Margate: Nature, Trails and Cultural Heritage

Margate offers several ways to experience its landscape and history: the Dru Point Track follows the estuary of the North West Bay River, the Margate Tramway Track follows a historic coal transport route, and the Channel Museum explores the region’s cultural heritage. Inverawe Native Gardens adds a large landscaped garden to the mix. If you choose Margate as your destination, you can focus your stay on different interests rather than planning your trip around just one type of outing.

Estuary views and trails for different day plans

The Dru Point Track is 1.8 km long, including the return journey. Its wide, mostly flat, well-maintained gravel surface gives a more complete description of the trail than distance alone: when planning your day, you can take both the surface and the length into account. The track follows the North West Bay River estuary, with views across the estuary towards Mt Wellington. The landscape and the character of the trail go together here, without the view replacing the practical details of the route.

Another way to get moving is the Snug to Margate Shared Path. Described as a safe, nature-based corridor, it connects Snug and Margate and is intended for cyclists, people with prams, walkers and joggers. These specifically listed uses can help you decide what kind of activity to include in your day. If you are travelling with children, prams are also one of the listed options here; for the Dru Point Track, the useful planning details are instead its length, gravel surface and mostly flat route.

A trail with a history

The Margate Tramway Track tells a different story of exploring the area. It follows a section of the original tramway, which carried coal from the mine at Kaoota to the now-vanished wharf at the end of Gemalla Road. The route is therefore connected to a specific part of local history: coal was transported from the mine to a wharf that no longer exists. If you enjoy taking in the landscape and history together, you can keep this background in mind as you walk.

A section of the Margate Tramway Track created in 2024 allows trail users to continue on to Baretta Reserve. The year refers to this section; the original tramway and its former purpose are separate from it. For your planning, the key point is that an additional section lets you continue to the reserve. As well as its history, the track thus offers a practical connection to another destination for trail users.

Cultural heritage at the Channel Museum

The Channel Museum presents the history and cultural heritage of the area around the D’Entrecasteaux Channel in southern Tasmania. More than 24 individual displays illustrate the region’s exploration, settlement, industries and community life. The subjects range from exploration and settlement to work and community life. A visit is especially suited to travellers who want a cultural focus and to learn about the region’s history, rather than filling their stay exclusively with outdoor activities.

The museum has a café serving snacks, meals and drinks. Food and drinks are prepared on site using local ingredients where possible. The café adds the option to eat or drink on site during your museum visit; the qualification “where possible” applies specifically to the use of local ingredients. A visit thus offers both the exhibitions and a selection of refreshments at the café.

A large garden of native plants

Inverawe Native Gardens covers 9.5 hectares and is Tasmania’s largest landscaped garden of native Australian plants. Its size and focus on plants give the garden a clear character: landscaped garden areas and native Australian plants take centre stage. This makes it thematically different from the trails and the museum’s focus on cultural history. When planning a trip to Margate, you can therefore decide whether you would rather spend your time walking, exploring local history or visiting a garden.

Other places to discover: Pontville, Glenorchy, Lauderdale, Warrane, Risdon, Cambridge, Goodwood and Kingston.

For the broader travel overview: Hobart.