Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs

Newdegate Cave at Hastings is the largest dolomite cave open to visitors in Australia, formed in rock older than the limestone that hosts most Australian caves, and shown on guided tours through chambers of columns, flowstone and the unusual helictites that grow against gravity. It was found by timber workers in 1917 and opened to visitors in 1939. A few kilometres away, a thermal spring feeds a swimming pool at a constant twenty-eight degrees, warm enough to be comfortable in a region where outdoor swimming otherwise is not, set in a clearing of tree ferns with a short forest walk alongside. The site is the southernmost visitor attraction of its kind in Australia.

History

Timber workers cutting trees near the entrance found the caves in 1917, and they were first opened to visitors in the 1920s; the state took them over during the Great Depression, building steps and a road as relief work, and Premier Albert Ogilvie opened the cave officially in 1939. Newdegate Cave is named after Sir Francis Newdegate, Governor of Tasmania from 1917 to 1920, and the visitor centre was built in 2001 (Wikipedia, Hastings Caves State Reserve).

What's there

• Newdegate Cave - the largest dolomite tourist cave in Australia, on guided tours.
• The thermal pool - spring-fed water at a constant twenty-eight degrees.
• The fern walk - a short forest track from the pool area.
• The far south setting - forest country at the end of the Tasmanian road network.

When to go

Year-round; the cave holds a constant temperature and the pool is warm in any season, which makes winter visits appealing. Tours run to a daily schedule with fewer in winter. The last road section is gravel.

Practical notes

Cave access is by guided tour only, with steps and low sections. The pool is a developed swimming pool rather than a natural spring bath. The site is a two-hour drive from Hobart, and services in the far south are limited.

Nearby

Dover and Southport lie on the coast; the Huon Valley is north.

Key facts