With 3 months in a remote location, I made the most of my free time by going on some hikes. Thankfully, the Tasman Peninsula boasts some great hiking tracks, many of which were easily accessible. I’ll showcase two, the Shipsterns Bluff hike and Cape Hauy.

The first hike I did with the group of friends I worked with at Parson’s Bay Retreat was to Shipsterns Bluff, overlooking some great sea cliffs in the area. The hike was relatively short, mostly in the forest, but did end up at some stunning cliffs. Far down below was Cape Raoul on one side.

Looking the other direction, this was where we had a snack break and could also see the edge of Shipsterns bluff itself. After the break we headed over that direction to see what we could see.

The view from up here was great. Way down below was the famous surf break of Shipsterns Bluff, apparently one of the best surfing spots in Tasmania. One of the group was an avid surfer so she explored the area further another day. For the rest of us, we headed back to the motel and eco-village, our hiking for the day complete.

A little while later I headed out on another hike with just one hiking friend this time. We planned out a longer and tougher hike this time, to Cape Hauy. Right away we found some fuzzy wildlife.

The weather wasn’t overly great that day and did rain from time to time. But looking back at Fortescue Bay made for a nice memory as we hiked up into a forest, obscuring all views for quite some time.

After a good climb the trees started to part and we saw our destination of Cape Hauy stretching out before us.

The clouds still hadn’t broken much so I’ll just play with Lightroom now to at least liven up the dreary grey pictures.

Leaving the treed hill, the track stretched out before us and would soon allow great views in all directions.

And mercifully the clouds finally broke a bit, allowing a bit more colour (and a rainbow) into the scenery!

The sea cliffs here were spectacular and tall, and not far from the path at times.

I got close on a few occasions and looked down…waaaaaaaaaay down.

The way back to Fortescue Bay was still cloaked in grey clouds, but a few spots of blue were beginning to pop through.

Finally, the end of our hike, the cliffs of Cape Hauy. A great spot for a lunch! In the sun!

Not long before I had been standing on the top of those rocks…

To try and give a sense of scale, I’m in this picture. In the very middle. Ya, that tiny smudge. The cliffs here are huge!

Walking back in the lovely sunshine, admiring the great scenery.

When we got back to Fortescue bay the cloud cover was back and grey prevailed once again.

Despite the temperamental weather the hike was a fantastic one. The track was well groomed and an appropriate challenge at 3-4 hours with some serious hill climbing. The scenery was stunning and fantastic to take in. And it was quiet too, being late fall/early winter the area was definitely in the low season. We only saw a few other people during the hike, the way hiking should be! All in all the Tasman Peninsula had some great hikes to take in the scenery.