East Cloudy Head Track
South Bruny Island
Directions - Located on South Bruny Island, the East Cloudy Head Track can be reached by heading south on Bruny Island Main Road and turn left onto Cloudy Bay Road when you reach the small hamlet of Lunawanna. Continue along Cloudy Bay Road as it turns into a gravel road until you reach the small car park at the end. The walk starts by heading along the beach or if you want to cut out the beach walking and have a 4x4, then drive out to Cloudy Corner Campsite at the end of the beach.
The Hike - With my time on Bruny Island coming to an end, I had a long day of hiking planned that start on the Mavista Nature Walk and then continued on Mount Mangana and the Fluted Cape Walk. With one more hike to do on the island before I had pretty much completed everything, I drove south with the aim of finishing off the collection. Stopping off at the Inala Jurassic Garden on the drive here, I always enjoy a botanical garden and this was not a bad visit if you have the time.
Arriving at East Cloudy Head around 4pm, I was loving being in Tassie in summer and having the opportunity to get in a 14km hike at this time of day. Even so, I had about five hours to finish the hike and drive back to my accommodation in the daylight, as I didn't want to drive in the dark if I didn't have to, given the surprise wildlife that likes to bound onto the road. As I found out when I arrived, this spot is quite popular during the summer holidays and with a hard stretch of beach, it seemed to be just another road. Although I was planning to walk the beach section anyway, I don't think my Corolla hire car would have survived the crossing of Sheepwash Creek as it drains into the bay. Gathering all my gear, I was soon on the sand and hopping on rocks over the shallow stream of water that was the creek. With a bit under three kilometres of beach walking to get through before the end of the bay, I put my head down and soldiered on.
With flat and hard sand to deal with, it was a pleasant stroll along the wide bay, and with perfect weather, I was feeling lucky to be here. With the views not really changing too much, I settled into a rhythm, keeping an eye out for anything that peaked my interest. Early on that was a large flock of seagulls and larger Pacific Gulls. As I moved towards them, they decided that they didn't want to be my friend and flew off. With time a bit of a factor, I used this easy and flat walking to pick up the pace, only really stopping to take a photo or two, and to look at the washed up shells. Getting passed by many 4x4s, the inhabitants seemed to enjoy breaking traction and driving all over the shop at great speed. Spotting a few baby Pied Oystercatchers running across the sand near the dunes, I do wonder how many get run over by these hoons each summer.
One wholesome activity that I was enjoying was a family in the water trying to catch some small waves, with another family further up having a cracking game of beach cricket. With a long boundary on the leg side, I was hoping the ball would be hit skyward near me but I remained just a spectator. The scenery was slowly changing as I rounded the bay, with a sailboat in the distance being my point of reference for any change. As it got close, I was getting excited for a different type of terrain and with the end of the bay near, I crossed a creek that starts from the nearby slopes of Mount Bruny. Right after the creek I spotted the road leading off the beach and up towards Cloudy Corner Campground. I figured this would also be a popular spot given how many cars I had spotted driving along the beach and when I reached the proper campground, this was confirmed.
There were still spaces available at the back but much like the rest of the island, it seemed like the place to be these summer holidays. Looking a little lost, I was on the search for the official start of the East Cloudy Head Track, eventually locating a promising track that led away from the campsite and in the right direction. The thicker forest was a delight after the exposed beach walking and I was hoping for more of it as the hike continued. Rounding a corner I found the familiar walkers registration box that is common on most of the longer day hikes in Tasmania. Recording my details, I noted a few others had enjoyed the walk already today and that I might expect to run into a couple more. Heading off into the Bracken Fern filled forest, from here onwards it would be a slow climb to the cliffs of East Cloudy Head that sit 290m ASL.
The shady forest didn't last long as you leave the small creek and head out into the open plains near the coast. Back into exposed terrain, the Bracken Ferns continued and lined the sandy track as it carves a path through this flat section. Taking a left turn, this is where the climbing begins and you get a nice view of the headland that was the goal for the afternoon. The Bracken Fern is replaced with typical coastal scrub that provided a splash of colour every now and then with some Slender Twine-Rush, Common Heath and Silver Banksia. The soft sand found on the climb is helped by some erosion control efforts including wooden steps but these things are only temporarily as sand is tricky beast to master. Hearing a familiar call coming from the skies above, I looked up to see a crackle of Black Cockatoos soaring in the distance and I'm a big fan of these cheeky birds.
