Cape Hauy from Fortescue Bay

From the day use car park at Fortescue Bay, the Cape Hauy Track rises and falls through woodland above the bay and out across heath, bright with wildflowers in spring. Past the junction with the Three Capes Track it descends a long stone staircase into a saddle, then climbs again out onto the narrow cape. The track ends at a lookout above sheer dolerite columns, with the sea stacks of the Totem Pole and the Candlestick just off the tip. Return the same way.

It is 10.2 km there and back with 350 m of ascent; allow about 3½ hours. The grade is Moderate: a well-built track, but with hundreds of steep steps to go down and then back up.

The cliffs on the cape are sheer and the track edges are unprotected, so keep back from the edges and hold on to children. The wind can be strong on the exposed tip. Seabirds, sea eagles and sometimes passing whales can be seen from the end.

Fortescue Bay is 12 km down a gravel road suitable for ordinary cars, off the Arthur Highway beyond Eaglehawk Neck, about 90 minutes' drive from Hobart. A Tasmanian parks pass is needed.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.