South Cape Bay Walk is a 16km, grade 3 return hike located in the Southwest National Park, Tasmania. The hike should take around 4 hrs to complete.

Length: 16km

Duration: 4 hrs

Grade: 3

Style: Return

Start: Cockle Creek

End: Cockle Creek

Location: Southwest National Park

Closest town: Cockle Creek

Tasmania

From state capital: 122km

Longitude: 146.89318835735324

Latitude: -43.58260973582973

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Hike overview

Within the Southwest National Park, the South Cape Bay Walk starts from the end of Australia's most southerly road and is the eastern end of the popular 7 day South Coast Track to Port Davey. It's a great place, so take your lunch and make a good day of it.

Experience a taste of the wild south on this delightful extended walk. Leave from the southern-most road in Australia and walk through woodland and open bush till you reach the cliff above South Cape Bay. It’s a rare day when the wind isn’t howling and the surf roaring at this breath-taking place. If conditions allow, take the steps down to the beach. There you can wander the sand and cobble beach as far as Lion Rock, and marvel at what the wild ocean has washed up.

Highlights

Australia's most southern coastline is also the country's most unspoilt. No roads lead to this beautiful, untouched and often wild region. This track will allow you to experience this region the way it has been since long before the impacts that Europeans wrought upon so many parts of Australia.

Route and GPX file

Total distance: 15515 m
Max elevation: 45 m
Min elevation: 4 m
Total climbing: 234 m
Total descent: -234 m

Download file: South-Cape-Bay-Walk.gpx

For more information about this hiking trail please visit Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania

Tips

Park entry fees apply.
Toilets and unpowered camping areas.
Supervise children, hazardous cliffs, unprotected track edges, unpatrolled beaches - swim with caution.
No pets, firearms or bicycles.

Trail location

Getting there

To access Southwest National Park via Cockle Creek, drive 2 hours south of Hobart via Geeveston on the A6. Take C635 past the Hastings Cave turn off and then C636 (the most southerly road in Australia) to Cockle Creek. The last stages of the road are fairly rough but can be negotiated by two-wheel drive vehicles. Park your car adjacent to the information booth at the end of the road (unsealed road)

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About the region

Tasmania’s largest expanse of wilderness is located in Southwest National Park – a remote and rugged landscape in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Home to majestic Huon pine, sassafras, celery top and myrtle, the region is awash with the distinctive fragrances of the Tasmanian forest.

The Gordon River Road is a narrow ribbon through the largely untracked region of forests, imposing mountain ranges and buttongrass plains, providing access to the vast expanses of Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon.

In Southwest National Park, you’ll find one of Tasmania’s most challenging wilderness walks, the multi-day South Coast Track. There are also endless shorter walks to take you up and over mountains and out to the coast. For a real ‘ends-of-the-Earth’ experience, travel to Australia’s southernmost point accessible by road, Cockle Creek, where a day walk to South Cape Bay allows walkers to immerse themselves in the raw power of this wilderness landscape.

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Acknowledgement of Country

Trail Hiking Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we hike and pay respects to their Elders, past and present, and we acknowledge the First Nations people of other communities who may be here today.