In one of the small dips I spotted a couple of humans in the distance coming towards me and soon we were face to face having a chat. I saw they had plastic helmets attached to their bags and surmised that they were doing a bit of rock climbing, so asked how it was. After a bit of back and forth, they headed off and I was excited for what I assumed was some nice rocky spires to photograph. Heading off, the climbing continued, with gentle gradients topping out at about 20-25%, so nothing too bad. As I got higher, the views started to open up a bit more, with the nearby headland looking quite nice and Cape Bruny Lighthouse across the bay just visible. Getting high enough to see back towards the beach section I had walked along to get here. As I reached the top of the main climb, I was loving looking across the bay and the various hills of South Bruny Island and looking further towards the mainland.
With the bulk of the climbing over, I thought it was just a little push ahead until I reached some epic coastal cliffs but the track takes a turn to the left and through some head high vegetation that blocks off the views. This doesn't last long and before you know it, you pop out onto the other side of the hill you have just climbed and a whole new world emerges. Gone are the views overlooking Cloudy Bay, replaced with the imposed hills surrounding Mount Bruny and the jagged cliffs of Pyramid Bay to the east. Looking down into the valley in front of Mount Bruny and then slowly shifting your gaze towards Pyramid Bay was a delight and this section really made the hike feel special. While Cloudy Bay was nice, it's areas like this that make hiking a rewarding experience as you can't just drive here to get the views. Now on the east side of the hill, you hug the contours as you make your way towards the summit of East Cloudy Head.
The epic views continue to be amazing and the rock formation that gives Pyramid Bay its name, changes shape as your perspective changes the more distance you cover. Zooming in on the cliffs below, I was having a blast shooting this scene from all different angles but was keen to see what was ahead, namely any rocky spires or close up sea cliffs. The track occasionally snakes back towards the hill, taking you into the mature forest, before popping back out for more amazing views. Eventually you head into the forest for good and traverse the ridge leading to the summit, marked by a metal trig tower that is common on peaks in Tasmania but not one I was expecting to see here. Being in the middle of tree cover, I assumed there were better views along the track that seemed to continue couth and after exploring a few tracks, I popped out onto the west side of the ridge and a rocky platform.
These views are about as good as you're going to get from the summit, with this spot overlooking Cloudy Bay. I had assumed the rock climbers had visited here and there were easily accessible cliffs nearby so kept searching along rough tracks leading down the hills but eventually gave up as they led nowhere. Looking at the map, they may have taken a side track well before the main hill and visited a place the rock climbing websites suggest is Hidden Zawn. Having to be content with what I had already seen, I ventured back to the summit and heard a familiar rustle in the bushes as I reached the trig marker. Sure enough, there was an echidna shuffling around the undergrowth looking for food and I was able to get a few photos before it scurried off. This ended up being my fifth echidna for the trip and well and truly meant I was not as cursed on the Apple Isle than I am back home in Western Australia. Having reached the end of the track, I had plenty of time to get back to the car and drive home before the light disappeared so set about retracing my steps. I always find that a hobbit trail (there and back again) provides a different perspective on the way home, so never find them to be as boring as others make them out to be.
You never know what you might find that you missed the first time out, plus the views are always different and the lighting has changed. Heading down the main hill, the views looking over Cloudy Bay were a treat as that's were your gaze is fixed most of the time and when I reached the registration box, I noticed a more direct path to the beach that meant I didn't have to walk through the campsite again. On the beach I decided to take my shoes off for the rest of the journey back to the car and tried my best to ignore the hoon activity from the bogans driving up and down the beach. About halfway down the beach I was approached by a tourist walking in the other direction and he wanted to know about the campsite and if his hire van could make the journey over the creek. I was a bit hesitant about the creek crossing but advised him that once he was on the beach, it was hard sand and he wouldn't have an issue. I didn't stay long enough to see if he made it over the creek but it seemed like he hadn't really thought his accommodation through for the evening. Hike over, I drove back to my accommodation, really pleased with my full day of hiking and eager to return home to Fremantle the following day after two weeks of epic summer adventures in Tasmania.
Final Thoughts – My final walk on Bruny Island turned out to be a fitting goodbye to a place that I really enjoyed visiting.
The extended beach walking was a nice start and finish to the hike and the inland section provided something different that added to the experience.
While the views from East Cloudy Head are limited, the section before overlooking Pyramid Bay more than makes up for that. Another lovely hike that I've had the privilege of walking.
Get out there and experience it!
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