Tasmania walking: Maria Island, Freycinet and the Bay of Fires

1. Day 1: Arrive in Hobart

   Hobart Airport to your hotel in central Hobart

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Hobart
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Hobart (HBA), about 20 km east of the city, landing by about 1 pm; a driver meets you and takes you to the hotel near the waterfront. In the late afternoon your See Sight Tours guide walks the group around the old harbour: the fishing boats and cray pots at Victoria Dock, the sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place, and up Kelly's Steps into Battery Point, the cottages and narrow lanes of the city's early maritime quarter. It is an easy hour on foot, and a chance to check boots and day packs before the walking starts. Back at the hotel we hold a short briefing on the five days ahead: the ferry time tomorrow, what to carry on Maria Island, where there are no shops, and how the easy and active options work. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner in town, with Tasmanian seafood on the menu. Tell us any dietary needs when you book, and every kitchen on the route has them before you arrive.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Hobart Airport (HBA)
   • Guided walk of the Hobart waterfront, Salamanca Place and Battery Point
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the late-afternoon walk

   Activity: About an hour of easy walking, with one flight of stone steps.

   

2. Day 2: Maria Island: Darlington, Bishop and Clerk or the Painted Cliffs

   Hobart to Triabunna, ferry to Maria Island, then north to Coles Bay

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Coles Bay
   Day 2 details

   An early start, at about 6:45 am, because the ferry sets the day: we drive about 85 km (1 h 15) north-east to Triabunna, check in for the first sailing at about 8:30 am and cross the Mercury Passage to Darlington on Maria Island, where there are no cars and wombats graze between the convict buildings, one of the Australian Convict Sites on the World Heritage list. Here the group splits. The active walkers climb Bishop and Clerk, about 12.6 km return from the wharf, 4 to 5 hours through dry forest to a boulder-strewn summit at about 600 m. The easy group walks the Fossil Cliffs, packed with shells some 300 million years old, then the Painted Cliffs, sandstone striped orange and cream by iron, best at low tide. Both groups meet in Darlington at about 2 pm for a late picnic lunch, then an unhurried hour among the old buildings. We take the last ferry back (about 3:15 or 4:15 pm, by season), drive about 1 h 30 through Swansea and reach Coles Bay by about 6 to 6:30 pm, for two nights and dinner together at about 7 pm.

   Included

   • Return ferry from Triabunna to Maria Island
   • Darlington convict settlement with your guide
   • Bishop and Clerk (active) or the Fossil Cliffs and Painted Cliffs (easy), each with a guide
   • Picnic lunch on Maria Island
   • Dinner in Coles Bay

   Easier option: The Fossil Cliffs loop (about 4.5 km, 2 hours), then the Painted Cliffs (about 4 km return, just under 2 hours), all on gentle tracks.

   More active option: Bishop and Clerk only, about 12.6 km return from the wharf and 4 to 5 hours, with a steep boulder scramble near the top; there is not time for the Painted Cliffs as well.

   Activity: Leaves Hobart at about 6:45 am for the first ferry (about 8:30 am, with check-in before it); about 7 hours on the island; ferry back about 3:15 or 4:15 pm; driving is 1 h 15 before the ferry and 1 h 30 after; Coles Bay by about 6 to 6:30 pm, dinner at about 7 pm. There are no shops on Maria Island; we carry lunch and water. When the tide and the ferry times do not line up, the easy group sees the Painted Cliffs from the beach above.

3. Day 3: Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach

   Coles Bay to the Wineglass Bay track and back

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Coles Bay
   Day 3 details

   We leave the hotel at about 7:45 am and are on the track by 8, before the day coaches from Hobart and Launceston arrive. The path climbs on granite steps between the pink peaks of the Hazards to Wineglass Bay Lookout, where the curve of white sand opens below you. From there the full circuit drops down to the beach itself, crosses the flat isthmus behind it to Hazards Beach on the other side of the peninsula, and comes back north around the coast below Mount Mayson. It is about 11 km and 4 to 5 hours with stops, and most day visitors never go past the lookout. Lunch is a picnic on Hazards Beach, with time for a swim if the day is warm. We are back in Coles Bay by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours: the little beaches along the Coles Bay foreshore, a kayak, or a rest. The light over Great Oyster Bay is soft at sunset, and dinner is together in town.

   Included

   • Tasmania national parks pass
   • Wineglass Bay Lookout, Wineglass Bay beach and the Hazards Beach circuit with your guide
   • Picnic lunch on Hazards Beach
   • Dinner in Coles Bay

   Optional experiences

   • Sea kayaking at Coles Bay (price shown at booking)
   • Wineglass Bay cruise (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Walk to Wineglass Bay Lookout and back with the guide's second group (1 to 1.5 hours), then a free late morning in Coles Bay; we meet the circuit walkers for a late lunch.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Coles Bay

   Activity: About 11 km with a steady climb on rock steps to the lookout and a steep descent to Wineglass Bay. Bring 2 litres of water, a hat and swimwear.

