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South Coast Track

Tassie's wild south: across eucalyptus rainforests and muddy plains to the most beautiful beaches

By Northern Adventures

Introduction

(Mon Dec 10th - Sun Dec 16TH, 2018)

After three years, I was fortunate enough to return to Tasmania, literally across the globe and 10 time zones; four flights were needed to get from winter Prague to early summer in Hobart.

Having relatives living in Australia and Tasmania, seeing old friends was easily combined with country exploration and adventurous trips, which is something Lenka and me tried to pursue and use our 4-weeks time on the southern hemisphere to the maximum extent.

After a few lovely and relaxed family & acclimatization days in Hobart, time has come for us to leave the comfort of warm beds and friendly civilization, and to exchange it for a proper adventure comprised of heavy backpacks, bushwhacking through tropical rainforests, crossing muddy plains, and - weather permitting - enjoying some of the world's most beautiful beaches.

The legendary 85km South Coast Track negotiates the lonesome coastline of Southwest National Park, Tasmania, with nothing between the coast and Antarctica but thundering ocean waves.

The trek crosses two mountain ranges to avoid sections of impassable coastline and long sections of open plains behind the coastline; it only follows the coast where there are (splendid) beaches.

Local experienced bushwalkers rate South Coast Track as "moderate", leaving some space on their grading scale for pathless rambling across wild Tasmania; for an average hiker, though, this trek may well belong to the more difficult ones, especially in adverse weather.

Personally, there were a few sections I would easily compare in terms of difficulty with some of the more challenging wanderings in Lapland or Greenland, though the challenges here are different: mud, dense rainforests, changing weather, and limited number of suitable camping spots.

The journey was stunningly beautiful. That sense of remoteness and unspoiled wilderness... each day was different, and all the seven days spent on tackling the South Coast Track contributed to an unforgettable experience in this very unique landscape located on the other side of the Earth.

Day 1: From Cockle Creek to South Cape Rivulet

Conveniently, me and Lenka were given a bus ride with a group of school kids to Cockle Creek, the eastern trailhead of the trek.

Most people choose to fly to Melaleuca and finish their journey in Cockle Creeek, however we opted for the opposite direction, also hoping for having less people around in the evenings, carefully planning to use less popular of the (rather sparse) camping spots.

After some time spent hiking through beautiful woods, we entered the open plains of Blowhole Valley, and kept constant pace when crossing it, admiring the beautiful landscape full of wildflowers, bush, plants and trees so unusual to European visitors.

It took as around two hours to reach the coastline - and the views across the beautiful South Cape Bay were so mesmerizing that we even didn't realize set of rain showers slowly approaching the coastline from the south.

We had quick lunch at Lion Rock in South Cape Bay, trying to find a shelter against rain at the camping ground, and then continued hiking to the west, following the official track route across Coal Bluff rainforest instead of choosing the coastal path.

It was a beautiful walk, though wet and a little bit muddy in places; seems now it was kind of a preparation for upcoming days in terms of the terrain to be crossed.

Although having started hiking quite late in the morning, we reached South Cape Rivulet early in the afternoon - it was a short warm-up hiking day.

We pitched our tent on a sheltered spot below eucalyptus trees near the river sandbank, and really enjoyed our first evening in the wild, with the warm light illuminating surrounding landscape in a beautiful way.

Than there was coffee time, chatting with my cousin who arrived with his school kids shortly after us, dinner time, tea time, evening stroll time... and time to sleep.

A very fine first day on the trail indeed.

Day 2: From South Cape Rivulet to Surprise Bay

The first big challenge of our journey was the South Cape Range, which is notorious for its muddy track, slippery roots and big climbs.

In fact, in terms of the terrain, this was the most difficult part of the overall trek, although the altitude gain (around 400m) was less than half of Ironbound Range we had to cross couple of days later.

We got up early, crossed the river at its mouth, gave farewell to Frank, my cousin, and ventured into the thick rainforest immediately after the rivulet.

As we ascended, the trail formed a tunnel through the rainforest thicket in places and was very slow going in parts, due to the roots, fallen trees and muddy sections.

