Freycinet National Park

Yesterday, we spent our time in the park relaxing; today, we will be exploring.  But first: a little Tasmanian history.  Tasmania was discovered by Europeans in 1642 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman.  He mapped the area and named it for his patron, Van Diemen's Land.  Then, he moved on to New Zealand.  Nothing much happened after that until 1802 when a French fleet came exploring in 1802.  A lieutenant on the expedition was named Freycinet and the peninsula which contains this park was named for him.  There is also a Mount Freycinet on the peninsula.  The French checked out Tasmania but decided they had no interest in it.  The British, then at war with the French, decided in 1803 that they would claim Van Dieman's land for their own and shortly thereafter began transporting convicts from England to prison facilities on the island.  Of course at some later date, the decision was made to rename the island, Tasmania, after the original explorer.

The Freycinet peninsula connects to the mainland in the north and then extends south into the Pacific Ocean.  Our accommodation, the Freycinet Lodge is located in the northern part of the park on the bay (west) side of the peninsula.  The main attraction in the park is known as Wineglass Bay, named for the shape of the inlet.  There are only three ways to see the bay:  get in a plane and fly over it, take a cruise to see it from the water, or hike into the area.  We elect to hike it.  A side note on Australian terminology:  what we call a trail is called in Australia at track.  Those who use the tracks are not hikers, but are called trampers.  The hike to Wineglass Bay is about 4 kilometers one way, about 2 1/2 miles, but we are going to hike (tramp) a loop trail which takes us to Wineglass Bay, then across the peninsula and back up the other side for a round trip of 11 kilometers, just under 7 miles.  The initial part of the hike is mostly uphill from the car park as we must ascend to cross a pass between two of the mountains in the range called the Hazards.  The track is very well maintained and can be hiked by most people as long as they can complete the climb.  The first viewpoint is back toward Coles Bay, which is very scenic.  Then the track keep climbing to reach the viewpoint of Wineglass Bay from on high.  This view is stunning.  Everyone on the track will take a pause here to enjoy this.  From here the track descends down to the beautiful beach in Wineglass Bay.  Many hikers don't go this far; it seems they just check out the viewpoint then turn back to the car park.  Being in the bay itself is just gorgeous.  Of course there are other hikers, but not as many as one might suspect, so it is really a treat to get to enjoy such a wonderful example of nature's beauty in a complete unspoiled and private environment.  We stay here for a while, snapping pictures and enjoying a snack.

We tear ourselves away and set out west across the isthmus track.  This is a relatively flat path with interesting vegetation.  We see a gorgeous deep pink flower that seems to be completely out of place.  The only other blooming plant we have seen is the Smoky Tea Tree, which has lovely small white flowers.  They are common along the path.  Regarding the pink blossom, though, we later learn from a ranger at the visitor center that it is a hyacinth orchid.  We see three examples on the path.  The flower has not foliage, reminding us of the August blooming flower in Napa known as a Naked Lady (in the lily family).  We come near to a marsh area and are complete confounded by a sound emanating from the marsh.  It sounds almost electronic in a middle to low tone.  We have never heard anything like it.  Is it a bird or what?  Again, the ranger at the visitor center fills us in.  It is the Eastern Banjo Frog.  Strange.  The next stage of the path takes us to a long beach on what is called the Promise Bay.  It is called Hazards Beach.  We also weren't expecting part of the trail to be on a beach, but are pleasantly surprised.  I see a few shells to pick up and take along with me.  We also stop to enjoy our packed lunch that we had purchased this morning at the lodge.

The final part of the trail is 6 kilometers and is not our favorite part.  It follows the coast to the north, but does not offer a lot of variety.  Rob is spotting small lizards along the way, however, which we learn are called Metallic Skinks.  Also, there are no markers on the trail to mark your progress, so you keep thinking you must be getting close to the end, but in reality have quite a ways to go.  Still we make it back in 4 1/2 hours total, which is not too long for this distance.  This was definitely a great hike, even if it was a tramp!

It is only 1:30pm in the afternoon, leaving us ample time to hit the other two major sites in the park.  The first stop is a short hike to Sleepy Bay, which features Gravelly Beach. This area on the Pacific Ocean side of the park provides rocky vistas to enjoy, plus another opportunity to finds really unique and beautiful shells.  I find some in blue, violet, green, and white!

The final stop is a short hike to the lighthouse point, also on the Pacific.  The attraction here is to be at a high spot where you can see all of the tall mountains on the peninsula in one vista, as well as see into Wineglass Bay in the distance.  It is a little reminiscent of Big Sur, back home in California.  We end our day with a stop to the visitor center where we are able to talk to the rangers about the things we had seen, which they were able to identify for us.  Very nice staff here, but it goes without saying that everyone here in Tasmania is beyond friendly!

We head back to the lodge for some needed downtime after several miles of walking today, possibly as many as twelve!  We go to the bistro for a light snack and a beer.  Then it is time to clean up!

After a break, we head to the lodge for dinner.  We both start with the Greek salad again.  It is very good.  For the first time on this vacation, neither of us opts for a seafood dish, but we both choose a pork loin main dish.  It is okay and is served with cooked red cabbage, which is nice.  Less nice is the canned pineapple ring served overtop or the crackling which is served on top of that.  What is that, I ask the server when the dish is presented.  She tells us that it is fried pork fat.  I'll pass, although I'm sure it is delicious.  Best to avoid things like that.  Our wine is a pinot noir from Milton.  Milton is located in Cranbrook, a small town north of Swansea nearby that we had driven past on the way to the park.  This evening is sunny with no clouds, which is very pleasant.  We end the day, sitting on our deck admiring the sunset on Richardson Beach.