South Coast Track
- UNESCO World Heritage
An 85 km wilderness walk along the southern coast of Tasmania, from the airstrip at Melaleuca to Cockle Creek, in Southwest National Park.
At a glance
- Starts in
- Melaleuca
- Ends in
- Cockle Creek
- Length
- 85 km
- On foot
- 6–8 days
- Countries
Australia
About the trail
Southwest National Park covers the remote south-western corner of Tasmania and is part of a World Heritage Area. The South Coast Track crosses its southern edge facing the Southern Ocean, from Melaleuca, usually reached by light plane, to Cockle Creek at the end of the road south of Hobart.
The route alternates between long beaches, headlands, buttongrass plains and forested ranges, with many creek and river crossings, a boat crossing and a dinghy row over a lagoon outlet. After Melaleuca there are no huts, campfires are not allowed, and weather off the Southern Ocean can bring strong winds, rain and snow on the heights at any time of year.
The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service gives 85 km over six to eight days and recommends bushwalking experience. Most people fly in with Par Avion from Cambridge, near Hobart, and walk out to Cockle Creek, where buses to Hobart run in peak summer, and a parks pass and an entry in the walkers' logbook are required.