Three Capes Wellbeing Walk for Doctors
ACRRM Accredited
April 24 - 27, 2025 | $4,795
For all enquiries and bookings please contact Tasmanian Walking Company on (03) 6392 2211 or email
ACRRM Accreditation Hours
This walk has been accredited by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine for four hours of Additional Continuing Professional Development Requirements and eight hours of Educational Activity.
- Learning Areas
- Leader (LDR)
- Musculoskeletal (MSK)
- Communicator (COM)
- Professional (PRO)
- Curriculum domains covered
- Domain 1 - Specifically: Patient-centred care and teamwork
- Domain 7 - Specifically: Continuous learning, teaching, ethical care
- Domain 8 - Specifically: Resourcefulness, independence, flexibility and professional networking
- Assessment information
- Impact evaluation
- Survey about changes in practice and attitude
- Reflection essay - 500 words
- To Be returned within 4 weeks of trip to gain a certificate
- Context
This activity is primarily targeted towards doctors experiencing or at risk of burnout.
Rural doctors are particularly at risk due to social and professional isolation, their personal connection with many of their patients, their inability to easily take leave and holidays, and their increased scope of care and responsibilities
The activity involves evidence-based tools and techniques, and education regarding self-care, patient care, professionalism and ethics, however just as important for rural doctors is the ability to completely remove ourselves from our demanding lives with no phone or internet, family or social demands.
Lastly, the ability to network, share stories and support like-minded doctors is likely the biggest benefit of this activity.
- Workshops
Our days begin before breakfast with an optional meditation. Our walks provide time for reflection and contemplation. The journey importantly offers precious opportunities for one-on-one conversations with Sheena and Natalie. Each afternoon and evening at the lodge we engage in workshops and journalling at the lodge. Each night finishes with a post-walk body-check. The workshop content will be tailored to the groups and include the following:
Letting Go. Re-discover your inner strengths!
The power and healing of Mindfulness in everyday life!
Rediscover your own North Star!
New Beginnings.
Fit Mind Coaching - Sheena Polese
We help people identify their inner and natural character strengths so they can unlock the key to thriving. We take time to explore values, reassess and reprioritise what is important to you. Using research, we explore the importance of emotional intelligences and use a wellbeing model that enables valuable reflection, appreciation and intention setting for sustainable change.
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We explore what is flourishing, the importance of hope, the value of slowing down, and we show how time in nature restores the body and soul. We incorporate pre-work, on the ground fun activities and worksheets, the science of reflection and journaling, meditation and mindfulness practices, all with an evidence base.
Sheena Polese is a Development and Leadership Coach,MSci (Psych Coaching) Syd Uni, Mindfulness, Wellbeing and Change Practitioner. The current President of the Australasia NSW Branch of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) an Associate at the Positivity Institute and is highly trained in Stages of Adult Psychological Development, Mental Toughness, Global Leadership Wellbeing Diagnostics and Mental Health, is a Mindfulness practitioner and a Facilitator of Immunity to Change. Sheena runs her own Coaching practice, designs and delivers development and wellbeing programs and has co-facilitated Leadership and Development trips with Outward Bound Australian and Australia for UNHCR in Uganda. Webpage | LinkedIn
Dr. Natalie Burch
Natalie Burch trained in Queensland as a GP Obstetrician before moving to Tasmania in 2001 where she has been a rural generalist in northeast Tasmania where she has lived, worked and raised her family. Owning a practice, consulting in private practice and working on call at the district hospital as well as raising her family of three children she well knows the face of burnout.
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She has long been a passionate medical educator teaching all levels of students and training doctors, in private practice, with RACGP, ACRRM and Remote Vocational Training Scheme. Currently she is piloting an innovative supervision model in her practice and local hospital, runs the Observer program at the Launceston General Hospital for International Medical Graduates, and is studying a Masters in Health Professionals Education.
In 2020 having sold her practice and trying to survive the Covid crisis she was introduced to bushwalking by her best friend. There she found the peace and strength to continue to care for her community, colleagues, family and most importantly, herself. Her focus is now doctor well being - creating environments and cultures that celebrate doctors as whole people in well communities and cultures.
Rather than trying to balance our work and life, constantly trading one for the other, we can integrate our lives, bringing our whole selves to work, to home and to the community we live in. When we are walking our whole selves are walking in time with the country and creatures around us. On this journey we can walk together, come back into focus, reintegrate those fragmented parts and pause for a while.
Natalie has awards for Tasmanian Rural Doctor of the Year, Distinguished Service Award for ACRRM and Supervisor of the Year Tasmania for Ochre.
Three Capes Signature Walk (4-days)
Day 1: Hobart to Crescent Lodge
Approximately 2 hours of walking
After meeting in Hobart, we make our way down to Nubeena where our private boat will be waiting to depart for our short trip across to Denman’s Cove and the start of the Three Capes Track.
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Cruising with captivating views back to Port Arthur, keep an eye out for seals and dolphins, and marvel at some of the tallest dolerite cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere, hinting at the grandeur ahead.
In Denman’s Cove, we stop for lunch, fueling you for a leisurely stroll through coastal woodland to the rocky haven of Surveyors Cove.
