As if to prove the point, on the way to Waterfall Blu
he
shifts a few wind-dropped branches o
the track. At a lookout
point, he wrestles with a large fallen limb just a few steps from
the cli
’s edge, where he’d rather people weren’t tripping; he
has to give up in the end – we’ve set out without a chainsaw.
“The easy parts of the Coastal Trail cater for those who
wouldn’t ordinarily go on a dirty-footed walk,” Luke says. “The
new track will hopefully provide an interesting opportunity for
those who wouldn’t ordinarily do an overnight walk.”T
HE FIRST SECTION of the Three Capes Track to be
fi nished was a 4.7km section linking Fortescue Bay and
Cape Hauy, which was completed in June 2012. Buoyed
by our whale encounter, we set out on it along bush-stone steps
akin to those you’d fi nd in a fancy suburban garden. Further
along, benched gravel and raised duckboards keep our boots
mud-free – not a luxury you’d have enjoyed here several years ago.
“Wide and dry, isn’t it?” says David Ferris, one of the Osmirid-
ium walkers, a mates’ bushwalking group, who are exploring the
peninsula. The group agrees, with a mixture of pleasure and
regret, that it’s not like the old days, when some bush-bashing
was required and a pair of gaiters recommended. “Better for the
bush though,” says walker Tim Respondek, and it’s been a great
day out for the group. His mate John Kelly sums up: “It’s raw,
it’s accessible, it’s coastal – and it’s spectacular.”
That it is. In a dense grove of silver banksia, or honeysuckle,
New Holland honeyeaters perch at high points, while crescent
honeyeaters make their distinctive “idjit” call, and thornbills,
wrens and fi nches circle the trees. All around the banksia
bu
et is evidence that yellow-tailed black cockatoos have
devoured a meal.
The track might be new but the dizzying views out at the
cape, to the north and east of Mitre Rock, The Lanterns and
The Candlestick, and down at rock climbers’ favourite – the
Totem Pole – are unchanged. Those with vertigo be warned:
from the narrow path along the sheer cli
s, the safest way to
get a view is to lie fl at on your belly and peer over. It’s a narrow,
fi nger- and toe-tingling vista; passing boats give a sense of how
far it is down to the sea.T
HE PENINSULA’S FAMOUS cli
s are almost more impres-
sive from the bottom looking up. On a crisp, late-autumn
morning, Tasman Island Cruises skipper Ben Connor
welcomes us aboard near Port Arthur with the practised ease of a
ringmaster. Ben’s worked the coastline since deckhanding for his
uncle on a birdwatching voyage out to Cheverton Rock in 2008.
He realised then how special this coast is and he’s explored
it by sea and by land over the years since. He’s currently
building a home on the peninsula and says “a little passion can
take you a long way”.Along the sheer cliffs, the safest
way to get a view is to lie flat on
your belly and peer over.
Continued page 64Tasman
SeaWHEN TO GO
Most Tasman walkers are attracted to the long daylight
hours and warmer weather of November–April. Winter
overnight temperatures rarely drop below 4–5°C, but
June–October has the highest annual average rainfall.GETTING THERE
Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar offer regular direct flights to
Hobart from Sydney and Melbourne; Virgin and Jetstar
also fly direct from Brisbane. Fortescue Bay is about 85km
by road from Hobart airport and 100km from central
Hobart. Tassielink runs daily bus services to and from the
Tasman Peninsula (Port Arthur) during the school term.WHERE TO STAY
Bush campsites along the Coastal Trail are free if you have
a park pass (see below). At the Fortescue Bay PWS
camping ground, tent sites are $13-plus a night
(depending on number of campers) and bookings are
advisable at busy times (tel: 03 6250 2433 or email:
[email protected]). Elsewhere on
the Tasman Peninsula there are commercial camping and
caravan parks, hotels, motels, B&Bs and holiday cottages.WALKER NOTES
A valid park entry pass is required for the Tasman Coastal
Trail and popular Tasman NP day walks such as Cape
Hauy, Cape Raoul and Shipstern Bluff; 8-week Holiday
($60) or Backpacker ($30) passes are the best value. Use
the logbooks provided when you set out and return from
your walk. Check with rangers about availability of water
as streams can run dry in midsummer.
In the future, a booking and fee system will apply for
Three Capes Track walkers (but bookings for Tasman NP
day walks will not be required).DIRECTORY
TRACK DETAILS
THE 53KM TASMAN COASTAL TRAIL extends from
Waterfall Bay to Cape Pillar, intersecting the inland
Cape Pillar Track near Fortescue Bay and north of Bare
Knoll, where they become one. Reconstruction of the
section between Cape Hauy and Fortescue Bay was
completed in 2012. This section will form part of the
new Three Capes Track; work is currently being done
on the section south of Cape Hauy and down to Cape
Pillar. The third section of the track will be entirely new,
from Denman’s Cove south along the western coast, to
join the Cape Pillar Track near Bare Knoll.S –O 2014 61ag0914p061_tasman - 56 2014-08-07T14:43:12+10:00