by johnw » Fri 03 Aug, 2018 11:27 pm
"Best" is very subjective. There are all sorts of nice day walks in the region and I've done quite a number of them over numerous visits, but recommendations depend on a few factors. What level of difficulty are you looking for and what experience do you (and any other members of your party) have? I've suggested walks to people in the past that I found easy but others found challenging and vice versa.
I'd say you could easily spend at least 2-3 days at Cradle and not run out of things to do, depending on preferences etc.
Other locations with good/scenic walks off the top of my head - Ben Lomond, Mt Roland, Great Western Tiers, Blue Tier, the list goes on...
p.s. It likely will be very cold in some places. I've been to some of those areas in August and you may get snow. In some cases it may hinder or prevent the safe completion of a walk, unless experienced and you know the track. Probably rule out Bend Lomond as it's also a ski field and pretty well covered by the look of things, unless you want to go snow shoeing. Depending on experience sticking with lower elevations and/or coastal locations may be a safer option. e.g. Rocky Cape NP and Narawntapu NP are nice coastal spots with some good day hikes.
John W
In Nature's keeping they are safe, but through the agency of man destruction is making rapid progress - John Muir c1912