Cape Queen Elizabeth Track
North Bruny Island
Directions - Located on North Bruny Island, after catching the ferry from Kettering, drive along Bruny Island Main Road for 18.5km. The small car park for the Cape Queen Elizabeth Track is located on the other side of the road from Bruny Island Honey. Walk through the gates to start the walk and follow the vehicle track towards the coast.
The Hike - With a New Years trip to Tasmania planned, with the South Coast Track as the main goal, I decided to tack on a few more days while I was here to explore the island further. Having visited a few times over the recent past, one destination that looked great for a summer visit was Bruny Island. A quick bit of research indicated I wasn't short of options for great hikes on the island, so when the logistics of tacking on a trip to Walls of Jerusalem or Frenchmans Cap proved a bit difficult for my short timeframe, I booked accommodation on Bruny Island instead.
After spending a rest day in Hobart after the South Coast Track, washing clothes, eating all of the food and catching up on life, I was ready to head out to Bruny Island. With three full days on the island to explore all the hiking tracks and various touristy places, it was going to be an action packed trip. After stocking up on supplies in Hobart, I made my way down to Kettering to catch the ferry across to North Bruny Island. My accommodation was located just north of The Neck, the small strip of land connecting North and South Bruny Island, and was right behind the Bruny Island Cheese Company. After settling in to my home for the next few days, I was keen to get out and hike the nearby Cape Queen Elizabeth Track as my introduction to Bruny Island. Diving into a 14km hike straight up, this would be more relaxing now I didn't have to carry my entire life on my back, like I did on the South Coast Track. Driving the short journey to opposite Bruny Island Honey, the car park was almost full but given it was school holidays, this was not surprising.
Arriving just after 1:30pm, I had plenty of time left in the day given it was near the summer solstice, so applied sunscreen and got going. The first part of the hike seemed pretty straight forward, an old vehicle track that has been gated off. While not thrilling walking, I was loving the large trees on each side of the track, creating a tunnel like effect that was nice to photograph. Reaching the blue Walkers Registration box, I signed my name in before continuing along. This first section is just the most convenient way to the coast, sandwiched between the Bruny Island Airstrip to your right, and some farmland to your left. Driving from the ferry, the north island gave me the impression it was more geared to agriculture for the main land use, while the south island contained more of the wilderness. This gentle start to the hike was pleasant enough, and I was enjoying spotting wildflowers dotted along the edge of the track. After a while, the hardened ground gives way to softer sand as you exit the forest and enter the coastal heath near Big Lagoon.
After a short patch of soft sand, I reached an area that had clearly had a fire rip through in the recent past given the blackened trees and thick regrowth. Feeling very much at home given how heavy handed prescribed burning is handled back in Western Australia, I was hoping it didn't last too long. Winding along, the burnt vegetation did mean I could see far and wide over Big Lagoon to my right and what a sight it was. The blackened skeletal trees provided something different to photograph and reminded me of the Bunker Bay Loop I had walked a few months earlier. Continuing on, I made my way past Big Lagoon and was soon on the edge of Little Lagoon, which you get a lot closer to, and as the name suggests is much smaller than Big Lagoon. It was looking lovely in the afternoon light and there were some larger trees towards the end of this stretch that were a welcome relief. Rising up a small hill, this marked another change of scenery with lower coastal scrub being the main vegetation type all the way to the beach.
The fire had not made it this far but a new obstacle presented itself in the form of a really overgrown track. Usually I wear hiking pants, no matter what the weather is like but for this hike I had decided to hike in shorts given it was near the coast. This proved a silly choice as the scrub and grasses brushed up against my leg, with the track barely visible in places. Luckily it didn't last long and I was soon staring at the wooden sign pointing you either to the low tide route or up Mars Bluff, which is the high tide route. I was within a couple of hours of low tide, so was hoping this would be enough to grant me passage along the beach, rather than take Mars Bluff. Wandering down to the beach, there were a few people here just chilling next to the limestone cliffs. I ventured down to the edge of the water and hopped on the limestone to see if I could find a way across. The water was probably crossable if I removed my shoes and waded through but I decided to take the high tide way and see what it was like on the way back, given that would be closer to low tide.
Doubling back, I left the beach and headed into the coastal scrub to reach the high tide route up Mars Bluff. Given the overgrown nature of the main trail leading in, I was slightly worried that the high tide path might be in worse shape. Initially it was the same level of overgrown as before but as I started to climb, it widened and became a proper track. Some work has been done to stablilise the track in the past, with wooden steps and a platform installed but most of them have been buried in sand. The gradient goes north of 20% for a short while and in the soft sand this was a bit of a slog in the afternoon sun. The reward was some great views looking back over the two lagoons and off towards The Neck and South Bruny Island. Along this section I was pleased to see some wildflowers with the pink bells of the Common Heath plant brightening up the landscape. Coming across a star shaped pink flower I had not seen before, I thought it was a Bruny Island native but as it turns out, it was Common Centuary, an introduced species.
