TASMAN NATIONAL PARK (TAS)
Cape Hauy

Return distance : 8.8 km ; Time : 5 hours

I found this a very demanding walk. The Cape scenery is spectacular, but the combination of distance, steep grades, and above all a rough, uneven walking surface which demands complete attention at every step, means this walk is not for the faint-hearted. Nevertheless, I am very pleased I did it! You need a National Parks pass here.

 

Even from a distance, Cape Hauy (‘Hoy’) is enticing. The three outer island are known as ‘The Lanterns’, the tall spike is ‘The Candlestick’, and the ‘tiny’ spike is ‘The Totem Pole’, a challenge for climbers, but fortunately not part of this walk.

We drive to Fortescue Bay, and park in the Day Parking area. A National Parks pass is required.

A deceptively easy trail follows along the waterfront of this sea inlet.

We come to the boat ramp and this information sign. It says ’4 hrs return’ to Cape Hauy, but there is general agreement amongst today’s walkers that this is an ambitious target. We set off up the track.

An early find is this fungus growing bravely in a rock in the middle of the track. Amazingly, it is still there on our return.

So the ascent begins. This is not the best view of my fellow walker Maria, but it does show the nature of the track.

It is a great relief to come to some quite long stretches of fairly level boardwalk. This ground would be quite boggy in winter.

A flash of bright colour is also welcome in an almsot uniformly green environment. There are few visual rewards along this first half of the track.

Ah, progress! Frenchman Guillaume poses by the sign where the track branches. Cape Pillar is too far away for me to even think about!

And now we break out of the enclosing bush to be rewarded by this spectacular view of the Cape (far left). Notice the path winding up across the valley, and also the little branch track to the right.

These near cliffs look very rugged.

We descend down to the branch track. The descent is very rough and steep. (The gradient will be even worse on our return!) The short branch track follows out on a little peninsular. We take a break here, and admire the scenery. In the far distance is Cape Pillar and Cathedral Rock.

We find ourselves next to the cliffs seen before, now much more colourful.

We return to the main track, and surprisingly get the first of several good views of the rugged coastline on the northern side of the Cape, looking back towards Fortescue Bay.

But now we come to some close up and personal rocky cliff scenery ...

Of course, just at this moment, a cloudy mist descends! This is looking south towards the ‘Little Rock’ island.

In fact, although the mist is not welcome, it does add some atmosphere to this rather bleak and rocky place. I was careful not to get too close to the edge of this thousand foot drop. No fences.

We take a well-earned break for lunch before proceeding. This sign tells us not to go too far!

We shortly come to another great gash. Everything here is on a very large scale.

But now there is a fine view of The Lanterns, with the mist just holding off.

This pile of rocks in the sea indicates that the formation to the left is The Candlestick.

We can see the top of the Candlestick immediately in front of us. No sign of the Totem Pole!

We begin our return trek, taking in some of the sights along the way.

The northern coastline is even more appealing from this angle, but unfortunately, Fortescue Bay looks to be a great distance away.

Little Rock Island has been revealed, although the mist is still hanging around.

I’ll put on a happy face, even if my feet are killing me. Surely I should have lost some of that weight?

This interesting arch is easily missed – this is a zoomed-in view.

We cross back over the valley and make the steep ascent, taking a final look back at this wonderful Cape.

There is still time to appreciate the habits of the local flora.

We now make the final descent down to Fortescue Bay.

An exhausting, but exhilarating walk.

Postscript : You might like to check out these guys climbing the totem pole.

http://www.rockclimbing.com/videos/Trad/The_Totem_Pole_Tasmania_386.html

Now I have absolutely no desire to do this(!), but I am annoyed that I failed to get a photograph of the totem pole.