Bushwalk Australia

Hi All,

Am in Hobart for 8 nights (April 10 - April 18) with family and have two days I can go solo walking. My family and I will already be exploring Wellington Park on the days I'm not walking on my own. On a previous trip in winter I did the following day walks:

- The Needles and Mt Sprent https://www.travelwithpete.com/tassie-trip-winter-2018-day-8-the-needles-mt-sprent/
- Mount Amos in Freycinet National Park https://www.travelwithpete.com/tassie-trip-winter-2018-day-11-mt-amos/

However, both of the above walks were in good weather. My original plan this time around was to do the following:

- Tarn Shelf Circuit, specifically to look at the fagus, followed by a quick look at Russell Falls
- Sunrise walk to Mount Wedge in Southwest National Park OR Hartz peak and Mt Snowy circuit

Looking at the weather forecast for Saturday onwards I'm now not so sure, http://www.bom.gov.au/tas/forecasts/mount-field.shtml.

Any suggestions for good days hikes from Hobart if the weather is a bit dicey or am misreading the forecast and should I just go for it?

If you want good weather, the best place to go in that period is the East Coast, north of Bicheno. But day trips to St Helens and points north might be a bit too far.

Will the fagus be worth seeing in poor weather at this time? I thought that traditionally it starts about ANZAC day, but the best has been later than that in the last few years.

Hartz mountains is generally not recommended in poor weather. There will be just as much rain on Tasman Peninsular, but it won't be as cold, so you could consider walks there, where there are some great cliffs.

With an ordinary forecast, any exposed mountain isn't really a pleasant place to be (as I'm sure you're aware!).
There are plenty of other walking options though:
-The waterfall circuit at Mt Field (can be busy on weekends)
-Capes Hauy, Raoul or even Pillar in a long day. I've always liked Cape Surville, but that gets far fewer visitors, and isn't maintained or signposted (unless you go via MacGregor Peak, which itself is also not too bad a walk).
-Possibly Mt Dromedary and/or Platform Peak (but both are over 900m high, so may be miserable in the wrong conditions). Impressive beehive cairn on Platform Peak though.
-Maria Island has a few options, but isn't really worth it if you're only there for a day (because of the ferry cost).
-Bruny Island also has a plethora of options. Ferry is cheaper and operates more frequently, so it's easier to organise a day trip to Bruny. Fluted Cape, Cape Queen Elizabeth, East Cloudy Head, and Labillardiere Peninsula would be the most popular walks on Bruny.
-South Cape Bay is easy, but rewarding. Can go all the way to South Cape Rivulet, or pull up earlier at Lion Rock.
-Adamsons Falls is quite wet and muddy, but is a fantastic waterfall after rain. If you're adventurous, you can make it a circuit and go via Creekton Falls and Duckhole Lake, but that is some slow and technical going; quite an awkward route.
-Possibly Lake Skinner, but that is also quite an exposed spot.

I'd avoid Pillar and Raoul if it's going to be windy and wet, as the lookouts would be very unpleasant. Macgregor/Fazackerley circuit on the Forestier is always a good walk, the same with Cape Surville (there's a connection between the two but it might make for a longer day than you want. Bruny Island is a good suggestion, ditto South Cape Bay. Waterfalls are always good when it's cold and wet, so as well as the circuit at Mt Field there's Marriotts on the way down there.

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone! I think I’ll head to some nice forests and waterfalls on one of the days and do some more research for the second day