The high point was reached after a few hours of relentless hiking effort and the stunning view from the top was one of the best on the entire track, as we looked towards the Ironbound Range and numerous bays and headlands that we were about to cross during upcoming days.

Here, we enjoyed quick lunch and got rid of a few leeches we got when crossing muddy sections of the trail (I used a lighter for this interesting operation).

The following descent to Granite Beach took some time too, yet going downhill was far much easier than previous endeavour. Also, new sections of the trail avoiding muddy parts were built here just recently, which was also quite helpful.

The Granit Beach campsite, sheltered in the woods and without nice views was pretty busy, and after some hesitation we decided to pursue it further across the sandy Shoemaker Bay and a small hill behind it to Surprise Bay, supposedly one of the most beautiful camping sites of the trek.

We pitched our tent on the higher less-sheltered camping spot at Surprise Bay which proved to be a good decision since the evening (and morning) views of the bay were stunningly beautiful from this place.

The evening routine followed, comprised of a lovely bath in the tannin-coloured creek, tea & coffee, and freeze-dried meals - all in a beautiful sunny windless evening which could hardly be any better.

In fact, two more sunny days were forecast, and we felt really lucky given the usual weather pattern on the South Coast (rain each second day) - quite surprisingly, it was raining and windy across almost all Tasmania but its southern coast.

Day 3: From Surprise Bay to Osmiridium Beach

After previous day-long hiking exercise, we planned the third day to be a short one, and set a rather unambitious goal of reaching the Osmiridium Beach (just around 5km away).

There was no need to hurry, and we lazily strolled across the Surprise Bay beach barefoot, even having a short swim in the sea.

It became almost unbearably hot around lunchtime when we left the beach (it may have been around 30 °C in shade), and subsequent slow-pace hiking across a headland covered in lush eucalyptus forest sheltered from direct sunlight, with an understorey of giant tree ferns, leatherwoods and numerous other rainforest trees, came rather convenient.

Has to be said there was not much drinking water during the way, and besides a small creek just before the trail junction to Osmiridium beach there was no other reliable water source all the way to New River Lagoon.

Having your own beach... kilometres of fine sand, with a reliable fresh water source, sand dunes and sea waves - this desire was fulfilled completely at Osmiridium.

Located a few hundred meters off the main trail with some mud to be crossed, apparently this campsite is not that frequented as are the others, and we spent the whole afternoon and evening at this beautiful beach in complete solitude.

Day 4: From Osmiridium Beach To Turua Beach

It became slightly overcast during the night, something we didn't really mind having a longer hiking stretch planned for the day - all the way across the New River Lagoon to Turua beach, another less frequented camping spot we were recommended to stay overnight.

It was quite a pleasant walk through light forest to reach the beautiful viewpoint at the eastern end of Prion bay, near the Point Cecil - beautiful views here encompassed Prion beach, New River Lagoon, Milford creek, and the iconic silhouette of Precipitous Bluff more to the north.

Here, something strange started to happen - first we heard sound of a helicopter, and in a few minutes the rescue chopper was hanging in the air not far than 50 meters from our position. I got scared - we had an emergency beacon used in Tasmania I was given by my cousin, and I was afraid that it somehow turned on... strange feelings.

Nevertheless, we continued hiking towards New River Lagoon, and soon after crossing Milford creek using the newly installed wooden footbridge we realized that indeed there is a rescue operation in progress - a young woman was just being rescued due to some stomach illness.

We took a well-deserved rest at New River Lagoon - really beautiful place however in my opinion not much suitable for overnight stay due to lack of drinking water (the dark-brown tannin creek nearby didn't really look much healthy).

Also, not surprisingly, having two boats at our side of the lagoon it was clear we were only going to have just one boat ride across the lagoon - something we hoped for, given the fact that most of the hikers start in Melaleuca.

Another rather odd moment happened when we were told by an Aussie couple we met here the very sad news about the recent plane crash near Melaleuca with potential flights cancellations for coming days - that would mean we would get stuck in Melaleuca without any spare food for an indefinite period of time... Nevertheless, the option of going back to Cockle Creek was not really attractive for us, so we decided to try our luck and push it further to Melaleuca...

