Stalactites, Newdegate Cave, Hastings Caves, Southern Tasmania, Australia

Getty Images/Gallo Images

Hastings Caves & Thermal Springs

The Southeast


A 7.5km drive inland from the Southport turn-off on the Huon Hwy are the amazing Hastings Caves and their adjunct thermal springs. Cave tours (45 minutes) take you into the impressive dolomite Newdegate Cave, with the option of a dip in the thermal pool behind the visitor centre, filled with 28°C spring water. Tour times change across the year (check the website), but there are at least four tours a day.

The visitor centre cafe sells toasted sandwiches and pies (items $4.50 to $7).

There's a good chance of spotting a platypus on the 10-minute Platypus Walk behind the pool, while the wheelchair-friendly Hot Springs Trail does a big loop from the pool area, taking 20 minutes to navigate (the pool is also wheelchair accessible).

Note that the cave entrance is a further 5km drive beyond the visitor centre. No public transport runs out this way.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Southeast attractions

1. Recherche Bay

9.49 MILES

This gorgeous, tree-lined natural harbour was the spot where, in 1792, two French ships captained by Bruni d’Entrecasteaux – L’Espérance and La Recherche …

2. St Imre Vineyard

10 MILES

Bottling pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot gris and the robust ‘Tiger Blood’, this compact hillside vineyard has a fabulous timber tasting room, built by the…

3. Hartz Mountains National Park

14.49 MILES

A favourite southern national park for its proximity to Hobart, 80km away, and the relative ease of reaching its vast alpine views, Hartz Mountains forms…

4. Cape Bruny Lighthouse

14.54 MILES

Designed by colonial architect John Lee Archer, the 1836, 13m-high stone lighthouse on one of Bruny's southern tips overlooks a particularly rugged…

5. Inala Nature Museum & Jurassic Garden

19.16 MILES

A 600-hectare spread of wonderful island wilderness on South Bruny, with hundreds of plant species and almost as many birds to quietly observe (including…

6. Bruny Island Premium Wines

19.19 MILES

If you’re working up a thirst, swing into the cellar door at Australia’s most southerly vineyard. Pinot noir and chardonnay rule the roost; burgers,…

7. Court House History Room

19.75 MILES

At the council offices in Alonnah is this megamodest, volunteer-run museum (in an old courthouse – no prizes for guessing that) displaying newspaper…

8. Cygnet Living History Museum

20.17 MILES

For a window into Cygnet's soul, the little Cygnet Living History Museum is a quaint history room next to the church on the main street, stuffed full of…