodge. Image © Anita Isalska