Freycinet National Park

Trip Start Jun 11, 2009

Trip End Jun 29, 2009

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Flag of Australia Swansea, Tasmania, Australia
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

We start the day at about 7.30am, very foggy outside, we can barely see the water, breakfast then we chat about what to do today. As the weather has closed in, it's unlikely we will get to see Wineglass Bay today, so we stoke up the fire and Pete and I play cards, continuing on the 500 challenge from last night. At about 11.00am we decide to head into Swansea for a coffee and find ourselves at Trellis Caf�, which has great coffee and also sells some local produce and has a very well stocked bottle shop (we stock up again on our ever depleting liquor supplies). We ask about the forecast for tomorrow and find it is supposed to get worse.

We want to have dinner at "Banc" Restaurant which is in the building that used to be the old Commercial Bank of Australia in Swansea, but when we walk up to check out their menu on the board outside, we find they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, just our luck

Cape Tourville

! Across the road to Morris’ General Store for some more groceries (they also have a small museum which displays old artifacts) and then the girls pick up 2 � dozen oysters for lunch and back to our cabin to eat.

After lunch, the weather clears enough that we can see across Coles Bay and we decide to jump in the car and head to Wineglass Bay (about 40kms away) and Freycinet National Park and chance our luck with the visibility. We arrive there about 2.30pm and get our National Parks Pass stamped at the visitors centre, the guide says the visibility keeps changing as the fog lifts and falls, so we head up to the car park area only to find the fog about halfway down the hills, not conducive to spectacular views of Wineglass Bay from the lookout (it’s about a 90 minute round trip from the carpark to the lookout and another hour and a half return if we want to walk to the sand at Wineglass Bay). We decide not to bother, instead we backtrack about 6 kms to the Cape Tourville Lighthouse and the boardwalk (a 20 minute walk, approximately 500 metres, suitable for wheelchairs and prams as well) along the edge of the cliffs (some 250 metres (we think) or so above the water). The views from here, even on a gloomy day are quite remarkable, from the granite cliffs at Carp Bay through to Wineglass Bay and 26 kms north to the Friendly Beaches, incorporating the “Nuggets”, a couple of outcrops just off the shore, home to birdlife

Foggy Wine Glass Bay

. A great spot for whale or dolphin watching, we see none ourselves but were told by the guide at the visitors centre that there is a Southern Right whale at Muirs Beach today, just up from Coles Bay. We also visit Freycinet Lodge, an exclusive Resort at Coles Bay, seemingly almost empty of guests, as are a lot of accommodation places we have seen on our journey. It seems that the winter months are the least frequented by tourists, which suits us, as we don’t have to cope with hordes of sightseers, but it does have disadvantages as many of the cafes, restaurants and other attractions are also closed.

Back in the car and home to Piermont Retreat for a beer, cheese and wine fest before dinner at Piermont’s own restaurant, only a short 30 metre walk from our cabin door. Dinner was delightful and thoroughly recommended by us. A great day!