Bivouac Bay

Bivouac Bay  is situated in the Tasman National Park and the trail begins at the Eastern end of Fortescue Bay. Fortescue Bay has a camp ground, toilets, walk station and easy beach access. Taking the A9 (Arthur Highway) south takes you through Tarana, where there is a Tasmanian Devil park. As you continue south for a couple of minutes, on your left will soon be a turn off for Fortescue Road, which quickly becomes a dirt road which is easily passable in any vehicle. Boats use this route too, so watch out for big oncoming boats.


When you reach the end of the road you arrive past the walk station and head onwards until you can see the beach. There are benches down there which are a nice scenic place to picnic. The walk begins from the beach just here. You can read the sign for a bit of extra information, I always take a snap of the sign just so I know where I'm going! As you can see it is one of the 60 Great Short Walks.


Walk along the beach to the far end, about three-quarters of the way along there is a river outlet into the sea which requires a run and jump or otherwise a ankle-deep wade. If you're lucky there should be a few handy rocks to hop across without too much fuss. The track continues on until the end of the beach where you head up a bank onto the bush track. You can't get lost! Its a well trodden and managed track (where needed).

(Fortescue Bay from the beginning of the bush track)

Point to note: Trees often fall across the track and can take time to be cut back and cleared. When we went along the route, there was a huge tree down which required some scrambling down the bank, past the now grounded treetops and back up onto the track. Going 'through' or over the tree was impossible. We actually saw wallaby in daylight here too.

(View shortly after the bridge at Canoe Bay)

Continue on for 30 minutes and you come to Canoe bay where an old ship was sunk to create a breakwater for the fishing boats that frequent the bay. Become Indiana Jones on the wire bridge that crosses the small rivulet that feeds into Canoe bay. Upto now it's been easy and flat. From here it gets a little less beaten and steeper. You'll probably remove a layer of clothing or two while you ascend through the fern forests and then descend over the next 35-45 minutes until you round a corner to Bivouac bay.

Its nice to sit out on the rocks and explore a bit while you have a snack. You'll cool off pretty quickly here as the wind fetch is on-shore. This is where you put your jacket back on (in winter). Return the way you came, just be sure to check the track you get back onto from Bivouac bay as the route continues on further.

A relatively easy walk with a few steeper sections that most could do (at the right pace). Walk takes approx 3 hours return at a reasonable pace.