Truly, madly, deeply (Tasmania bushwalking)

Surprise! I'm back for one post on a recent bushwalking adventure. I wasn't intending to write about it but the scenery was stunning and there were some interesting experiences worth sharing. It is Sunday as I write this and the trip was last Tuesday to Friday. It's a great time to head south to Tasmania to avoid the Sydney heat and humidity.

And the title? Savage Garden from 1997, "i wanna stand with you on a mountain". Don't disparage me, it's only just getting airplay in Tassie now.

Day 1: Sydney to Hobart

In an unusual beginning to the adventure I caught the train to the airport. What a rip-off. Cheers to the NSW Liberal government. A one way journey, three stops, cost over $15. This is why Jayne and I usually go by Uber, it's actually more cost effective, but as I was travelling alone it was the train. No Jayne, you ask? No dear reader, this is a bushwalking holiday. Jayne's involvement in my treks usually extends to waving me goodbye with the epithet, "Have a lovely, lovely time". This farewell was no different.

I met Dave at the airport and we rearranged our gear so all the fun stuff went in the single check-in bag. Why I can't take my pocket knife on the plane I do not know. Surely they can't expect me to go bushwalking without it? The bag was down the chute in minutes and we navigated the security line with speed. Cheers to my platinum status.

Then it was breakfast in the Qantas lounge and down to the gate to sit with Maz and Wayne and wait for boarding. We left on time and the journey was uneventful, arriving in Hobart at the scheduled time. My bag arrived on the same plane, always a good sign, but without its wheels and with the frame crushed. Nice work Qantas. That's two bags suffering the same fate in my last two trips. I will lodge a complaint this time, not that it will make a difference. My love for national carrier diminishes with every flight.

The car was ready to go, thank you Hertz, but it was not in great condition with scratches on every panel, no thank you there. More on that later.

We drove to our accommodation, the Fox and Hounds Inn at Port Arthur, checked in, dropped our bags, grabbed some water and were taking the first steps on our initial walk by 2pm. All nicely to plan.

Mount Brown - Crescent Beach

This is an 'easy' walk around 10 km return depending on the extent to which you wish to explore the beach and the mountain. The suggested time is about 4 hours which is more than sufficient, although beachcombing and photo opportunities on Mt Brown can add time to the trip. As can watching the wildlife.

Maingon Bay

The track is clearly signposted and well maintained with the exception of the climb up to Mt Brown. There is a stairway that leads down to Remarkable Cave. This is worth a visit and can be particularly interesting in big seas. The cave is actually a tunnel formed by wave action.

Remarkable Cave

From the cave we made our way to the Mt Brown track. Again, the walk is signposted and the track well kept with many sections of boardwalk. We stopped to admire the view at one point and were joined by an echidna who was quite oblivious to our presence.

Without descending into cliché, OK then, descending into cliché, the coastline in this area is rugged. The wind was strong and the waves were smashing against the rocks, sending seaspray a long way into the sky and subsequently, inland. Maingon Blowhole was interesting, if unspectacular on the day we were there.

The blowhole on a quiet day.

The ascent to Mt Brown was a scramble. The climb was easy enough, if steep, with loose rock underfoot. It was a short, sharp climb to a false summit where people have constructed a large cairn. The true summit is the trig station a short walk across the mountain top. The views were excellent, if somewhat diminished by the abundance of seaspray being whipped up by the wind. It really is an inhospitable coastline of sheer cliffs. We were able to see the end point of the next two walks off in the distance.

The real top of Mt Brown.

Down the mountain and back onto the track, we made our way to Crescent Beach. Walkers coming up the track from the beach warned us of a snake on the track. We didn't see any, although Dave had spotted a tiger snake off the side of the track on our walk across to Mt Brown. Tassie only has three species of snakes, all of them venomous.

Crescent Beach from the mountain top.

Curiously, Crescent Beach is crescent shaped. Australian cartographers are just so imaginative. The depth of water dropped away very quickly and there was ample evidence of strong currents. Despite its beauty, it is not a place for swimming. Aside from that the water was freezing, according to those who wet their feet.

It doesn't matter how you look at it, the water is freezing.

The walk back is equally spectacular and we stopped frequently to watch the waves crashing onto the rocks and sending plumes of spray high into the air.