Perched atop a lofty vantage point, Crescent Lodge boasts panoramic views stretching across Crescent Bay to Cape Raoul. After settling in with a rejuvenating shower, our guides and host will serve a three-course dinner for you to enjoy in the company of new friends. Following dinner, savour your Tassie pinot on the viewing deck, soaking in your own private sunset experience.
Day 2: Crescent Lodge to Cape Pillar Lodge
Approximately 5 hours walking
Wake to the silence of Crescent Lodge and wander down to the stunning dining room for a hearty breakfast to start the day. From here, head due south with views across Safety Cove and Maingon Bay to Bruny Island.
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Climbing Arthurs Peak, 300 metres above sea level, is worth the oceanic vista. In these parts, White Bellied Sea Eagles soar in the thermal currents, so be sure to look skyward. Lunch isn’t far away, an easy downhill descent to south-facing cliffs where pelagic seabirds are plenty - albatross, petrels and gannets. Here, there’s nothing between you and Antarctica.
Following lunch, skirt the edge of Tornado Ridge before heading south toward Cape Pillar Lodge, your home for the next two nights.
Day 3: Cape Pillar return
Approximately 6 hours of walking (optional)
This is the most adventurous day of your journey. Today you’ll walk through silver gum forest (Eucalyptus Tenuiramis), a species endemic to the area, out to the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere. There’s little wonder Cape Pillar has been afforded other names - Hurricane Heath and Desolation Gully. A side trip to The Blade is a must, with staggering views across to Tasman Island.
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Lunch is served at Chasm Lookout - with Tasman Island’s weathered lighthouse in sight. It’s then a direct return journey home to Cape Pillar Lodge where the relaxation pavilion, three-course dinner and ocean views await. By now, walking strangers might just have become firm friends. Unlace the boots, read a book with sea breeze in your toes.
If you need a rest-day, you do have the option to remain at Cape Pillar Lodge, refreshing with a spa treatment or simply unwinding in the tranquil surrounds of the lodge.
Day 4: Cape Pillar Lodge to Fortescue Bay
Approximately 6 hours walking
Time to farewell Cape Pillar's safe forest haven. From here you’ll cross Retakunna Creek (local indigenous dialect for creaking trees) en route to a patch of rainforest. Breathe it in - lush mosses, ferns and vibrant greens. Next mission is the peninsula’s highest peak, Mount Fortescue, climbing some 490 metres above sea level. Enjoy lunch with leafy-framed ocean views overlooking The Monument.
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Take the side trip and enjoy the majesty of Cape Hauy - or simply remain with the group for a final cliff-walk descent onto the cool white sands of Fortescue Bay. This is your chance to drop the pack and sink your toes in pristine sands or perhaps take a celebratory dive into the crystal clear waves. We will then travel back to Hobart via the airport. We will finish in Hobart with a glass of celebratory bubbles.
Our Private Lodges
Each evening, settle into the only private accommodation within the Tasman National Park. Our lodges offer true shelter - a place of protection and refuge. They are simple yet sustainable. Comfortable and inviting. Walkers have exclusive use of our two lodges along the Three Capes Track. Both are discreetly positioned along the trail, their design responding to contours of the land. Hot showers, generous lounge areas and plush pillows await.
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YOUR EXPERIENCE
The final steps of each day’s walk lead to your lodge accommodation where afternoon tea is served. Free time allows you to explore the lodge, settling on a suitable perch for a glass of Tasmanian wine while your guides prepare the evening meal. As night falls, outdoor decking entices for star gazing on clear southern nights.
Large sliding doors in the living and communal spaces invite the outdoors in, encouraging connection with your surrounds. Each lodge features a dining and kitchen area, expansive views and sleeping quarters with crisp linen. On your final two nights, a generous plunge tank brims with restorative goodness.
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT
We consider it a great privilege to provide the only private lodging along this trail, and have taken every environmental consideration during the design and build process. Our lodges rest lightly within the natural environment. Sustainability features include water minimisation features and the latest solar power technology. Bird-friendly Archimedes wind turbines bolster our renewable energy resources.
We’ve also worked closely with the topography of the land - each lodge aligning to the contours of the existing landscape. This not only has minimised impact on the surrounding vegetation but allows our accommodation to blend into nature’s setting.
We trust you’ll enjoy your days and restful nights with us.
Itinerary Details
Three Capes Wellbeing Walk for Doctors
April 24 - 27, 2025 | $4,795
- Price: Walk fee + Facilitator Fee
- 4-Day Guided Walk (Twin Share)
- Each trip requires a minimum of 10 guests to be confirmed four months prior to departure and a maximum of 12 guests (Twin Share).
Bookings
- Phone: (03) 6392 2211
- Email: enquiries@taswalkingco.com.au
- or complete the below enquiry form
Terms and Conditions
Our standard booking terms and conditions apply to all bookings. In addition:
- Cancellations
- more than 90 days from the scheduled departure date, a fee of $350 per person will be charged with the balance payment refunded;
- within 90 days of departure, no refund is available. Bookings are transferable to another name.
- Minimum numbers are required three months before departure.
Inclusions
- Return transfers from Hobart.
- Lodge accommodation.
- All meals, non-alcoholic beverages and a selection of Tasmanian wines.
- National Park Pass.
- Boat transfer from Nubeena to Denman's Cove.
- Use of a backpack and weather-proof jacket for the duration of the walk.
- Linen and comfortable beds.
- Two qualified guides for the duration of the walk.
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