Point Sorell - Sat. 14th April 2018

Boots N' All has done some walks in the region of Port Sorell, but this may well be the first to Point Sorell. An easy coastal walk starting from Hawley Beach, the relatively short day allows for a later start, and perhaps coffee at some local establishment, or on the way home.

Walk route:
The walk begins towards the northern end of Hawley Beach, passing Hawley House and then easy walking northward along a good track (not suitable for strollers or wheelchairs) through open coastal grassland to reach a more rocky part of the coast near Point Sorell. The northernmost part of the walk is along the untracked rocky seashore, but the interesting scenery should make it worthwhile. Penguins inhabit the area, but are unlikely to be seen during daylight hours. On clear days, there are views west to Devonport and beyond, and east to Badger Head and West Head. The plan is to have lunch at Point Sorell, returning to Hawley by mid afternoon.
By this time of the year, a swim at the beach after the walk is a less inviting option, but a sunny day might convince some to at least cool their feet after the walk!
This walk would be suitable for less experienced walkers, and for families with younger, but reasonably energetic, children.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Terry Heier, Ph. 6393 6671 to book in.  to book in. Meet at Door of Hope carpark by 9 am. It may also be possible to meet the group at Deloraine at 9:30 am, but please confirm this, and other meeting places, with the leader. The leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time.

To access this area from northern Tasmania: 
There are several ways to access the Hawley area from Launceston. The shortest route is via Bass Highway to Sassafras, then turn right into Chapel Road which is followed north through Harford, continuing as Woodberry Lane and Parkers Ford Road, to the roundabout on Port Sorell Rd. Continue north past the roundabout, with some local turns to eventually arrive at Hawley Beach. The intended start of the walk is near the toilet block towards the northern end of the beach. Distance via this route is about 81 km. Another popular route is via Riverside to Exeter, and then west via Frankford Road, eventually reaching Harford about 2 km past the Rubicon River, and north via Woodberry Lane as descibed above. Hawley Beach is even easier to reach from the Devonport-Latrobe area!

Warnings:
No particular warnings, but make sure you have clothing for both warm and cool weather including raincoat, a hat and durable shoes. Well made sneakers should be fine. Please carry a drink - we suggest 750ml to 1 litre per person in case the day is warm.

If unsure of equipment requirements for bushwalking, see www.sutas.org.au/bush-walking/bush-walking for some guidelines.


Map details:

Cape Sorell: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8215 (Tamar) and 1:25000 map is 4644 (Port Sorell)
Map reference:
Short ref. n/a
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G     4 60 724      54 47 911     -41.07149      146.31929

No peakbagger points on this walk! For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be downloaded (Excel) from http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm  The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.

GPX version of the track: Click here to download. Google Earth version of the track: Click here to download.
Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice. (Suggest you click the Last modified at top to sort by date to get the most recent at top to find the file for the next walk).