Things to do – Wilderness & Walks

Huon Trail Walking Tracks

Alum Cliffs Track

Tyndall Beach – Taronga Road, Kingston
Time: 2 hour return
The newly upgraded southern section of the track climbs from Kingston Beach through coastal blue gum forest with tall silver banksias. It then winds up through silver peppermint bushland, dips into a glorious fern-filled gully, before rising again onto headlands for commanding views over Storm Bay and the Derwent Estuary.
Do not approach cliff edges. Closely supervise children.

Boronia Beach Track

Boronia Beach, Kingston
Time: 1 hour return
Descending through the bushland, past the cypress pines in nearby gardens, to the clear blue secluded waters of Boronia Beach feels like you've stumbled into the Mediterranean. Around the headland, large gum trees and sheoaks frame exquisite views of the Derwent out to the Iron Pot and the Eastern Shore. Middens and stone quarries tell of a popular gathering place for the Aboriginal people.

Blowhole Track

Blowhole Road, Blackmans Bay
Time: 30 minutes return
Take a short stroll through the Mary Knoll Reserve beneath the last stand of black gum in Blackmans Bay. The track crosses the road and continues around the wooded coastal headland past the blowhole. Not so long ago this area was a popular coastal route and gathering place for Tasmanian Aborigines. You can still see the shell pieces in the large midden on the headland.

Wingara Gully Track

Draper Road, Howden
Time: 1 hour return
Enter this treasured bushland quietly and unhurriedly to observe birds, butterflies, skinks, small mammals and insects. Walk beneath stringybarks and sheoaks, alongside sundew and heath, and past tree ferns to experience peace and tranquillity and mother nature at her best. Keep a lookout for the distinctive cube-shaped droppings of wombats that trundle about in the area. Spring and summer reveal a myriad of pink, blue, yellow and white wildflowers. Wingara Gully is a coastal glade full of diversity and life, lovingly cared for by the local community. Limited parking in Draper Road. No parking in Wingara Road. Narrow bush track, fairly rough with steep sections.

Fossil Cove Track

Fossil Cove Drive, Tinderbox
Time: 30 minutes return
Fossil Cove – a short walk for a great reward. The track leads down some steep steps through light bushland to the gorgeous cove with views across to the Iron Pot lighthouse. Fossil Cove is flanked by a large rock archway on one side and a fascinating fossil-filled wave-cut platform on the other – both can be safely explored at low tide. Snorkelling is popular amongst the kelp beds around the shoreline, though be sure to do this in fine weather.

Allens Rivulet Track

Allens Rivulet Road, Crofton Drive or Moodys Road, Allens Rivulet
Time: 40 minutes return
Enjoy the impressive cliffs framed by giant ash on this short creek-side walk. Keep a lookout for platypus in the creek. A new section of track between Moodys Road and Crofton Drive has recently been constructed, thanks to volunteers from the Trail Riders Action Club. The Allens Rivulet/Sandfly Landcare Group helps care for this site. Ample parking at Platypus Bridge. Natural grassy surface, level, can be muddy. Be careful with slippery stepping stones when crossing the creek. Do not attempt to cross the rivulet if water level is high.

Kaoota Tramway Track

Pelverata Road, Sandfly
Time: 4 hours return
This gently graded track meanders through varied bushland, including dry eucalypt forest and rainforest, following a section of the historic Kaoota Tramway. While large sections of the tramway are now in private ownership, Council has been able to develop 6km for people to enjoy. Its width and gradient perfect for walking or riding abreast. Constructed in 1906, the 20km long, two-foot gauge tramway was used to transport coal from the mine at Kaoota to the wharf at Margate. After coal mining ceased the tramway was used to transport logs, fruit and passengers. The line was dismantled in 1922 after bushfires destroyed several bridges. Keep a lookout for historic relics, such as railway sleepers, rails and coal spills. Limited parking at both entries to track (signed). Wide bush track. Please use Pelverata Road from Sandfly to access the top entrance to the track. Do not use the road coming up from Allens Rivulet, as it is unsealed, narrow and has poor visibility.