That would be a theme as I continued on but not one I was aware of at the time (I found out while cataloguing my photos on iNaturalist). At the top of the hill there were some lovely old She-oaks that lead into a small forested section with views overlooking Moorina Bay and Cape Queen Elizabeth. I think you can guess who it was named after but for most of the walk I kept repeating a line from this scene in The Descendants (one of my favourite movies). Taking the high tide path was turning out to be quite scenic, as you head down towards a wooden staircase that takes you into the dune system behind Miles Beach. Unsure of where to go initially, the correct way is to follow the wide sand bar leading to the right and follow that all the way to the beach. If I'd done my research properly before coming out, I would have realised that the famous Rock Arch was at the end of the beach and not missed it entirely. Joining the beach, the next 800m was the nice hard sand of Miles Beach. A yacht had parked up in Moorina Bay and served as a nice feature to photograph as I walked along.
With beautiful sunshine and no wind, this was really pleasant walking that I was hoping would last for the rest of my Bruny Island stay. Another feature I missed because I didn't read blog posts before coming out (always read blog posts) was the Cardboard Goblet, a little shack in the dunes behind Miles Beach that was built by some mates in the 1950s. Apparently it can be found by taking a left before the beach exit and following Miles Creek as it heads into the hills. Not knowing about the shack, I located the beach exit and proceeded to climb up the narrow track leaving Miles Beach. It's a 50m vertical climb where you will reach a vehicle track. Follow the wooden Walking Track signs and join a single track that will take you out towards the end of Cape Queen Elizabeth. Entering a forested section, this was much better scenery and made the hike feel a bit more like a proper nature experience. Switching between shaded forest full of creamy eucalyptus trunks and more exposed areas that provided views looking out over Moorina Bay, this brought a smile to my face.
There was a really cool section of Bracken Ferns right on the edge of the trail that opened up the views looking towards Adventure Bay and the Fluted Cliffs. With this being my first hike on Bruny Island, I was excited to see what the rest of the island had in store for me, and seeing the hills in the distance only added to that. It's about 1.5km from leaving the vehicle track to the end of Cape Queen Elizabeth, with a lot of variety in the terrain you cover. Scooting the edge of the cape facing Moorina Bay, the inland area leading up the hill towards the ridge line looked very intriguing thanks to the thicker forest but I understand the decision to have the track where it is. After passing through some coastal heath, I reached the first of many cairns used to guide you up towards the end of the cape. It's a bit of a maze through here and I found that the path I took up was not the same one I followed back down. I reached the last cairn all the same and from here there are some stunning views to marvel at.
Looking to the east, I noticed some familiar shapes in the form of Cape Raoul and the Tasman Peninsula, recalling the excellent experience I had hiking there previously. To the south was Adventure Bay and the Fluted Cliffs, along with the rest of South Bruny Island I would explore over the next couple of days. One view I always enjoy is staring out over the vastness of the empty ocean. Looking south-east, there was nothing but the flat Southern Ocean until the horizon. Closer to home, there are some stunning cliffs below if you explore the end of the cape. Head to the eastern side and you'll see a rocky chasm that has been carved into the headland, and I imagine on a wilder day it would be quite the sight seeing the waves crash into the narrow gap. After taking many photos and having a good poke around, I headed back the way I came, exploring more of the side that overlooks Moorina Bay. Here there was a nice cliff jutting out into the water and a few rocky islands at the base of the cape. The walk back to the beach was really enjoyable as heading this way provides the best views looking back towards Moorina Bay and Mars Bluff.
One cool part of the walk back was when I reached a grassy section and every step I took seemed to disturb dozens of grasshoppers. It was hard to take a photo of them as they seemed to react well before I could but after a bit of practice, I crept up on one and got that all important shot. Another fun find was a butterfly that turned out to be a drearily named Common Brown but I had fun waiting for it to land somewhere and stay long enough for a photo. Arriving back on Miles Beach, the mid afternoon sun would mostly be right in my eyeline for the return journey but that was okay. For some reason I cannot remember now, I decided against checking out if the low tide way was passable. Perhaps I had seen it from Cape Queen Elizabeth and decided it was still impassable but whatever my reasoning was, I missed out on seeing the Rock Arch up close. The rest of the journey back to the car was pleasant with some cool finds including a Tricolour Soldier Beetle on a flowering eucalyptus and a Bennett's Wallaby on the track. Walk over, I was happy with my first Bruny Island hike and still had enough time in the day to head back to accommodation to relax before checking out The Neck.
Final Thoughts – Rule number one when deciding to do a new hike is research beforehand. As someone who has a website dedicated to this exact thing, I'm kicking myself that I didn't take my own advice.
Every post and website you see about Cape Queen Elizabeth refers to the Rock Arch, with a handful mentioning the shack just off Miles Beach.
Lesson well and truly learned after this one, don't be like me.
While it may not be as jaw droppingly stunning as the Fluted Capes or East Cloudy Head Bay, the Cape Queen Elizabeth Track is worth doing if you're avid hiker.
The first bit leading towards the beach was fine, probably less enjoyable after the fire had gone through, but the journey out to the cape more than made up for that. I did start to wonder if doing the South Coast Track had spoiled regular hikes like this one but it eventually redeemed itself.
Get out there and experience it!
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