The Fox and Hounds Inn

It was a short 15 minute drive back to the accommodation. Time to refresh before dinner at 6:30 at the Fox and Hounds. Despite checking in earlier and discussing with the staff that we had phoned earlier in the week to check out the food options, when we asked for a table we were informed they were fully booked. Clearly they weren't and a table was soon found. Wayne then discovered that draught beer was "off" and he was forced to drink VB. Ok, maybe 'forced' was not the right word. Thankfully they had a tight little wine list that featured some lovely local wines. Bream Creek Wines are worthy of your attention.

I selected the Fox and Hounds, dear reader, because the menu was sufficiently varied to meet our dietary needs for the three nights we would be there. Although the lamb cutlets, like the beer, were n/a. In a practice opposite to that of most restaurants, their blackboard menu listed the meals you couldn't have. Interesting. It must be a Tassie thing. Wasn't really keen on driving further afield at night in search of sustenance because of the wandering wildlife and drink driving regulations.

Dinner done and dusted it was time for bed to restore our energy levels before tackling our next walk.

Day 2: Cape Raoul

Wednesday dawned slightly overcast but the wind had gone. The Fox and Hounds doesn't offer breakfast so we decided to try our luck in nearby Nubeena, eschewing the two local takeaways up the road. Mistake. Nubeena has a large (well, large for this area) IGA, curiously located 2.5 km out of town. That is promising thought I. Not so much. There was a cafe in town. Its pie warmer was as empty as the brain of an anti-vaxxer. All the locals were coming for coffee not food. Marilyn and Wayne requested ham, cheese and tomato toasties (not on the menu) from the person behind the counter. Despite the small town serial killer vibe, the toasties were Ok and neither of them died from their breakfast. I meandered down the street to see if there was another place where breakfast might be sourced. Nope. A smaller IGA, a pub, not open, and that was about it.

Tea tree.

Back in the car I decided to stop at the large IGA in case they did takeaway. There I procured a large sausage roll that Dave and I shared. Such is life on the lam. Then off to Cape Raoul which has changed much since the writing of the track notes we were using.

The track notes suggest 14 km return. My Apple watch recorded just over 16 km, although the suggested time of 6 hours was more than we required. Cape Raoul is now part of the Three Capes Walk which you can complete as a guided walk or under your own steam. I had thought of doing this but there were time restrictions at the end of the walk (to catch a bus back to the car) and I didn't want to be pressured. If we want to sit and look at the scenery we will and we'll please ourselves with the pace at which we walk. Also, we get to sleep in a bed each night and don't need to carry a full pack - I think those days may well be over.

No idea what this is, but amazing growing in the most harsh conditions.

There is a car park at the commencement of the walk and a graded section of Stormlea Road that serves as an overflow. The track is well maintained and there was much work happening on it on the day we walked. There are sections of boardwalk in the particularly boggy areas. There is little chance of deviating from the well trodden path to the Cape and Seal Rock.

The track commences in forest.

Once again the scenery was stunning. Cliff and coastal views, heathland, wild flowers, black cockatoos, white-lipped snakes, wallabies, seals, it was all there for us to enjoy. There are a couple of ascents involved but these can be taken at your own pace and are not particularly arduous when only carrying a daypack. We stopped at Seal Rock for muesli bars and a sugar hit, before walking back to Cape Raoul and admiring the view to Mount Brown and the headland we had traversed yesterday. Off in the distance was Cape Hauy, to be conquered tomorrow.

A long way to walk yet.

The walk back was uneventful although we were amazed by the number of walkers heading in the opposite direction to us. It does stay light later in Tassie, compared to Sydney, but there were areas in the heavily wooded sections where the light would be very limited in the afternoon. Perhaps they were heading for the shorter walk and destination of Shipstern Bluff.

After the disappointment of the morning's attempt at breakfast, we stopped at the other takeaway on the home journey. And what did find, dear reader? A cafe that serves a variety of food until 7pm. The usual breakfast suspects, as well as burgers, pies, and other things to keep heart and soul together.  Like Arnie, we will be back.

Seal rock ... down below.

Dave very cleverly reserved a table for dinner. One in the corner where we could hear each other. Thankfully the draught beer was back on and we enjoyed a local pilsener prior to dinner. Still no lamb cutlets.

Day 3: Cape Hauy

Around 2am, I was woken by the sound of water. Lots of water. Like a massive storm. A quick peek out the window showed a saturated car park and water all over the verandah. Overflowing gutters I assumed. What a waste in a place that relies on its water tanks. The tap water here is not fit for drinking. Everything comes in environmentally unfriendly plastic.