The boat ride across New River Lagoon was really enjoyable, though it took us some time to learn how to manoeuvre the boat properly.

After a short rest at the south side of the lagoon we set out on the trail again, taking an hour or so to tackle to 5-km long stretch of Prion beach. Here, finally, just at the very end of the beach, we found a lovely creek with the best tannins-free fresh water we got during the past few days.

BEWARE: between this place and the small creek at the junction to Osmiridium beach, there is no reliable fresh water except for the uninviting water source at New Riger Lagoon.

We had lunch at this picturesque tranquil spot, followed by a few sea swims and sunbathing.

Then, crossing of the Menzies Bluff followed - pleasant walk in forest shade mostly on good footpaths and with occasional fine views of the rugged coast.

Turua beach was another lovely beach we reached - really a serene place with no one around.

We preferred this place to Little Deadman's Bay located further to the west for overnight stay, since it was quite likely we will be alone here and the bay itself with clear fresh water was just picture-perfect.

The evening at Turua beach was calm and sunny; in fact, it was the third consecutive sunny day on the trail, something I would call as rare exception and uttermost luck on this southern coast which is otherwise often exposed to harsh weather conditions coming from Antarctica.

We had bath in the pebble creek located just a few meters from our sheltered campsite, and then enjoyed dinner, tea and coffee at the beach, everything during the beautiful sunset at this tranquil place.

Day 5: Tackling the Ironbound Range

The Ironbound range is the highest mountain range in Australia to fall directly into the Southern Ocean.

The panoramic views from its top are spectacular and overlook a large part of the southwest wilderness area, the Arthur Range including Federation Peak and the Maatsuyker group of islands.

The Ironbound’s are notorious for some of the most challenging weather conditions in Australia; snow, 100 km/hr winds and pelting sleet can occur at any time of the year. Our long and strenuous ascent was about to take us through very dense, wet, moss covered rainforest; a rather challenging type of the terrain we first encountered when crossing South Cape Range.

We got up early, and reached Little Deadman's Bay soon also thanks to the recently built boardwalk across otherwise extremely muddy open plain we had to cross.

From here, the sweating hard work began; first on drier terrain and less steep, then more challenging, wet, across roots and slippery terrain; gaining each 100 vertical meters was a partial victory, yet only when we finally left dense woods in upper part of the ascent our continuous struggle turned into more easier hiking.

How to put it: Gods were at our side for one more time, since blue skies were cloudless, temperature refreshing, and it was also almost windless - just the best possible weather for Ironbound range crossing we may ever have dreamed of.

Views from the top were mesmerizing in all the directions: Prion beach to the east and South Cape Range at the horizon line, and rugged green wilderness to the northwest.

Having taken a well-deserved rest at the top of the range, we started to descent towards Louisa River, a continuous effort on good dry footpaths that however took more time the originally estimated - it was just a long walk all the way down to the sea-level plains.

We crossed the Louisa River without any problems (its water level was really low) and pitched a tent on its western bank, feeling pretty exhausted.

Then, as a reward, we were treated by a beautiful sunset performance just above our camp - the golden evening light illuminated plains and surrounding hills in the most magical way sunset time may bring.

Day 6: From Louisa River to Cox Bight

The weather was about to deteriorate in upcoming days, we were told by a couple we met at Louisa River, who were hiking in the opposite direction. The morning was cloudy yet it seemed it will still take some time for the rain to start.

Crossing the Louisa plains to Spica hills was straightforward and easy, also thanks to numerous boardwalk sections.

We crossed a few lovely creeks during the way, and then put some effort into climbing the Red Point Hills, the final ascent of the trail.

From its top, the well-maintained path led us across another grassy plain to the seaside where we aimed to camp and stay overnight.

The eastern end of Cox Bight bay at Buoy Creek was a serene picturesque place, however the nearby campsite was not that appealing due to rubbish in its vicinity.

