The Three Capes Track

The lovely 5:20 chicks (my running buddies from Terrigal trotters) have tentatively arranged a long weekend away next year to go and hike the Three Capes Track in South East Tasmania. When you do the official hike, you start with a boat ride from Port Arthur and finish 4 days later by catching a bus shuttle from Fortescue Bay back to Port Arthur. During the hike you stay overnight in huts which are equipped with sleeping mattresses and cooking equipment (the hut on the second night even has hot showers) so all you have to carry is your clothes, food and a sleeping bag….and probably more clothes as you don’t often get several consecutive dry days in Tassie.

Whenever I visit my friend Iestyn, he always has a fun running adventure planned for me, and so when he suggested a modification of the Three Capes Track I jumped at the opportunity, even though I really wasn’t sure that I would manage to get round it so soon after C2K. Although he has run it many times, the distance measured by a running watch is always rather variable so I knew it would be anything up to a marathon distance, though not on “usual” marathon terrain.

Fortescue Bay

We left the car at Fortescue Bay and headed out along the “Old Cape Pillar Track”, which was fairly rough underfoot as it gradually ascended away from the coast, but generally quite runnable. Well, when I say “runnable” I mean it would be if you weren’t feeling rather heavy legged and tired, but I managed to keep up with Iestyn of sorts….usually by trying to ask him questions which required longer answers (teeheehee).

Heading off up the Old Cape Pillar Track

After about 8km, we joined the official walking route and headed out along the out and back section towards Cape Pillar. We passed a few campsites and then reached Munro Hut (the one with the hot showers). It was built in a beautiful location and hence was a great place to stop and admire the views and take a few pictures  though we soon carried on along our way. We’d hardly seen a soul up to this point, but expected to start seeing hikers after this point as they would leave their packs at this hut and go out to Cape Pillar and back, before picking up their gear to carry on to that night’s lodging. 

The view from Munro Hut

It was amazing to see the effort that had been put into the route’s infrastructure - as there was a section of boardwalk that started not far from the hut that was about 2.5km long. It was decorated at one end with a snake’s head and therefore the other end finished in a tail with the phrase “my blood runs cold” written into it. The undulating gradient of the boardwalk wasn’t bad but it was liberally strewn with steps that were all just the wrong length to be able to run up or down them easily, so I couldn’t get into a rhythm at all. As we ran along the cliff tops, the views across to Tasman Island just got better and better, but just as Iestyn promised, the best one was after we had climbed up the steep rock formation known as The Blade.

On The Blade!

View from The Blade towards Tasman Island

On descending The Blade we continued on a newer track extension down and up to Cape Pillar itself, admiring some of the benches that Tasmanian artists had sculpted after being airlifted in to see where the benches were to be positioned. 

Tasman Island

We then turned tail and wound our way 8km back along the way we’d just come to the original junction with the Old Cape Pillar Track (spotting an echidna and a tiger snake along the way……as well as filling up with much needed water when we passed Munro Hut again).

Such a cute surprise!

Slightly windier when we revisited Munro Hut

Iestyn had promised me that it was only about another km or so from this junction to Retakunna Hut and that we would stop and eat our sandwiches there…….and as I was absolutely starving I certainly picked up the pace knowing a break and a feed was coming up. We were the only people at the hut at that time of day, so had the choice of the picnic tables, and watched as the Rangers brought supplies in by helicopter (though unfortunately they didn’t have any cake on them…..and yes, I did ask!!).

An easier way out from Retakunna Hut?

The weather had been much hotter and sunnier than forecast up to this point, but luckily it now clouded over considerably and the wind also picked up, as we had a long slog up Mount Fortescue to do (though the summit was only 490m above sea level). As we popped over the top, I was secretly quite relieved to see that Iestyn was also getting rather tired by this point but we knew that we were on the homeward stretch by now (or almost….as there was still another out and back to go). One thing that really amazed we all the way round the track was the variety in the flora…..some dry eucalypts, some open grassland, some cloud forest etc…..it was always changing!

Some of the views en route...

We came to another junction in the track with a clearing containing a few hikers’ packs. This was the start of the 2km out and back to Cape Huay….which appeared to have no flat trail on it at all, everything was ascending or descending, with many more steps which took it out of our tired legs. Still, the Cape itself was definitely worth the trip as the track ended at a little viewing platform where you could look across at the famous climbing stacks of The Totem Pole and The Candlestick.

View from Cape Huay towards the Totem Pole and the Candlestick

As we turned around there, Iestyn said that it was “only a parkrun” back to the car and that we should make it by 3pm if we got a move on. I realised that this meant we would have time to stop for an ice cream on the drive home before the shops shut, so I was off with a bit between my teeth (though it may just have been a parkrun PW due to the nature if the trail and the elevation gain/loss!).

The end is in sight....I can almost taste the ice cream!!!

We made it back to the car tired but happy, as it was a fabulous day out, and I can’t wait to go back with the girls and do it all again, though at a slightly slower speed for better sightseeing……though I still think it rather funny that the Three Capes Track only actually goes to 2 Capes anyway (I’d originally thought that our run had meant we missed one out, but no, there are only 2 that you visit!!).