Tasmania: Two Capes and Tasman Peninsula
From Freycinet Peninsula, we carried on down to the south to Tasman Peninsula where we were going to stay following two nights.
As we turned off the main road to our campsite at Fortescue Bay, the road more resembled a tank training area than anything else. After 45 minutes slalom drive, we finally reached the campsite. It was a really, basic, but nice area in the forest and a few meters from the beach. Much to Jakub’s delight, each campsite had a small campfire ring. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon looking for brushwood and leftover firewood near other campsites. Much to my delight.
The next day we planned the track to Cape Hauy. The first part of the track was identical with the Three Capes Track which is a quite recently opened multi-day hike. Unfortunately, as we didn’t have time to do the whole 3-4 day track, we had to be happy only with a little tasting of it.
The part of the track which passed through woodland was quite easy and nothing unexpected happened. Except the thing that I almost stepped on a small white-lipped snake. Luckily, as we found out on info table when we came to our campsite, it wasn’t very dangerous one.
When we passed the trail junction, left heading to the Three Capes Track, we carried on towards the cape and suddenly, the great views of steep cliffs and rock formations appeared. On the top of the headland, there was a small lookout platform. Even with its safety bars I shortly hesitated to come closer to the edge. I can’t help myself but I always have to think about the worse things which might happen at places like this. No matter how unrealistic my visions are. Obviously, it was no issue for people who had chosen two huge poles sticking out of the sea for their climbing target.
After finishing the track, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the near surrounding and had a look at Tasmans Arch, Devils Kitchen or Tasman Blowholes. All of those are easily accessible spots with some nice views.
On the way back, we stopped at Port Arthur, a tiny town recommended by travel book, to find out that nothing interesting was there. Unless you were a fan of historic convict sites or wanted to take one of ghost tours which we did not. On the other hand, a few more kilometers far away, there was a place called Remarkable Cave, which was definitely worth the drive.
When we arrived back to the campsite, we MUST have spent the last few moments of daylight collecting the firewood. I have to admit that it was fantastic sitting at the fire later in the cold night sipping the tea and enjoying the heat. It didn’t take long and a couple of possums came closer as well. They probably hoped for something to eat but with our minimum supplies we had, we couldn’t afford any losses. They should have rather visited one of the resorts which our neighbours built up around. It was incredible what some people brought for a single weekend or even one night.
The next day, the walk to Cape Raoul had been on the list before we headed off back to Hobart. The weather wasn’t really pleasant and the moment we stepped out from the forest on the open rock plateau covered only with shrub, we were almost blown away by strong wind. Walk along the edge provided heaps of stunning views and in the deep beneath us, we also noticed a small colony of seals. Their sharp barking was hearable even in the strong wind.
On the way back, we just one more time enjoyed the view of amazing cliffs and swirling sea from a small clearing before we plunged into woodland and hurried up back to the car park because there were still a few hours of driving ahead of us.
So, with the walk to Cape Raoul, we wrapped up our exploring of Tasman Peninsula and actually the exploring of the whole Tasmanian nature as well. In the evening, we were going to be back in a big city and there was some exciting stuff planned for our last day.