Once the voices outside my window disappeared, I rolled over and listened to the rain and drifted back to sleep. In the morning the car park was still wet although the rain had stopped. I went to have a shower to discover we had no water. Fortunately I had showered on our return yesterday afternoon. Dave was not so lucky, although he did spend some time soaking his blistered feet.

I sent a text to Wayne and Maz. They too were waterless. How about that rain last night said I! Their response was the same as Dave's, what rain? This prompted me to wander out to the car park and look under the verandah. A pipe had burst sending water up through the slats of the verandah and cascading across the boards down onto the car park, sounding for all the world like an overflowing gutter.

Fortescue Bay

No showers this morning. It was off to the takeaway where breakfast was a much more fulfilling and pleasant experience.

Curiously this is the end of the walk, not the beginning.

The Cape Hauy walk is the last part of the Three Capes walk and depending on the track notes you read, is the easiest. My notes said 10 km return, which proved to be accurate and recommended a 4 hour return journey with minimal stops. Again this was accurate enough, however, we spent a lot of time enjoying the various views and lookouts, so our return time was a little over 5 hours. The big difference was in the grade of the walk. Some notes suggest easy-medium others medium. The severe nature of the ascents on this walk rule out any reference to easy. A point discussed with and agreed to by many other walkers on the day.

What goes up must come down ...

It is without doubt a stunning walk and the views are spectacular and the breeze most welcome on a sunny day. It is also the busiest track I've walked on. There was a constant stream of walkers heading in both directions with people also joining from the direction of Mt Fortescue having completed the entire three day Three Capes walk.

The track ahead. The photo does not do it justice.

As you reach the high point of the walk at 180 m, the plateau opens up in front of you and the track you need to follow is laid out before you. The steps lead down and then up again in what looks like a sheer climb, again back to 180 m. Perhaps it is the visual that is so simultaneously breathtaking and soul destroying. The sight of a steep climb on uneven steps is daunting, made all the more so by stories of others walkers passed en route. However, there is no choice. Onward.

We paced ourselves, not being in a rush, and made Cape Hauy in good time. The Candlestick is a spectacular rock formation, a dolerite column reaching out of the sea to a height of 125m. There were of course seabirds and seals far below on the rocks. The sea goes on forever, well, all the way to Antarctica, and the drop to the ocean is abrupt and vertical. So much so that I struggled to stay near the edge of the viewing platform.

The candlestick.

While none of us was looking forward to the return journey it had to happen and we decided we would do it at our own pace and meet at the Mt Fortescue track junction. Those who wanted to stop and rest could and I could just drop my pace, drop my head and keep walking.

There were a couple of white-lipped snake sightings but nothing else out of the ordinary.

Please don't step on me.

We returned to the Fox and Hounds to find the water restored, albeit the pipes needed bleeding, as they farted and spurted their way through our showers. It was hotter and less cloudy today and we were all in need of refreshing water before dinner. Back to the corner table for a couple of energy restoring beers.

As always at the end of our walks, talk turns to why? Why do we do this to ourselves? In my younger days it was about the experience and seeing things I hadn't seen before, the camaraderie, the laughs, the experience, the views. But now? Simple, it's because I still can. And that is reason enough.

I have no idea but it was about half along the track.

There were still no lamb cutlets for dinner despite the number of lambs we saw in surrounding paddocks.

Day 4: Hobart to Sydney

It rained last night. No really. It poured. From above, not below. The mended water pipe held and showers were enjoyed before the wet drive to the airport.

We returned the car and spoke to a Hertz person who was totally unconcerned that every panel of the car was scratched when I picked it up. Wear and tear, he said. Won't be a problem, he said, but I'll make a note for you. It appears he was correct. I have since received the final invoice - no problem, no extra charge.

The terminal was extremely crowded. Apparently a heavy fog in Melbourne that morning had caused havoc with all airline schedules. There were queues everywhere and no simple bag drop for those that had already checked in. Line up with everyone else. What year is it down here?

Once through security, the departure area proved to be just as crowded and seats were at a premium. We jagged a table and spread our gear out waiting for our friends. Then we watched the board as our plane's departure time was being pushed back further and further, until we were leaving an hour or more behind schedule. Finally the plane arrived, we boarded and left Hobart.

It was a beautiful afternoon in Sydney when we landed and I had contemplated walking home. The back pack would be no issue but lugging a bag without wheels with an impaired structure ... nah, I'll burn another $15+ on the train.

And that dear reader is a wrap, until New Zealand in a couple of weeks.

Until then ...