The thermal pool near Hastings Cave

Hastings (including the Hastings Caves)
Interesting caves, forests and thermal pools on the edge of the southern forests.
Located 104 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway, Hastings is a tiny inconsequential little settlement which happens to be close to the Hastings Cave group, the major attraction in the south east corner of the island.

Hastings came into existence in the mid nineteenth century as timber workers pushed further and further into the southern forests searching for stands of sassafras, huon pine and stringy bark. At its peak the town had a port, a sawmill and there were considerable numbers of timber workers in the area.

In 1917 a group of timber workers discovered three limestone caves. Only one, the Newdegate Cave, is open to the public. It was opened in 1939 and can be reached along a road which was once used as a railway for transporting timber out of the area.

Things to see:  

Newdegate Cave

Newdegate Cave
Newdegate Cave is about a 5 minute walk from the car park through particularly beautiful rainforest. The Department of Lands Parks and Wildlife have produced a brochure (it is available from a box at the beginning of the walk) which, when combined with the markers at various points along the walk, allows the visitor to get some idea of the hardships of the early timber cutters. There is an old logging platform where logs were hauled from the surrounding forest and loaded onto trolleys which ran along tram tracks to the sawmill in Hastings where it was cut and prepared for export.

On one level Newdegate Cave is not particularly special however there is one area of the cave (Titania's Palace) which is simply breathtaking. Located at the end of a large, and fairly ordinary, cavern, Titania's Palace is a genuine wonderland of stalagmites and stalactites which has earned Newdegate Cave a reputation as one of the most beautiful caves in the country.

Inspections of the cave are held at 11.15 a.m., 1.15 p.m., 2.15 p.m., 3.15 p.m. and 4.15 p.m.

Old Log Loading Platform in the forest on the way into Newdegate Cave

The Forest and the Trees
Further along the walk are stumps of trees which were cut down and, by some accident or oversight, there is a huge stringy bark which is 68.7 m high and estimated to be 450 years old.

The brochure also offers a guide to the flora of the area and the visitor can easily identify the tree ferns, kangaroo ferns, musk, silky fan ferns and myrtle which grow in abundance on either side of the track.

The Thermal Pool
A couple of kilometres from Newdegate Cave is the Thermal Pool. The authorities have gone to a lot of trouble to make the Hastings Caves Thermal Pool at attraction for visitors. Set in bushland the pools, which remain at a constant 28-30°C throughout the year, are surrounded by lawns, good seating and modern picnic facilities. The swimming area is positively inviting.

Accommodation
There is no accommodation at the Caves.

	Cafés
	Hastings Cave Cafe Near the Thermal Pool Hastings TAS 7109 Telephone: (03) 6298 3209