Are You Ready To Tackle Frenchman’s Cap?

Wild Island Adventures offers packages and transport from Launceston and Hobart, both to and from Frenchman’s Cap, with options of transport from Hobart upon request. With flexible departures and pickups daily, there is no locked-in timetable, and we can provide the transfer to best suit your requirements.

What To Expect On Your Transfer

Enjoy the 3 to 3.5 hour drive from Launceston through Longford for a quick coffee before heading over the Great Western Tiers to enjoy the amazing outlook over the nearby Western Valleys and small waterfalls cascading down the rock faces on the side of the road. Continuing through Miena, which consists of the Great Lakes, renowned for the ever-popular trout fishing in Tasmania, past Derwent Bridge and to your final destination (Frenchman’s Cap Carpark). The drive time remains pretty much identical from Hobart to Frenchman’s Cap, with another outstanding and very scenic drive. Leaving Hobart, you will travel along the River Derwent through New Norfolk and then on to the Lyall Highway for the Remainder of your transfer. Along the way, you will experience Tasmania’s Hydro dams and power facilities through the cool temperate forest before passing by the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park to the beginning of your hike at Frenchman’s Cap.

If you are travelling from Lake St Clair to Frenchman’s Cap, you will absolutely love the drive through the windy, undulating Tasmanian Roads of which will see you at your destination within 30 to 45 minutes.

The Frenchman’s Cap Hike

Frenchman’s Cap begins from the carpark and consists of roughly a 4-hour hike to the first campground of which is Lake Vera. If you wish to set up your tent, there are ample tent platforms, or the Vera Hut, which can be very accommodating after your hike in. It has an older-style heater, although it seems to set the hut at around 21 degrees when fully operating with racks above, which is a bonus for drying your wet hiking gear. There are four bunks, which have enough room in total to sleep 20 people.

The hike from Lake Vera to Lake Tahune takes place along Barrons Pass alongside multiple waterfalls, mossy forests, with a steep incline for approximately 3 kilometres. An absolutely amazing hike which leads you to a saddle between White Needle and Sharlands Peak with the outstanding view of the Eastern face of Frenchman’s Cap. From this plateau, the hiking trail continues across rocky, alpine terrain, leading towards Lake Tahune with multiple climbs over ridges and through valleys. The hike to Lake Tahune from Lake Vera takes approximately 4 to 6 hours, of which from there, you have a 450 metre hike/climb to the top of Frenchman’s Cap.

Lake Tahune Hut, as it sits today, opened up in 2018 after Dick Smith invested money with the Tasmanian Government, resulting in a complete upgrade to the hike through Frenchman’s Cap. Tahune hut consists of 24-hour Hydro Heating of which sits at approximately 15 degrees, with a drying room (beware - it doesn’t dry too well). Triple-glazed windows, USB ports, LED Lights and sleeps 24 people on bunks.

Although some hikers do the hike over 2 nights and 3 days, many have a greater experience doing it for 3 nights and 4 days. From experience, we would also recommend 3 nights to fully enjoy the experience.

The hike from start to Frenchman’s Cap is about 22.7 km with the landscape changing dramatically through different sections of the hike,