Edge of the World
Arthur River
Directions - Located just outside of Arthur River on the north West Coast of Tasmania, from the main bridge over the Arthur River take Temma Road south until you reach the right turn for Airey Drive (look for Edge of the World signs). Follow this all the way to the end where you will find a paved car park.
The Walk - Our final stop of a jam packed three week Tasmanian Road Trip was a visit to the coastal hamlet of Arthur River on the North West Coast. This was selected by Hal as a destination because he wanted to paddle along the Arthur River and I was happy as it meant I could explore the short walks along the Tarkine Drive. Living in Fremantle, I am naturally drawn to the coast and Arthur River was a nice change from the forest scenery we had been staying at over the course of the trip.
Having booked a house on the edge of the Arthur River, my research came across The Edge of the World as one of the only walks close to town. With a very short length and the path basically going to a lookout and the edge of the rocky headland, I would see what it was like before deciding to write it up as a post (spoiler: it got written up). This post is a combination of two visits over the course of our three days here, one on the afternoon of our arrival and the second being a visit at sunset after exploring the Tarkine Drive. After driving all the way from Corinna on my own thanks to no one else wanting to hike up Mount Donaldson, the rocky road was a fun challenge but I was happy to reach the coastline and smell that salty sea air. Meeting everyone at the holiday home, Hal was missing as he had popped a tyre on the road from Corinna so went in search of a replacement (not easy given he had brought his Mercedes SUV). Caris and I went for a bit of an exploration of the Arthur River area and eventually reached this spot to see what was what.
I love a good rummage around a rocky headland so if the trail was a simple path to a lookout then I would be more than happy to keep on exploring if there was an accessible beach or two. From the car park you can see the lookout that is set on top of a nearby dune so it was quite clear that the quoted length was not underestimated. Walking along the boardwalk, the views start to open up the further you go, with the mouth of the Arthur River providing the main feature until you get those stunning vistas overlooking the expansive Southern Ocean. With some moody weather on my first visit, the blues and greys combined to give an atmospheric feel to the afternoon with splashes of gold light streaming through the clouds to the west. We visited the lookout first and I was pleased to see the artwork in the centre of the lookout showed the fauna native to the area with their traditional names. While the lookout was nice, I was keen to explore the wilder headland and beach to the left. As we found out on a river cruise leaving from Corinna, the West Coast of Tassie is littered with driftwood along almost every beach. It was no different here with large grey timbers strewn all along the rocks and nearby beach.
Snapping away, Caris was having fun exploring the rocks while I headed down to the beach. With the roaring forties battering the west coast of Tassie constantly, it's not unusual to come here and find the seas a bit angry. This was certainly the case on my first visit and the result was some epic photos looking off towards the rocky islands to the north, along with a large amount of froth all along the beach. Looking like someone had put too much washing powder in the machine, I had good fun dodging the incoming waves pushing it closer to shore and photographing the froth covered driftwood. As you can probably tell by the amount of photos I've included here, there was plenty that caught my eye ranging from the froth to the open seas to the stunning rocky formations protruding from the sands. With the sunset not looking like it would produce much magic and the temperatures dropping, we headed back to the car impressed with this spot. With our holiday home being a short drive from The Edge of the World, this would be my last visit so after a great day exploring the Julius River Walks, Lake Chisholm and Trowutta Arch, I noticed the lighting was starting to light up the sky just before sunset so grabbed my camera and excused myself from the chill time we were all having. Rushing from the car park, I was delighted when I was presented with some gorgeous golden light streaming from the clouds and the makings of what would be a pretty special sunset.
I wasn't the only one there to capture the magic, with a more serious photographer there with his tripod and ND filters. Knowing where the spots I wanted to photograph were located thanks to our previous visit, I wasn't worried about losing the good light so moved around the various spots and capturing what was some of the best lighting of the whole trip. Making sure I was taking some time to enjoy the scene with my eyes, I was a little bit giddy as I skipped around the rocks trying to find some better angles. With the forth on the beach no longer there, this allowed the sand to glow with the light of the sunset and the results were stunning. With the lighting constantly changing and the clouds still drifting around, there were flashes of really bright light and then dull sections where I used the time to relocate somewhere else. This went on for about 45 minutes and I took a couple of hundred photos that only a select few made it to the galleries on this page. Sitting down on a rock and watching the sun peak below the clouds once again, I reflected on the last three weeks and all the amazing places we had visited. This would be our last night in Tasmania for the trip and it was a bittersweet moment thinking about leaving. This trip provided me with some wonderful memories including hiking in snow for the first time, exploring beautiful temperate rainforest, stunning waterfalls and mountainous terrain. What a finish to a thoroughly enjoyable holiday.
Final Thoughts - With trail experiences in the North West of Tasmania limited, you have to take what you can get sometimes. This isn't to say The Edge of the World isn't a stunning spot but it's more of a lookout than a walk trail.
That being said, these photos were some of the ones I was most looking forward to editing up when I got home as I had such a wonderful time standing on those rocks and taking in the beauty of this place.
There is a wildness to this part of the world that leaves you in awe of the forces at work down here that have created such a unique landscape.
Being so accessible there is no excuse to skip this lookout and if my pictures haven't convinced you, sunset is the best time to visit.
Get out there and experience it!
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