We then enjoyed some beach barefoot hiking, crossed a small cliff using a recently built footpath, and with dark clouds forming above Cox Bight reached the secluded campsite of Point Eric just in time to pitch our rain-protecting shelter.

A few raindrops fell throughout the afternoon and evening, however nothing that could be called as proper rain; with this kind of mysterious weather and being in the camp alone, we enjoyed the surrounding Tasmanian unspoiled wilderness once more - yet in another way.

Day 7: From Cox Bight to Melaleuca

Clouds were lying really low in the next morning when we left Point Eric towards Melaleuca, on the last day of this beautiful trail.

Compared to previous days, hiking was pretty easy thanks to well-maintained train and flat terrain, yet to some extent it was rather monotonous and a bit boring walk we tried to cover as quickly as possible.

Melaleuca is a remote former settlement only accessible by sea via Port Davey, by air (there is a short gravel airstrip) or by foot. The locality now consists of a couple of buildings and a bird hide where the orange-bellied parrot can be viewed, and is a tourist attraction.

From the 1930s until the area gained World Heritage status, Melaleuca had been the location leased for mining ventures, and its interesting history is still visible throughout the settlement.

It started to rain in the afternoon, something we expected since the early morning observing the gathering clouds. Conveniently, there are two walkers huts for free use in Melaleuca, and we occupied the older one together with another pair of hikers.

With ceased rain in the evening, we did a short stroll around the settlement, exploring its beautiful surroundings using the well-maintained information trail.

But that was it regarding the good news, since both the rain and wind became stronger during the evening and upcoming night, and in the morning we learned the rather disappointing news that our flight was cancelled due to bad weather (the weather was apparently even worse in Hobart).

There wasn't much we could really do except reading, playing cards, and contributing to evening community dinner prepared of what was available including provisions left by previous hikers, and served with fresh bread baked by friendly and helpful wardens.

Day 9: Flying Out from Melaleuca

On the next day, luckily, the weather finally settled down, and soon we heard engine sounds of small Islander aircrafts flying over Melauleuca and landing on the airstrip.

It's fair to be said there was a real mess with the flights - there were around 10 people waiting for their return flight to Hobart, however for unknown reason two of the Par Avion aircrafts left back to Hobart empty, leaving estranged passengers in real doubts of what is going to happen.

Using the last available aircraft, we enjoyed the sometimes bumpy flight with beautiful aerial views of the coast, seeing Prion beach, New River Lagoon, Ironbound and South Cape ranges and all other parts of the trail from above.

We landed in Hobart feeling really happy; it was a beautiful trip across one of the most inspiring world's wilderness areas, yet it was nice to be back in civilization, with proper dinner, beer and comfortable beds.

Afterword

Compared to Overland Track, Tassie's and Australia's most famous hiking adventure, South Coast Track's landscape is equally spectacular, yet naturally somehow different being a coastal route.

What's completely different, though, is the character of the trail in terms of its remoteness, isolation, and maintenance: there are no huts except for two cabins in Melaleuca, and despite recent boardwalk introductions and renovations there are still muddy sections that cannot be avoided and that definitely form part of the South Coast experience.

This more challenging character of the trail also leads to the fact that the trail is not crowded; certainly, one is going to meet people on the trail and some of the campsites may be pretty busy, however generally we are not talking about meeting 30-40 people per day - rather a few individuals or small groups.

Seeking for solitude and choosing the less frequented campsites was our way to go; interestingly, the more isolated campsites were also the most beautiful - especially talking about Surprise Bay, Osmiridium Beach and Turua Beach. Also, choosing the less popular direction - finishing the trek in Melaleuca - helped beating the (small) crowds.

We were extremely lucky with the weather, to be honest - yet I would say even in more challenging weather conditions the trek would be equally nice and appealing, perhaps only with limited chances for some beach sunbathing and sea swimming.

South Coast Track is beautiful. Demanding at places, but truly beautiful.

Type of an adventure that will make one proud and happy after handling it, and enriched for life thanks to the unique wilderness experience.

Footnotes

All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, manipulated or used in any other way without permission of the photographer author.

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FootNotes

All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, manipulated or used in any other way without permission of the photographer author.