Day 4: Retakunna Hut to Fortescue Bay
This, the last day, is the biggest (hardest) day of the walk, according to the rangers. The distance is not quite as great as on Day 3 but there are lots of steps: 800 up and over Mt Fortescue, then 2200 out to Cape Hauy and back, and some more on the last section which trends gently down to Fortescue Bay. The ranger told us to expect to take three hours to the Cape Hauy track junction, one hour each way on the Cape, and one more down to the Bay.
The mountain is high enough (480 m) to attract enough cloud to have rainforest on its southern slopes. That’s rare in the eastern half of the state, much more typical of the west – Mt Field, for instance. Coming down the other side we pass through tree-fern gullies, also more typical of western areas.
And then we pop out onto a cliff-top path between the mountain and the cape, with views up and down the coast. It’s easy walking, too. It brings us to the track junction where we dump our big packs, shoulder our day packs, and look at an immense sweep of steps down and up again to the tip of the Cape.
That track ends at a lookout with (of course) spectacular views out and down. What looks like another section of the cape, and might make us ask why the track ends where it does, is actually a pair of islands separated from us by narrow strips of sea (see map). The Totem Pole, loved and feared by rock climbers, stands in one channel.
The rest of the day is pleasant but somewhat anticlimactic, returning by stages to the everyday world: back to the track junction, down the hill to Fortescue Bay (beautiful but not as wild as what we’ve seen) and then the bus trip back to Port Arthur and Hobart.
But wait! There’s more!
However, if you’re still really keen, there’s a track up the coast from Fortescue Bay to the Devil’s Kitchen near Eaglehawk Neck. It’s old-school, though: no huts, rougher tracks, no pick-up or drop-off … which illustrates the advantages of Three Capes Track quite neatly.
Liked this and want more?
The Three Capes Track is one of the easier multi-day hikes in Tasmania, thanks to the excellent tracks and the huts. If it leaves you wanting more, look at the Freycinet loop (shorter and easier but carry everything), the Overland or South Coast Tracks (longer and harder), or wait for the ‘next iconic walk‘ on the west coast. Or there are plenty of day walks, including Cape Raoul which by some accounts was to have been the third of the ‘Three Capes’ but was deferred.
Or just want to do it differently?
There is very little flexibility in doing the Three Capes Track as such, since walkers are booked into the huts for three specified nights and there is one clearly defined route with no side-trips longer than 50 metres or so to lookouts.
The shortest four-day version of the walk would skip both capes completely to reduce it to about 24 km. Or if someone was really not up to it, they might be allowed to turn back from Surveyors and take the boat back to Port Arthur. (I wonder if that ever happens?)
The old Cape Pillar track (from Fortescue Bay) is still open and there are a couple of tent camping sites along the way so it’s still possible to see both capes without signing up for the Track. (The blog post linked below shows the route but I suggest taking more time over it.) Or one can visit Cape Hauy, but not Cape Pillar, as a day walk from Fortescue Bay (4 hours plus). Or for more comfort, at a cost, one can sign up for the commercial version of Three Capes, which uses its own huts but the same track.
The controversy
The Parks service was accused of reducing wilderness values by making the track too easy and building the huts while reducing free camping sites. Some people also grumbled about the visitor charges of about $500 pp (‘elitism’) and the fact that a private company would also have access to the new track and be allowed to build its own huts. This blog covers some of that while presenting a super-fast free version of the walk.
Lessons
The PWS site is excellent and their Packing List is gold standard. All I would add is that it covers the possibility of truly appalling weather, as it must, but anyone doing the hike can look at seven-day weather forecasts and adjust their gear accordingly (with a reasonable margin for worse-than-expected conditions, of course).
Further, anyone with some flexibility in travel dates can (and, I think, should) look at the weather forecasts and book accordingly. “Hey, it’s fine from Thursday to Sunday and there are vacancies!” or words to that effect, is a good start.
Bookings are heaviest in summer and early autumn, for obvious reasons, but late autumn and early winter can also be fine and not too cold. Tasmanian weather is notoriously changeable, though. A friend did the walk in November and suffered sleet and below-zero temperatures. Be warned!
Demographics: Early-stage retirees were the biggest group when I did it but there were several older people (up to 80?) and quite a number of younger adults. Most were Aussies but we had a few overseas visitors.
Preparation: The most important prep for the trip is building stamina by walking lots while carrying some weight. I did that, as best I could in our very-Wet season, and was very glad I did. Load up a day-pack with water bottles when you walk the dog, do day-trips carrying a bit more than you need, etc.
How hard is it really? Some of the older people in my group didn’t do the whole walk, opting out of the last bits of the either or both Cape tracks, but most managed okay. Given good weather, average fitness and reasonable preparation, the most likely cause of difficulties might be knee problems.
The bottom line: Just do it! It’s a challenge but it’s magnificent.
- In this Three Capes Track series: Intro and Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3 – Day 4 and afterword