   

4. Day 4: Cape Tourville, then north to the Bay of Fires

   Coles Bay to Cape Tourville, then Bicheno, St Helens and Binalong Bay

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in St Helens
   Day 4 details

   A day with room in it. Active walkers leave after an early breakfast to climb Mount Amos, a steep scramble up granite slabs to one of the best views of Wineglass Bay, only when the rock is dry; it takes about 3 hours return. Everyone else has a slow breakfast, and we all meet at Cape Tourville in the late morning. The lighthouse boardwalk is a short, level loop of about 600 m with views south to Wineglass Bay and the granite of the Hazards. Early risers who skip Mount Amos can come up for sunrise over the Tasman Sea with the guide. We drive about 40 minutes north to Bicheno for a sit-down lunch by the harbour and a look at the blowhole, then about 1 h 15 up the coast past Scamander to St Helens, our base for two nights. In the late afternoon we walk the beach at Binalong Bay, about 11 km on, where the orange lichen on the granite glows in the low sun. Dinner tonight is your choice in St Helens.

   Included

   • Cape Tourville lighthouse boardwalk
   • Sit-down lunch in Bicheno
   • Late-afternoon walk at Binalong Bay

   Optional experiences

   • Bicheno little penguin tour, if we stay late in Bicheno on your date (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: A slow breakfast, then the Cape Tourville boardwalk and the beach at Binalong Bay, about 1 hour of easy walking in all.

   More active option: Mount Amos after an early breakfast, before we meet at Cape Tourville: about 3 hours return, steep granite slabs, only in dry weather.

   Free time: Evening free in St Helens

   Activity: Mount Amos is closed to our groups when the rock is wet; the guide decides on the morning.

   

5. Day 5: larapuna, The Gardens and the length of the bay

   St Helens to larapuna / Eddystone Point, then The Gardens and Binalong Bay

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in St Helens
   Day 5 details

   Today we walk the Bay of Fires from its quiet north end to its busy south. The bay was named by the navigator Tobias Furneaux in 1773 for the fires he saw along the shore, lit by the Aboriginal people who have lived here for many thousands of years. We drive about 60 km north by road (about 1 h 10) to larapuna / Eddystone Point in Mount William National Park, where a granite lighthouse stands above red-rock coves. The walk loops past the lighthouse and along the beaches south of it, with a picnic lunch on the rocks. On the way back we stop at The Gardens, at the end of the road north of Binalong Bay, for the coves and boulders most photographs of the bay show. The afternoon walk follows the coast from Skeleton Bay towards Dora Point, through she-oak and banksia, back to St Helens by late afternoon. Tonight is a farewell dinner together.

   Included

   • larapuna / Eddystone Point lighthouse and coast walk
   • The Gardens
   • Skeleton Bay to Dora Point coastal walk
   • Picnic lunch at larapuna
   • Farewell dinner in St Helens

   Optional experiences

   • A palawa-led cultural experience in the northeast, if one can be arranged for your dates (we ask the wukalina Walk team and other palawa organisations, and confirm at booking)

   Easier option: The lighthouse loop only at larapuna, then the beach at The Gardens instead of the afternoon coastal walk.

   More active option: A longer beach walk south from larapuna before lunch, about 2 hours more on soft sand.

   Free time: Late afternoon free before dinner

   Activity: About 3 to 5 hours on foot in all, much of it on soft sand and rock. Parts of the road to larapuna may be unsealed; we check the road conditions at booking and on the day.

6. Day 6: St Columba Falls and Launceston

   St Helens to Pyengana and St Columba Falls, then Launceston Airport

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 6 details

   A slower last morning: an early swim or a walk on the beach for those who want one, then breakfast. We drive inland about 25 km into the green Pyengana valley, dairy country with a long cheesemaking history, and walk through tree ferns and myrtle to the foot of St Columba Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in Tasmania, a short walk of about 20 minutes return. From there the Tasman Highway climbs over the Weldborough Pass, through tall wet forest, and down through Derby and Scottsdale towards Launceston, about 2 hours more, with a stop for lunch on the way. We reach Launceston Airport (LST) by about 1:30 pm. Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm; if you are staying on in Launceston, we drop you in the city centre instead, a short drive from the airport, and you can walk to Cataract Gorge from there. Your guide sees you to the terminal before saying goodbye.

   Included

   • St Columba Falls walk
   • Lunch on the drive to Launceston
   • Drop-off at Launceston Airport (LST) or the city centre

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Launceston after about 3 pm.

Wildlife and weather: We run from October to April. The east coast is the sunniest part of Tasmania, with days around 17 to 23 C in summer, but cold southerly changes can bring rain and wind in any month, and the sea is cool for swimming. UV is strong even on cloudy days. Summer bushfires can close a road or a track; if one does, we reroute and tell you why. Snakes are active in the warm months, so we keep to the tracks. Common wombats graze around Darlington on Maria Island, and Bennett's wallabies, pademelons and echidnas are likely along the coast. Dolphins and white-bellied sea eagles are possible from the ferry and the headlands.

• Hobart1 night
• Coles Bay2 nights
• St Helens2 nights