Walk Tasmania's Bay of Fires

Welcome to Launceston – the first stop on our Tasmanian walking trip. With powdery beaches, snow-capped mountains and cities brimming with character and charm, Tasmania offers all kinds of delights. Launceston is one of Australia’s oldest settlements and boasts incredible architecture and heritage streetscapes. It’s also one of only two cities in the entire country lucky enough to be listed as a UNESCO city of gastronomy – yeah, amongst other things, it’s a foodie’s paradise. If you arrive early today, why not make your way to Cataract Gorge, just 1.5km from the city centre. You could be in the city one minute and the next, in the middle of an incredible 65-million-year-old gorge. Spoiler alert – it’s well and truly worth the visit. Or, if the arts are more your thing – you won’t have to look far to find a museum or art gallery to tickle your fancy. Tonight, you’ll meet your local leader and fellow walking companions in the lobby of your hotel at 6pm for an important welcome meeting to get your ready for the upcoming days adventures. After the meeting, you’ll get to know your fellow travellers over a group dinner together.

Your day starts bright and early today with a 7:30am departure from Launceston, heading east to St Helens. After a moment for a homemade morning tea, we’ll continue to Binalong Bay and the southern end of larapuna and the Bay of Fires. Here, start your first walk of the trip in Humbug Point Conservation Area and explore the coastline north of Binalong Bay. Keep an eye out for local wildlife like wallabies and echidnas along the way, and if you're a bird lover you’re in luck – you might spot pied oystercatchers, pacific seagulls and even pelicans taking to the skies here. After today’s walk, you’ll check in to your accommodation for the next three nights in St Helens, a quaint town perfectly positioned to explore the walking trails of Tasmania’s north-east coast. Tonight, enjoy dinner with your fellow travellers.

This morning, say goodbye to St Helens (just for the day, don’t worry) as you drive to Eddystone Lighthouse to enjoy the view along the Bay of Fires (larapuna). From here, you’ll head to Deep Creek Campground where you’ll begin today’s walk along the park's isolated, white-powder beaches dotted with rocky outcrops, lapped by turquoise water. Keep your eye out for some of the many shorebirds that call this area home. Depending on tide heights you may need to roll up your jeans and take off your shoes to cross Deep Creek on your way today – it’s all part of the adventure, right? Be sure to pack a towel and perhaps a spare pair of pants for the trip home (just in case). At the end of today’s walk, you’ll head back to St Helens, with the possibility of a stop at a local winery along the way (time and group dependant).

After breakfast, more white sand beaches await you. You’ll drive to Policeman’s Point, stopping for morning tea and lunch with a view along the way. Here, you’ll find boardwalks and lookout platforms across bright white sands, fiery lichen boulders and water clear right to the seabed. This is the most challenging walk of the trip so you can expect a few loose pebbles and headlands to scramble over and navigate around. Don’t worry, it’s nothing that you won’t be able to handle under the experienced guidance of your leader. The walk finishes at The Gardens, where you’ll make head way back to your cosy accommodation and enjoy a hearty meal with your fellow travellers and toast to the final evening of the trip.

Today, we're shaking things up and heading to the Blue Tier sub-alpine plateau. This area boasts various rainforest walks, each with different levels of ease and difficulty. There’s the 600 metre Goblin Forest walk which meanders easily along a path and explores the history of tin-mining in the region. Or there’s the more challenging Mount Michael loop track which takes you through mature rainforest to reach the top of Mount Michael. You’ll reach sub-alpine vegetation as you near the summit – some 800m above sea level. From here, you’ll enjoy the spectacular views over St Helens and through to the east coast. Your expert guides will choose today’s tracks, considering weather and track conditions. From the Blue Tier area, drive back to Launceston where our adventure comes to an end in the late afternoon.