Today, I set out with a little bit of nervous anticipation as our walk included the opportunity to ascend The Blade. The weather was cold and rainy, but I, along with several others in our group, took up the motto “Go Bold, Go Cold” ie leave in shorts anticipating that the hike would soon warm us up. We would be returning to Cape Pillar Lodge that night so today we left our full pack behind and set off with lighter day packs.

The dolerite cliffs of Cape Pillar rise 300m directly from sea level, making them the tallest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere. We got a reminder of cliff safety from our guides—stay well away from the edge so if you slip, you don’t fall over the edge and remove your backpack to avoid knocking other people over the edge when you turn around.

We had numerous views of The Blade as we approached, with plenty of opportunity to consider the long drop over the edge of those cliffs.

Once we arrived at the turn-off to the Blade, we split our group into two to avoid any crowding up on the top. It isn’t that big, and more people mean more opportunities for accidents to happen. I’m scared of heights, but decided to give it a go. It actually wasn’t too bad. There is mainly one section in the middle that narrows down to a sharp drop-off on either side of the path which is dirt and rock-hopping type steps. Once on top, I just made sure to keep more to the middle while admiring the views. Coming down was probably the worst, but the hairy bit was so short that you could fairly easily ignore the drop-off. If I needed to, there was always the possibility to scoot down on my backside, so I’d say it’s pretty accessible to most people, even if you are scared of heights.

After we were all back down safe and sound, we had a short walk to Chasm Lookout—our lunch spot.

After enjoying the views and our lunch, it was time to trace our steps back to the lodge. Geoff and I found ourselves behind the leading guide, who soon pulled away, and then we found ourselves alone on the path as the rest of the group dropped back behind us. It was so lovely, hiking back. With no one on the path in front of us, we were able to catch glimpses of the birds that we’d been hearing in the scrub as we walked. They were very shy and tended to fly off as we approached. We also spotted some Tassie Devil scat on the path, which is distinctive because it contains fur and bones because they crunch up the whole animal. I also took the opportunity to examine the varied plants as we passed through different environments. G’s STRAVA said 15.18km, 694m elevation for today’s hiking.

Once back at the lodge, we enjoyed being the first ones in the showers for the day. We were washed and clean and enjoying our slice of cake before the next couples arrived back. G swapped for the first massage spot because the guest who had booked it did not arrive back in time. Afterwards, we perched on the outdoor deck at the second lounge and stared off over the ocean until pre-dinner drinks.

Then it was dinner, the nightly briefing, some quiet chatting and bed, ready for our last and biggest day of hiking.