- August 20, 2026
One of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks, crossing duckboarded forest, marshland and heath from Cockle Creek to dramatic cliffs at…
Tasmania’s far south doesn’t get the same foot traffic as Cradle Mountain or Freycinet, but the Hastings Caves — Ida Bay pocket, a couple of hours south of Hobart past Geeveston and Dover, packs in a genuinely odd mix of walking: a warm thermal pool and limestone show cave, a tannin-stained sinkhole lake, a wild cave you can wander into off an old tramway, and a waterfall buried in Southwest National Park rainforest. It’s karst country — the same soft, cave-riddled limestone that runs through the Tarkine further north — and it makes for an easy day or overnight base if you’re heading toward Cockle Creek and the South Coast Track. None of these walks are long, but a couple are muddier and steeper than their length suggests, so budget more time than the distance alone implies. Here are four of the best.
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The easiest option in the area, and a good one to pair with the guided tour through Newdegate Cave. From the visitor centre, a wide boardwalk (the Platypus Walk) loops through wet eucalypt forest behind the thermal pool, and a separate Hot Springs forest walk adds a longer loop through the same reserve. Both are flat, wheelchair-friendly and shaded — a good warm-up before or cooldown after a swim in the 28°C spring-fed pool.
Distance: Up to 1.5km combined • Time: 30–45 minutes • Difficulty: Grade 1 (easy, boardwalk) • Dogs: Not permitted (state reserve)
Nearest campground: Esperance Camping, off the Esperance River Road south of Dover.
An easy walk on the eastern fringe of Southwest National Park, following an old limestone tramway from the Ida Bay Railway line to the mouth of Mystery Creek Cave. The going is flat and well-formed most of the way, with a short rougher stretch near the cave entrance itself — you can duck a little way into the first chamber without gear, where glow-worms are often visible after dark. It sits just outside the park boundary, so no parks pass is needed.
Distance: 4km return • Time: 1.5–2 hours • Difficulty: Grade 2 (easy-moderate, one rocky section) • Dogs: Not permitted
Nearest campground: Esperance Camping, near Dover.
A quiet forest walk through regrowth eucalypt and tea-tree to Duckhole Lake, a still, dark-water sinkhole formed in the same limestone karst as the caves nearby. Most of the route is boardwalk or well-formed track, following a small creek before opening onto the lake itself — a good spot for a quiet lunch stop. It’s inside Southwest National Park, so a parks pass is required.
Distance: 4.4km return • Time: ~1.5 hours • Difficulty: Grade 2 (easy-moderate) • Dogs: Not permitted (national park)
Nearest campground: Esperance Camping — the site listing specifically notes it’s within walking distance of Duckhole Lake.
The toughest walk in this group and the pick if you want a proper waterfall at the end of it. The track pushes into Southwest National Park along Esperance River, boggy underfoot in the first section after rain, before climbing more steeply through forest to the falls. It’s rougher and less maintained than the other three walks here, so allow extra time and expect some scrambling near the top.
Distance: ~6.5km return • Time: 2.5–3.5 hours • Difficulty: Grade 3–4 (moderate-hard, muddy, steep final section) • Dogs: Not permitted (national park)
Nearest campground: Esperance Camping, which sits right at the trailhead.
Hastings Caves State Reserve charges its own entry fee for the guided Newdegate Cave tour and thermal pool — this isn’t covered by a Parks Pass. Duckhole Lake and Adamsons Falls sit inside Southwest National Park, so you’ll need a valid Parks Pass for those two; Mystery Creek Cave and the Hastings reserve walks don’t require one. Dogs aren’t permitted on any of the four walks above — the reserve and national park rules both rule them out, so this isn’t a region to bring the dog along for the walking (Esperance Camping itself is dog-friendly if you’re just basing there).
This is genuine wet, temperate rainforest country, and the tracks to Duckhole Lake and Adamsons Falls can turn to thick mud after rain regardless of season — wear proper boots and expect wet feet on the falls track even in summer. Mobile reception is patchy to non-existent from Dover southward, so let someone know your plans before heading out, especially for the Adamsons Falls walk.
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