Discover Rocky Cape

Around Rocky Cape, coastal landscapes, geology, nature and Aboriginal cultural heritage come together. The themes range from rock formations and distinctive plants to walks and cultural sites. If you are looking for a hotel, first consider whether landscapes and time outdoors, or cultural history, will shape your trip more strongly.

Landscape, Rocks and Plants

In Rocky Cape National Park, sea caves, rock pools and sheltered beaches are part of the coastal scenery. The twisted and distorted rocks there formed over millions of years. Near Rocky Cape Lighthouse, rock formations are made of Precambrian quartzite, one of Tasmania’s oldest rock types. Uplift and folding of the rock created their distinctive patterns.

The plant life also has a special connection to the area: Rocky Cape National Park is home to a stand of saw banksia (Banksia serrata) in the hills overlooking Sisters Beach. This species is restricted to a small part of Tasmania, but is common on the Australian mainland. The plants are characterised by gnarled trunks and branches, toothed leaves and large, bottlebrush-like flowers. Eight of Tasmania’s ten honeyeater species have been recorded in the park.

Cultural Sites and Coastal History

Rocky Cape National Park contains significant Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural sites, including caves with living areas, artefacts and rock shelters dating back thousands of years. They offer insights into the way of life of coastal Aboriginal people. The Tasmanian Aboriginal community remains culturally and spiritually connected to this place and actively participates in managing the park.

The cave middens at pinmatik/Rocky Cape also tell of the coast’s importance to food: they illustrate the significant role of local seafood. The accumulated shells and bones form one of the largest and most complete records of Aboriginal people’s way of life on Australia’s coasts.

Walks and Time by the Water

Rocky Cape National Park has numerous walks ranging from 20 minutes to four hours. This range helps you tailor the length of an outing to the time you have available. The park is primarily a day-trip destination and is best explored on foot. Check current conditions before setting out on a walk.

At Mary Ann Cove, you can fish from the beach, swim and go boating. This gives you water-based activities to choose from as well as walks. Combining different timeframes and activities can help you decide what you want to focus on when planning your trip.

More Destinations in Circular Head Council

The wider destination of Circular Head Council has other nature and culture themes that you can include in your plans as destinations in their own right. At The Nut State Reserve, the Nut Summit Circuit is a 2.7-kilometre loop around the plateau; the walk takes about an hour. The reserve is also a breeding ground for short-tailed shearwaters, peregrine falcons, Australian kestrels and little penguins.

At Godfrey’s Beach, visitors can watch little penguins come ashore at night and head to their burrows from a specially built, red-lit platform. The Circular Head Heritage Centre offers a different perspective on the region: its extensive collection includes fossils and geological specimens, as well as local Indigenous cultural items, historic machinery and household objects.

This can help you tailor your search to the themes that matter for your trip.

Discover more destinations: Devonport, West Kentish, Barrington, Claude Road, Moina, Little Swanport, Woodbridge, Eaglehawk Neck.

Return to the overview of destinations: Tasmania.