In late April this year my wife and I extended out of our comfort zone a bit further by going significantly off track to explore around the Lake McRae area.
It was the 3rd trip to try and see the fagus in full flight. While there was plenty to see, I suspect [and some locals also informed us] that the best had been a few weeks earlier.
The timing really does vary a lot year to year.
Our previous fagus visit was also in late April around the Labyrinth and there was very little colour at that time.
Coming from interstate, we eased our schedule by booking 2 nights at a cabin in Waldheim.
We would be at the mercy of the weather as we had limited time, but the outlook past the first day was looking good.
It was very wet on that first day but we did explore the close in lakes and got to visit the boat shed at Crater Lake and Crater Falls for the first time in 7 visits.
We discovered that my wife's rain jacket had lost its waterproofing, so considered ourselves fortunate to be able to go back to the Visitor Centre and get a new one before committing to 4 days out.
It was also an opportunity to see Pencil Pine Falls and Knyvet Falls.
We also did a quick stroll through Weindorfers Forest in the gloom.