Dru Point Track

Esplanade, Margate
Time: 30 minutes return
This easy, short stroll along the banks of the North West Bay River estuary rewards you with beautiful views over the estuary to the summit of Mt Wellington. The estuary is a rich feeding ground for a great variety of waterbirds, which forage and nest in the mudflats and reeds. The nectar from the blossoms of black gums is favoured by swift parrots, a threatened species, while under their light canopy a variety of native grasses provides excellent foraging for blue wrens and robins. Aboriginal people once camped on the banks of the estuary and ate shellfish, waterbirds and their eggs. An Aboriginal Garden with culturally significant plants has been established near the start of the track. Ample parking at Dru Point playground. Gravelled formal surface, wide, mostly level.

Coningham Clifftop Track

Stubbings Street, off Coningham Road, Coningham
Time: 1.5 hours return
From the white sands of Coningham Beach take this wonderful bushwalk along the cliffs with spectacular views across North West Bay to Mt Wellington, Tinderbox and Bruny Island. Along the way you will often see white-bellied sea-eagles soaring overhead. During morning and evening walks the bush will ring with birdsong. Rustic wooden seats give an excuse for a pause to soak up the peace and the scenery. Halfway along you will come to Legacy Beach, a great place for children to play and to stop for a cuppa. There is a wonderful variety of vegetation along the track: flowering heath beneath tall blue gums, white gums favoured by the endangered forty-spotted pardalote, stands of sheoaks, and patches of native grasses where you will find lovely golden bulbine-lilies. Coningham Beach is a safe family beach for swimming, paddling, boating and picnicking. The Friends of Coningham Nature Recreation Area and PWS initiated this track. Ample parking at start and end of track. Beach, then narrow bush track, some steep sections. Do not approach cliff edges. Closely supervise children.

Kettering Township Tracks

The Oval Track

Channel Highway, Kettering
Time: 30 minutes return
Leads down through the Kettering bushland garden into the bush behind Kettering oval. The track winds around the coastline to a seat with a view over Little Oyster Cove where you can rest awhile to absorb the sights and sounds of this working port before continuing on to a grassy area, perfect for children to play. Narrow bush track, undulating. Ample parking at the oval. Note: To stop erosion, please do not walk down to the water at the Oval Track Lookout.

The Kettering Point Track

Ferry Road, Kettering
Time: 30 minutes return
A perfect way to while away some time if you are waiting for the Bruny Island ferry. This gentle walk starts at the end of Ferry Road and meanders close to the shoreline with glimpses of the water and boats through the sheoaks. At the point you will be rewarded by panoramic views up and down the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and across to Bruny Island. The Kettering Coastcare/Landcare Group cleared away choking weeds to create these tracks through the lightly wooded coastal bushland. A great variety of birds can be seen and heard, foraging amongst the black gums and blue gums, and in the varied understorey. Aboriginal people enjoyed this area too; their shell middens can be seen along the track. Narrow bush track, undulating. Limited parking at end of Ferry Road.

Walking Tracks

More information on Walking Tracks at www.parks.tas.gov.au

The Port Davey and South Coast Tracks

Location: Southwest National Park. (National Park entry fees apply)
Time: 6 to 8 days.
These are challenging, spectacular walks on some of the world’s best wilderness tracks. Weather conditions can be harsh and there are no huts along the tracks, so walkers must be fully self-sufficient, well-equipped and experienced. The tracks lie entirely within the Southwest National Park and take you through the heart of over 600,000 hectares of wild, inspiring country. They are more remote than some other walks in Tasmania, such as the Overland Track. The 70km Port Davey Track is used by walkers between Scotts Peak Road and Melaleuca, while the 85km South Coast Track is used by walkers between Cockle Creek and Melaleuca. There are no roads to Melaleuca, so walkers must fly, sail or walk in and out. About 1,000 people walk the South Coast Track each year with most visiting from December to March. Most people take about 6 to 8 days to complete the walk, depending upon time spent enjoying the beaches. Walkers should note that the track surface might be rough and muddy over extended sections.

At Scotts Peak the Port Davey Track starts adjacent to the Huon Campground and at Melaleuca it starts from the northern end of the airstrip. About 200 people walk this track each year and most people take about 4 to 5 days to complete it. They either fly out at Melaleuca or continue along the South Coast Track to Cockle Creek, a further 5 days’ walk. The Port Davey Track has some steep and muddy sections.

