Hawley Beach – Beach, Coastal Walks and Wildlife
Accommodation in Hawley Beach
Hawley Beach brings together a long main beach, coastal walks, bushland and diverse wildlife. The main beach is 750 m long. There are also two distinct ways to experience the coast: the Coast Walk, which leads to Port Sorell, and the Hawley Beach Foreshore Reserve Walk, with rock pools and red lichen on rugged rocks. Aubrey Luck Reserve offers a different focus on nature. This gives you the option to decide whether the beach, coastal walks or local flora and fauna should shape your trip.
Beach and access along the coast
A narrow reserve area and the road run behind Hawley Beach, providing access along the full length of the beach. At 750 m, the main beach has a clearly defined scale for your time by the sea. If you’d like to combine a beach stay with other discoveries, you can consider the walks and reserve as separate interests when planning your trip, rather than making the beach the only measure.
Two walks, different experiences
The Coast Walk runs from the northern end of Hawley Beach, near Hawley House, to Port Sorell. The return trip is approximately 6 km. The trail conditions are important when planning your day: the path is poorly developed and crosses private land for a short stretch. If you’re interested in this coastal walk, take both of these features into account alongside the approximate total distance. This route offers a different way to experience the coast from the Hawley Beach Foreshore Reserve Walk.
The Hawley Beach Foreshore Reserve Walk is at the end of Hawley Esplanade and continues from Alexander Street. Its features include rock pools, rugged rocks covered in red lichen, and crystal-blue water. These distinctive sights give the walk its own character. When choosing between the coastal experiences, consider whether you’d prefer to focus on the longer Coast Walk and its described route, or the Foreshore Reserve Walk with its rock pools and rock formations.
Bushland and wildlife at Aubrey Luck Reserve
Aubrey Luck Reserve is on Joyce Street in Hawley Beach and encompasses natural bushland with casuarinas and blackwoods. Animals that live there include Bennett’s wallabies, pademelons, eastern bandicoots, brown bandicoots and wombats. The reserve is also home to diverse birdlife. For families with varied interests in nature and animals, the reserve offers a different focus from the beach and coastal walks. The named animal and plant species give the place a tangible character and can be considered a nature experience when planning your trip.
A trace of history
Hawley House is also part of the area’s character: the house (circa 1878) is the original homestead of the Rubicon Estate. Its historical context adds a cultural dimension to the landscape and nature themes.
The places described offer different points of interest, but need not be understood as a single route.
Other places for orientation: Bothwell, Fentonbury, Tea Tree, Grove, Sandford, Pipers Brook, Sorell, Cranbrook.
For the broader travel overview: Tasmania.
