The Freycinet National Park lies beneath spectacular pink granite peaks beside the sheltered waters of Great Oyster Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula. Jutting out from the sea on Tasmania's mild east coastis the rugged and beautiful Freycinet Peninsula. The National Park reserved in 1916, consists of knuckles of granite mountains, surrounded by azure bays and white sandy beaches.
Our overnight accommodation was at Freycinet Lodge, environmentally friendly cabins which are sensitively sited in coastal bush land on the shores of Great Oyster Bay. (http://www.puretasmania.com.au/). Timber boardwalks link each cabin to the main lodge with two restaurants, a lounge and bar, cosy log fire and expansive deck overlooking the water.
It was in this idyllic setting that we heard the historic news that Barack Obama had won the Presidential Election and would be the 44th and first black president of the United States - it was a very emotional moment.
We ventured out of the lodge and strolled along the nearby Richardson’s beach where in the late afternoon sunshine we had a great view of the Hazards Range and where we saw lots of “middens” - basically shells and remnants of shells that were used by Aborigines and are of significant archaeological significance and which are now protected meaning that they should not be removed from the beaches.
The scenic grandeur of Freycinet has long been admired, with the size and barren composition of the granite peaks of the Hazards rising from the low lying coastal vegetation. We spent our first full day here bush walking and climbing to Wineglass Bay lookout. On arrival at the start of the walk we parked the car and we were delighted to see not one but three(!) Bennet’s Wallabies! One adult male and an adult female with her joey in her pouch! Magic!
The climb up to the lookout was reasonably strenuous up a gravel path - however, the surrounding flora and fauna, views out over Great Oyster Bay, Coles Bay and of The Hazards (3 peaks), were almost spiritual. At the end of the climb we were rewarded with the exquisite view of Wineglass Bay, with its perfect curve of white beach.
We retraced our steps and then drove to Cape Tourville where there is an easy boardwalk for stunning cliff-top coastal views of the Tasman Sea, a glimpse of WGB and Mt Freycinet. Apparently, whales are often spotted from this vantage point - we didn’t see any but we did see some small penguins resting on a small rock out to sea.
After our excursion to Cape Tourville we made our way to another bay known as Sleepy Bay - a gentle descent through ferns, eucalypts and heathers and we arrived at a secluded shingle beach with huge boulders that had to be seen to be believed!
Our final destination in the Park was the lovely and secluded bay known as Honeymoon Bay - it was a great spot to enjoy the views out across the bay - we soaked up the late afternoon sunshine and watched the Black-browed Albatross on t
he smaller rocks out in the bay. The beach was littered with middens and the most colourful, pretty shells, seaweed and sm
all pieces of coral - a perfect finish to a perfect day in the best place yet!!
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