Tasmanian Expeditions offer guided walks through this region (03) 6339 3999.

 

South Cape Bay Walk

Location: Southwest National Park (National Park entry fees apply)
Time: 5 hours return
Within the Southwest National Park, the South Cape Bay Walk starts from the end of Australia’s most southerly road and is the eastern end of the popular 7 day South Coast Track to Port Davey. Australia's most southern coastline is also the country's most unspoilt. No roads lead to this beautiful, untouched and often wild region. When you stand on the beach there is nothing between you and Antarctica but the great Southern Ocean. It’s a great place to take your lunch and make a good day of it.

Hartz Mountains

Location: Hartz Mountains National Park
Hartz Peak is the highest point in the Hartz Mountains, and in fine weather the summit offers one of the best views of the south west. This walk is only for fit and experienced walkers as it is a steep uphill climb; beyond Hartz Pass the route is not clearly marked and may be covered with snow. Hartz Mountains National Park ranges from 160 metres at the Picton River to 1255 metres above sea level at Hartz Peak. The great backbone of rock extending almost the entire length of the park is dolerite. This igneous rock which is very resistant to weathering intruded into the earth's outer crust around 165 million years ago during the break-up of Gondwana. This area has also been modified over time by several ice ages. The cirques, horn peaks, arêtes and glacial troughs were all formed during glacial activity on the Hartz Range. Several frog species can be heard calling during the day, including the moss froglet, an unknown until it was discovered at Hartz Mountains in 1992.

Other walks starting from the information shelter include: Waratah Lookout (Time: 5 mins return. Easy); Arve Falls (Time: 20 mins return. Easy);
and Lake Esperance  (Time: 2 hours return. Moderate).

Keoghs Creek

Location: Arve Forest Drive, Geeveston
Time: 15 minute return. Easy
A part of the Arve Forest Drive, the Keoghs Creek Walk will take you through a variety of forests and across several creeks allowing you to compare the unlogged forest of the streamside reserve with the much younger regrown forest in an area which was partially logged about 20 years ago.

Duckhole Lake

**Duckhole Lake Walk is closed until further notice**
Location: South of Dover 1.5km along the Hastings Caves Road (C635) turn into Old Hastings Road
Time: 1 hour return
This is an easy stroll to an idyllic lake. Duckhole Lake is a flooded sinkhole that is part of the surrounding cave and karst landscape. The walk through stringy barks and rainforest follows a late 19th century sawmill tramway for much of the way. It is an easy level track suitable for all age groups.

Fishers Point

Location: Southwest National Park
Time: 2 to 3 hours return
On this fascinating and easy walk discover whalebones, rock pools and the remains of the old pilot station and lighthouse. Please do not remove any items you may find as they are protected by law.

Cape Queen Elizabeth

Location: Close to The Neck North Bruny Island
Time: 3 hours return. Moderate
This moderate walk takes in spectacular views of beautiful beaches, a coastal heathland, Big and Little Lagoon. Watch out for the endangered Forty Spotted Pardalote.

Fluted Cape

Location: South Bruny Island
Time: 3 hours return. Moderate
Follow the Grass Point track until you reach the open grassland at Penguin Island. The track climbs steeply, staying close to the coastal cliffs providing spectacular views of Fluted Cape and the more distant Tasman Peninsula. White Breasted Sea Eagles may be seen along the cape soaring in the thermals. After about 50 minutes you will reach a sign that says 'Fluted Cape return via circuit' where you begin a gradual descent returning to Adventure Bay.

Labillardiere Peninsula Walk

Location: South Bruny National Park
Time: 7 hours return. Challenging
The track starts at the Jetty Beach campground and does a circuit around the peninsula. The track can be walked in either direction but for unobstructed views of the magnificent coastline it is recommended commencing the walk on the western side. Once you have climbed Mt Bleak you gain a view of Partridge Island, which protects one of the largest populations of the endangered Forty Spotted Pardalote. From Mt Bleak the track descends to Hopwood and Butlers Beaches and from here it is about 2.5 to 3 hours walk through light forest to finish at Jetty Beach. At Jetty Beach you can see the remains of the first jetty on the island, constructed in 1860 to supply the Cape Bruny Lighthouse.

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