Despite the unparalleled beauty of the Three Capes Track, with the highest dolerite cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere, their dramatic yet breathtaking views over a great variety of landscapes and striking sections of coastlines, my personal favourite day walk on the Tasman Peninsula is the track to Crescent Bay Beach.
Crescent Bay Beach (Credit: Sara Guerrini)
A few friends and I ventured out of Hobart on a sunny Sunday morning in November. Our car was packed with snacks, good vibes and rain jackets (just in case – we are in Tasmania after all!). We headed off towards Port Arthur taking the A9 (Arthurs Highway) to the Tasman Peninsula. We exited onto Safety Cove Road and drove on till the very end at the Remarkable Cave carpark. As the name suggests, the car park is the starting point from where you can visit a pretty ‘remarkable’ cave which also happens to lead you to the Crescent Bay beach trail. I was particularly excited to finally have the chance to see Remarkable Cave. A short accessible walk and 115 descending steps took us to a viewing platform, where wild waves were crashing onto steep, ancient sandstone cliffs and an in fact remarkable tunnel had been carved by the oceans’ force for years on end.
Once we climbed back up the steps, we started our 7.5 km (return) walk to Crescent Bay beach (allow 3-4 hours in total excluding breaks). The first section is an easy stroll through dunes covered in coastal vegetation and stunning views over the ocean. 20 minutes into the walk we reached Maingon Blowhole, took some amazing photos then continued on until an intersection that signalled the track to the Mt. Brown summit.
We felt more thrilled by the idea of the beach so we continued on, but for more information on the amazing views from Mt Brown summit check out Josh’s blog post!
Not long after, we spotted the southern end of Crescent Bay beach, while a few clouds quickly rolled in (classic Tassie!). To experience the true magnitude of the sand dunes we scrambled our way up the top and then rolled down in the sand back to the shore where we enjoyed lunch and a nap! We were joined by a couple of local seagulls (pictured above) and some of us enjoyed a quick dip into the amazing blue waters.
On the way back, we could hear penguins hiding underneath the rocks and spotted an echidna near the beautiful wild flowers. What a treat!
Sara Guerrini - Travel Advisor
Tasmanian Travel & Information Centre