Devil's Kitchen to Waterfall Bay
bushwalk diary.
The Tasman National one of the premier National Parks in Tasmania.
When I taught geography in England a field trip to this stretch of coast would
have been an enlightening (if expensive!) experience. All the classic features
of coastal erosion found in the geography textbooks are displayed here in dramatic
reality. Rock platforms, sea caves, tunnels and stacks have been pounded from
the cliffs by thousands of years of wave action.
The walk starts at the mighty Tasman´s Arch, created by the collapse of a tunnel to form a bridged chasm. This relatively short walk, 4kms return, is on a broad, well-maintained track, with only a couple of gentle gradients. There are several stunning look-outs. An ex-teacher is bound to applaud the informative display panels erected by the Parks and Wildlife Service.Well done Tasmania. These, for example, describe the orchids that flower only after burning off the neighbouring heath. And your gaze is also directed to cliff hollows which support hardy tussock grass that tolerates abrasion by salt-laden winds.
Along the way a shy echidna caught our eye as it hid in the undergrowth and
pretended we didn´t exist. The Stringybark forest to the top of the 100 metre cliffs above Waterfall
Bay. The 20 minute track ends in a jaw-dropping viewpoint that takes
in the coastline south to the Lantern rocks on the tip of Cape Hauy.
Quietly contemplating this majestic panorama was Erica, all the way from Bolton,
only 12 miles from my home town of Blackburn, Lancashire!
Steve Hitchen
