Narawntapu National Park

Narawntapu National Park is a Tasmanian national park in the northwest of Tasmania, minutes away from Devonport and Launceston. It's one of the few coastal national parks in Tasmania, and one of the few national parks along the Bass Strait.

History
The name "Narawntapu" refers to the coastal promontories West Head and Badger Head within the park. However, before 2000, the name of the park was once called Asbestos Range National Park, but the name was deterring potential visitors because of the name "asbestos", resulting in a name change.

Landscape
The park mostly has a coastal landscape with a few hills and headlands.

Flora and fauna
Vegetation communities represented in the park include coastal heathland, dry sclerophyll woodland, herbland, grassland and salt marsh. The rare Pygmy Clubmoss has been recorded from the park.

There is also a high density of marsupials present, which can include kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons, common wombats and Tasmanian devils.

Climate
The park has a temperate maritime climate with a yearly rainfall of 750 mm, usually in winter. The prevailing winds are from the north-east and north-west. Mean temperatures are 17°C in January and 9°C in July, with little variation.

Visitor information

 * Park website

Get in
If you are coming from Devonport, use the National Highway 1 Bass Highway down south and then immediately exit onto B74 after a kilometre, and then immediately turn onto B71 Frankford Road. After, turn left onto C740 Bakers Beach Road and continue onto C740 for about 4 kilometres until you've arrived at Narawntapu National Park.

If you're coming from Launceston, also use the National Highway 1 Bass Highway west and after, exit onto B72 until the very end of the road till the B71 junction. Once you're at the B71 junction, turn left, and continue onwards for until C740. Once at C740, turn right and continue for about 4 kilometres until you've arrived at Narawntapu National Park.

Get around
The only roads in the park are those that connect the visitor centre and the campgrounds. Apart from that, you have to walk.

Bushwalks

 * The Copper Cove/Badger Head walk is a long coastal walk from the visitor centre passing the Archers Knob track and all the way to the eastern end of Bakers Beach
 * Point Vision Track is a trail leading you to the highest point of the Asbestos Ranges, for those wishing for a more adventurous journey
 * For those interested in birds, the Bird Hide walk is an easy walk that takes 30 minutes return, and you see what the name of the walk says
 * Springlawn Nature Walk takes you around Springlawn Lagoon and the surrounds. It's a circuit, and takes about two hours to do. Suitable for most ages.
 * Part of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks, Archers Knob is the walk that passes through beaches, natural preserves and a lookout too
 * Coastal Traverse is a very long coastal walk traversing between Bakers Beach and Greens Beach

Horse riding
There are two horse riding trails to choose from, with one going by the beach and the other by the bush. However, you will need a permit to bring your horse in, which can be found at the park's website here.

Buy, eat and drink
There are no shops, cafes, bars, pubs, kiosks, restaurants etc. in Narawntapu National Park. Your nearest options are in Devonport or Launceston, with both being just minutes away.

Lodging
You cannot lodge in the park, because simply, there are no lodging facilities.

Backcountry
You're only permitted to camp at either one of the four campgrounds. The park is also not very large in the first place for backcountry camping as well.

Stay safe
There are very few safety concerns in Narawntapu National Park, except that the beaches are not patrolled and there are no lifeguards on the beach. However, this is pretty common throughout Tasmania outside Hobart.

Unlike other parts of Tasmania, it does not snow in Narawntapu National Park, but seeing snow by the coast is rare in the first place.

Go next

 * Your main choices are to go back to Launceston or Devonport, the two closest cities to Narawntapu National Park