Dawn breaks at 6:47 AM over Sandy Cape as golden light touches 98-foot dunes rising impossibly above turquoise Bass Strait water. Orange lichen coats granite boulders like ancient paint while temperate rainforest meets empty beach in Tasmania’s forgotten northwest. This is the Tarkine Coast, 62 miles of wild shoreline where 500 residents guard Australia’s largest temperate rainforest coastline.
While Bondi welcomes 2.7 million annual visitors to 0.6 miles of sand, this entire coast receives just 20,000-30,000 yearly. The 53-mile drive from Smithton delivers something Sydney’s crowds will never find.
Where Tasmania’s northwest meets the Southern Ocean
The Tarkine Coast stretches 62 miles between Marrawah and Granville Harbour along Tasmania’s rugged northwestern edge. Route B27 from Smithton (53 miles south) cuts through eucalyptus forest before revealing the coast at coordinates -41.2333°S, 144.7500°E. Launceston Airport sits 3 hours east while Hobart lies 5 hours southeast.
Most travelers racing toward Cradle Mountain’s 265,000 annual visitors never turn west toward this Aboriginal land known as takayna. The Tarkiner people left shell middens and hut depressions dating thousands of years. European sealers arrived in the 1800s, followed by lighthouse keepers and tin miners.
Today just 500 residents occupy scattered settlements along a coastline that has resisted development since creation. Bass Strait’s endless golden beaches continue eastward, but nowhere else combines this scale with such pristine isolation.
Golden dunes meet temperate rainforest edge
The coast that geography forgot
Sandy Cape’s dunes rise 98 feet above sea level, forming the southern hemisphere’s largest coastal dune system outside deserts. Golden sand meets turquoise water while dark green temperate rainforest presses against the beach. This ecological impossibility exists because cool ocean currents create enough rainfall (55 inches annually) to sustain rainforest, while constant westerly winds build massive dunes.
Orange and rust-red lichens coat granite boulders scattered across beaches. These living organisms take decades to grow, painting rocks in colors that shift from amber at dawn to copper at dusk.
Colors that change with light
Dawn transforms the coast entirely. Golden sand catches first light while turquoise water mirrors the sky perfectly. By midday, the ocean shifts to deep blue and temperatures reach 72°F in summer.
Late afternoon brings amber tones to everything: dunes, rocks, even the huon pine forest inland. The 1916 West Point lighthouse (demolished 1982) left only foundations. Its replacement at Bluff Hill Point still operates, guiding the few boats that venture these waters.
Walking empty beaches where wilderness touches ocean
Six hours of solitude at Green Point
Green Point Beach stretches 9 miles south of Marrawah. November mornings find it completely empty, footprints in wet sand lasting until the next tide. Southern Ocean swells roll in at 6-second intervals while water temperature hovers around 57°F, cold enough to wake you, warm enough for brief wetsuit swims.
Bush tucker grows in coastal scrub: native berries, coastal greens, wild herbs that Aboriginal Tasmanians harvested for millennia. Tasmania’s wilderness lakes inland offer different but equally pristine experiences.
Fishing villages that time preserved
Marrawah’s 200 residents run fishing boats, farm abalone, craft wooden sculptures from ancient trees. The general store sells fresh-caught crayfish for $29 per pound while local artisans carve huon pine wood from 2,000-year-old trees felled decades ago.
The Marrawah Tavern (established 1950s) serves oysters harvested that morning alongside conversations about weather patterns and fishing conditions. No resort developments exist here. No beach clubs. Just timber cottages and working boats against a backdrop of endless wilderness.
The coast that costs nothing to enter
Unlike Great Ocean Road’s tour bus crowds or Sydney’s harbor fees, the Tarkine Coast charges nothing for access. Park anywhere along Route B27, walk any beach, camp at designated sites for $11 per night. The contrast hits hardest at Sandy Cape: alone on 98-foot dunes with 360-degree wilderness views while Bondi’s 0.6-mile beach hosts thousands daily.
Weather shapes access throughout the year. Two hundred days annually bring rain, winter storms close roads, summer (November-March) offers 61-72°F temperatures and long daylight hours. But that weather keeps crowds away and preserves what makes this coast remarkable: genuine isolation where Australia’s forgotten sanctuaries still exist.
Your questions about Tarkine Coast, Tasmania answered
How do you actually reach the Tarkine Coast?
Fly into Launceston (LST) or Hobart (HBA) airports first. Rent a 4WD vehicle ($44-73 daily) for the journey ahead. Drive 3 hours from Launceston via Route A2 and B27, or 5 hours from Hobart through winding mountain roads. The final 53 miles from Smithton follow paved B27 through farmland before dirt roads branch to individual beaches.
No public transport serves this region. Fuel up in Smithton as no services exist for the next 62 miles of coastline.
What makes Tarkine different from other Australian beaches?
Most Australian beach tourism concentrates on Queensland’s tropics or Sydney’s urban coasts. The Tarkine offers temperate rainforest coastline, a global rarity where ancient Myrtle beech trees (living 400+ years) meet Southern Ocean waves. The scale (62 miles continuous wilderness) exceeds famous beaches while receiving 1% of their visitors.
Aboriginal heritage sites remain protected but visible, with shell middens preserved in coastal dunes for thousands of years.
When should you visit for best conditions?
November through March (Australian summer) offers 61-72°F temperatures, minimal rain, and 14+ hour days. December-February brings peak warmth but also peak (though still minimal) crowds of adventurous travelers. The “Roaring Forties” westerly winds blow year-round, creating the constant sound that defines this coastline.
Spring (September-November) brings wildflowers and whale migrations offshore while Australia’s remote golden beaches shine brightest in summer light.
At 5:47 PM, golden light catches the dunes one final time. Orange rocks glow like embers while the next humans might arrive tomorrow, or next week. Temperate rainforest shadows lengthen across empty sand as Bass Strait turns indigo. This is Tasmania’s secret: 62 miles where wilderness still wins.