Tasman Peninsula Three Capes

The reputation of the coastal rock formations lured me down to the Tasman Peninsula to spend two days walking out to the three capes, Raoul, Hauy and Pillar as three day walks, sometimes using the Three Capes Trail (which, to my disapproval, only takes in two of the capes and is controversial due to being highly engineered and having luxurious huts).

April 21 A beautiful day dawned and I set myself a demanding schedule. I drove to the start of the Cape Raoul trail and headed off. The trail started in eucalypt forest and climbed to a lookout with a fantastic view over the cape (but not reaching quite to the tip) and towards Bruny Island in the other direction.

The trail descended and entered a lower forest of casuarinas, the bush just high enough to obscure any coastal view. Then the trail made an unexpected swing eastward, skirting a rock pool and becoming more open. Cape Pillar and the island off its tip were in full view. The fluted dolerite columns along the face of the cape were amazing as was the sheer drop from the cliffs into the sea. There were two lookouts near the tip of the cape: one looked down on rocks inhabited by seals - they were barking away and some were flapping in the water; the other looked over the curving tip of the cape.

The views up and down the coast were great: Mount Brown and Cape Pillar eastward and Bruny Island westward. I returned to the car. 15 kms

After a quick lunch at the Port Arthur general store I drove to Fortescue Bay and the Cape Hauy track. I hoped I could manage this one before it got dark. This track is part of the Three Capes Trail which seems to be characterised by either smooth trail or rock steps on any steep incline, and this track featured an extraordinary number of rock steps. The trail climbed above the pretty bay giving views over white sand beaches and was in a sparse forest of low trees and banksia. A few bushes were flowering. After crossing a plateau the trail descended considerably and just before the descent there was suddenly a view over the bulk of the cape with the trail cutting through the middle.

The trail made a few more big climbs and descents, all on those rocky steps, to arrive at a lookout over another amazing coastline of fluted cliff faces and isolated dolerite rock columns offshore.

It was still a lovely day and the sea was calm. I hadn't seen anyone for ages and I felt I was the last person out there for the day but then on the way back I passed 2 groups still heading for the lookout. I felt there were more birds singing than earlier and I saw several wallabies feeding beside the trail. I just got my tent up at Fortescue Bay as the light went. 10 kms

April 22 Another challenging day and the weather wasn't quite as good, but it started out sunny. I set out for Cape Pillar which Tyrone thinks is the best feature on the Tasmanian coast, although he does the return trip over two days. I started on the Old Cape Pillar Trail in very nice forest then crossing an extensive button grass plateau. A few wallabies were nibbling by the trail and some parrots startled me. The narrow trail was rocky and even a little muddy and had a bit of old style narrow boardwalk. There were lots of unusual tiny ferns. 

After 90 minutes I reached the new track that was cut for the Three Capes Trail and I have never seen a trail of such a high standard - wide, smooth, virtually leafless and no possibility of mud or obstacles (downed trees, encroaching branches, loose rocks). Nothing about it was natural apart from the surrounding scenery. The trail went into a patch of rainforest - nice - and then passed through the middle of one of the hut complexes built for the new trail. If this wasn’t intrusive enough into the bush experience there were several stretches of trail that were in the helicopter flight path and signs warned that if you heard a helicopter you were supposed to wait for it to be gone before walking on.

A bit further on the coastal views began and just got better and better. I wasn't surprised to see Cape Hauy and Cape Raoul since both those capes had given me views of Cape Pillar but there were views of fluted cliffs and rock pinnacles all along the coastline. It was a long way out to the end of the cape and fortunately sheltered from the wind. The path switched from one side of the cape to the other, most of the way in low forest of dwarf casuarinas, dwarf banksias and coastal heath. Again there were plenty of steps. Nearer the tip of the cape I could see Tasman Island which must be one of the prettiest pieces of real estate around; it's a lovely shape with an interesting flat top and a lighthouse.

At the tip of the cape the trail divided and one way continued for another kilometre to an amazing chasm between 200 metre high rock columns that was almost scary to see

and a lookout over the island; in the other direction was a long flight of steps up the Blade, the highest point on the cape. That too was almost scary. The track had been busy with all the folks doing the official Three Capes but nobody else was climbing the Blade. Maybe they were advised not to.

I hardly stopped because I wanted to be done before dark, but I had a rest on the way back just where the track left the coastal views and on cue the sky darkened; the rain was only meant to come much later but it started before 2pm. Luckily it wasn't heavy and later on the sun came out again. I was pleased to get back to the old school trail and I saw some nice yellow and blue parrots, and a couple of wallabies venturing out early. I was pretty tired by the time I finished - this had been longer than expected. 33 kms

I reflected that while I usually regard Tasmania as a special place for its mountains, alpine lakes and rugged wilderness, on this visit I had only gone to beach places but they too had been good. Good different.