With family on board, we have spent the last six days along the dramatic coastline of the Tasman Peninsula, renowned for the Southern Hemisphere’s tallest sea cliffs and rich historical sites. What a week!

We started gently. We left Hobart surrounds last Friday, reaching the Tasman Peninsula at Nubeena. It was a light sail for our guests Murray (Wade’s brother) and Maree to get into the swing of things. Dolphins, Albatrosses were keeping us company, a delight we never tire of.

From then on, it was a week of absolute treats. We had a series of spectacular passages in light conditions, allowing us to get very close to the jaw dropping cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula. Each activity had its rewards: we alternated between sailing one day, visiting or walking the next. The highlights were seeing the Three Capes up close (Cape Raoul, Cape Pillar and Cape Hauy, all made of the awe-inspiring dolerite columns) and visiting Port Arthur. Our anchorages were peaceful: Safety Cove, Ladies Bay, Canoe Bay, all offering a serene feel with wonderful views.

Cape Raoul

The 253m Dolerite cliffs drop straight down into the ocean, with their characteristic fluted pillars which naval vessels once used for target practice until people protested against such vandalism. Towering columns, pillars extending to huge fingers pointing into the sky, Cape Raoul is nothing like you might have seen before. With calm weather, we were able to cruise close to the towering cliffs and even spotted two pairs of rock climbers!

Remarkable Cave and Maingon Blowhole

Deep into the bays, the geology changes from vertical dolerite columns to horizontal layers of sedimentary sandstone. Strong southwesterlies generate pounding waves that attack weaknesses in the rock and erode the coastline, so caves are numerous. A notable one, the tunnel-shaped Remarkable Cave, was formed through years of torment from crashing waves, eventually causing a wall of the sandstone cave to collapse and create the tunnel that stands today.  We saw it both from the ocean and from the shore as we walked to it from our anchorage at Safety Cove. A few kilometres further was the Blowhole, which was not very blowy, but interesting nevertheless.

Port Arthur

Hidden inside a deep bay, the Historical Site of Port Arthur is quite striking when you arrive from the sea. We did not anchor in front, but came in close to give Murray and Maree a view they never had before, then went around the corner to Ladies Bay.

Port Arthur is a place of duality: on the one hand the beauty of the sandstone and brick ruins, the well tendered gardens of the open-air museum we visit nowadays, but on the other hand the brutality of its history as a 19th-century penal settlement of the most severe kind. The site includes the huge penitentiary, the remaining shell of the Convict Church built by inmates and the Solitary confinement cells in the Separate Prison building which were used to inflict mental punishment in place of floggings. We spent two days there enjoying being tourists while imagining what life would have been like for the poor souls who ended up there, and filling our backpacks with apples and pears from the orchard, left there for the picking.

Cape Pillar

Our passage from Port Arthur to Canoe Bay, inside the large Fortescue Bay was an early morning affair before the strong wind set in. Along the way were the magnificent 300m high cliffs of Cape Pillar and Tasman Island. It was a little rock and rolly around the narrow passage between the Cape and the Island, and the seals must have still been asleep as we did not see any, but the dawn light was interesting and the silhouetted coastline imposing.

Cape Hauy

The passage took us around the third cape: Cape Hauy with its distinctive dolerite columns jutting out into the sea. Directly in front of the Cape are more sea stacks: the Totem Pole, Candle Stick and the Lanterns which are popular with rockclimbers. We came close with Anui, then rounded the point into Fortescue Bay with its side cove of Canoe Bay, where we anchored.

The Cape is the cliff to the left of the central pinnacle of the Totem Pole in the photo. You can just see the balustrade at the top. It is about 300m high.

For heady views vertically down and across the entire coastline, we hiked to Cape Hauy the next day, a 9.5kms return trek. During the first three kilometres or so the track undulates through woodlands and heath, before opening up to spectacular views. This is when the steep sections begin, with stone steps taking you down, down, down, before ascending up and up, and down and up again towards the cape. Apparently there are 4500 stone steps along the trip there and back! It is hard yakka but worth it. Cape Hauy plunges into the restless ocean, with breathtaking views on both sides. It is quite exposed. All you hear up there are the sounds of seabirds and whistling wind.

Today as we post this, we continue along the East Coast of Tasmania. We have left the Tasman Peninsula and are anchored at Maria Island. More on this next week!