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Entering Tasman National Park
At last, a bright and sunny day in Tasmania. Deep blue skies with only a few white clouds here and there. We had our breakie at a diner called Port Arthur Centre around 8:30am, which is right across from Stewarts Bay Lodge. Since we knew we were going to have a long day on the trail today we selected a hearty breakfast.
After organizing a few things, we drove to the Cape Hauy trailhead in Tasman National Park, which is located at Forescue Bay. On such a gorgeous day, the area was already packed with cars but we found a spot up to park a bit further up the dirt road. It was 11:00am by the time we hit the trail.
We registered our departure and itinerary in the hiking log (see below photo), and off we went.
Warming up on the Trail
Halfway Point on the Trail
There were many stone steps on the trail and most of them were uneven with some quite high… and with long uphill sections! I got more workout than I bargained for. And, yes, more complaining: it was rather hot under the bright Tasmanian sun!
On the trail, we met quite a few backpackers who were doing the three-day hike. There were also some organized tours where they take care of everything for you, including cooking meals and living it up with wines and other goodies. But most hikers seemed to be on a shoestring budget, carrying their food and water, and doing everything for themselves, that is the old-fashioned way (we used to do this back then too).
On the above photo, you can see the type of steps we had to maneuver… in reality many were even higher and rougher than what you can see here (no, I am not exaggerating! Check out the below photos!).
Nevertheless, every step (pun intended) was worth it as the scenery is spectacular every which way you look. We took a lot of breaks for water and for pictures, of course!
Photo Gallery of the Cape Hauy Trail
Cape Hauy from the End of the World!
Photo gallery of Cape Hauy cliffs
We were back to our car at about 5:00PM, after all the breaks we took, lunch, and the many photo opportunities along the way. Not sure I want to see steps for a long time! Walking back felt longer due to the heat… however aside from one tough long hill it was a bit easier and more downhill than walking to the end of the Cape – but same amount of steps, unfortunately…
Back at our lodge, we cleaned up and rested for a short time as we were quite hungry. We had dinner at the Port Arthur Motor Inn Restaurant which was quite pleasant. The food was much tastier than expected and the portions were rather generous.
Our table had a good view of the Port Arthur Historic Site and we were able to take some nice photos thanks to the golden hour.
After dinner, we drove to the Remarkable Cave area within Tasman National Park to see the sunset. But on the way, I realized I had left my camera on the table at the restaurant. When we got to the Park, it was a bit too dark so we didn’t stay and decided to return tomorrow morning.
Of course, we stopped at the restaurant and they were kind enough to have stored my camera in a secure place. After this little incident, we went back to our lodge and collapsed for the night. A great day outdoors even if at times it was rather challenging.
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 37 miles (60 km)
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES WALKED = 8.4 miles (13.6 km)
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