An aerial shot of the Cape Pillar peninsula showcases the spectacular coastline. The 53km track extends from Waterfall Bay to Cape Pillar, intersecting the inland Cape Pillar Track near Fortescue Bay and north of Bare Knoll, where they become one. Find the full story on the Tasman Coastal Trail in Sep/Oct 2014 print issue of Australian Geographic.

Wave-cut rock shelf near Tasman Arch. Most bushwalkers are attracted to the long daylight hours and warmer weather in the region from November to April.

The Coastal Trail was built in stages over many years with the help of Hobart Walking Club. It was officially recognised in 1998 and combines several day walks and additional track into a coast-hugging 53km trek, typically requiring 4–5 days to complete. Enclosed by heath, this old section of the Cape Pillar Track near Perdition Ponds will be bypassed by the new Three Capes Track.

Pelicans on Eaglehawk Bay. Find the full story on the Tasman Coastal Trail in Sep/Oct 2014 print issue of Australian Geographic.

Writer-photographers Ian Connellan and Gail MacCallum traverse a section of duckboard on the Cape Pillar track across Ellarwey Valley. The Tasman Coastal Trail is a mix of old, new and under-construction sections as it undergoes a transformation into the longer Three Capes Track, which the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service hopes will become the coastal equivalent of the Overalnd Track.

View south-east over Clytie Bight towards The Blade and Tasman Island. Tasman National Park was proclaimed in 1999, a patchwork of previously logged former state forestry and reserve lands, but unusual species remain.

Little pied cormorants (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos), juvenile Pacific gulls (Larus pacificus) and silver gulls (Larus novaehollandiae) perch on the semi-submerged wreck of the William Pitt in Canoe Bay.

Hobart Walking Club members on day walk from Waterfall Bay to Tatnells Hill.

New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri). Australian fur seals are also found along the coastline of the park and haul out at Cape Hauy, the Hippolyte Rocks, Cape Pillar and Cape Raoul.

Beautiful flowers, such as these on a wooly tea-tree shrub (Leptospermum grandiflorium), can be found along the routeat certain times of year.

Cape Pillar and The Chasm. The dramatic cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula are some of the most spectacular in the nation. These columns are made of dolerite cliffs, which is a kind of rock rarely found on the mainland.

Tasmanian pademelons (Thylogale billardierii) are a common sight in Tasman National Park. Find the full story on the Tasman Coastal Trail in Sep/Oct 2014 print issue of Australian Geographic.

A variety of interesting rock formations can be found along the coast of the national park, and the southern end has high and spectacular sea cliffs.

A male superb fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) in its less showy non-breeding plumage. Other birds in the national park include the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, the hooded plover, the fairy penguin and the white-bellied sea eagle.

Drooping she-oak (Allocasuarina verticillata) is one of a number of she-aks found in Tasman National Park. The park is home to several plants found nowhere else, including some beautiful euphrasias

Golden wattle (Acacia longifolia) is common in south-eastern Australia.

Tasman Island, The Blade, Cape Pillar and Cathedral Rock as seen from the waters’ surface. Find the full story on the Tasman Coastal Trail in Sep/Oct 2014 print issue of Australian Geographic.