14km, 6-7 hours
Stuffed the sleeping into the backpack for the last time and headed off at 7.45am to ensure plenty of time to enjoy the last day before catching the 3pm bus back to Port Arthur. First up: a heart-starting climb up Mount Fortescue (482m or 860 steps), to enjoy this glorious view back to Cape Pillar where we had walked the previous day. It feels great to be alive when you see all this by 9am!
The track on the other side of the mountain features a beautiful pocket of rainforest, then eucalypt woodlands with occasional lookouts out to more sea cliffs. Before long you reach the turnoff to Cape Hauy, where we could leave our full packs and venture with just a bottle of water out to the end of the track. The entire Three Capes Track is so well made, it really makes for very easy walking, even on steep climbs.
Dolerite cliffs.
More cliffs.
And still more cliffs, rocks and that endless expanse of the Tasman Sea.
Back at the track junction, we sat for lunch before the final leg to Fortescue Bay. I started to feel sad it was coming to an end and overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. On the final carved seat on the track, I sat for a while, soaking in the peace and quiet, little birds hopping around me.
Not far on, a sign and scuplture marked the end of the track, with views out to beautiful Fortescue Bay.
The white sand and bright blue water are a sight for sore feet!
I got so lucky on this walk. There were only seven of us who departed on 27 May, compared to the full contingent of 48 walkers (the maximum allowed) who walked every day between October and May. We each had a room to ourselves and peace and quiet on the track. I feel grateful to have shared it with a terrific group of people whose company I got to enjoy each evening as we shared yarns, wine, custard (!), chocolate and lots of laughs. Thank you Jessica, Dave, Lesley, Kerry, Stephen and Derren, it was a hoot!
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