| Stretching
for a mere 12km along the coast, from Sisters Beach to Rocky Cape, are the
rugged hills and cliffs of Rocky Cape National Park, Tasmania’s
smallest national park, created in 1967 for the purpose of preserving some
remarkable Aboriginal archeological finds. The mainly quartzite
hills are pockmarked with caves, of which the two major ones, North Cave
and South Cave, contain huge shell middens, bones and stone tools dating
back as far as eight thousand years, when the sea was several fathoms
below its current level.
Although North Cave can be visited – it’s a
fifteen-minute walk there and back from the road, reached by driving 5km
into the park and taking the left fork at the lighthouse – most people
prefer just to walk along the various easy tracks. It takes seven hours to
traverse the whole length of the park; there’s no water (bring your own)
and no toilets, which makes camping more difficult – and it’s not
encouraged. Rocky pools, safe swimming beaches and picnic areas are
scattered along the route, while in spring and summer there’s a
profusion of wild flowers on the scrubby heathland, including some unique
native orchids. At dusk you may see wallabies, echidnas and various
species of bird. |