MOT Tour Day 35 - More From Freycinet

Lunch

Our final day in Coles Bay/Freycinet was again one of soaking up the visual delights of this place. 

Before we could, we had to think through our food supplies for the next seven days because we will be in the wilderness area of Lakes Pedder and St Clair and because we are having to shop on route tomorrow.

Once that was squared away and at brother Art's recommendation, we spent the remaining part of the morning up at Cape Tourville Lighthouse and the magnificent views to be had from the boardwalk which has been placed on the cliff tops below it. It was quite simply among the most breathtaking views we have experienced of a landscape. From the moment you hit the boardwalk, a panorama of mountains and cliffs and a dominant deep blue Tasman Sea which just disappears from your view to the north to south and all the points between through east. The Hazards - the five pink mountains who make up the northern end of Freycinet - just drop straight into the sea, with cliff faces cleaved with vertical planes in the granite. The shadowy face of caves in the cliffs have water in turbulent current about their opening. The footprint of Mt Dove obstructs the view into Wineglass Bay but the southern end, with its white sand and safely moored sailing boats, is clearly visible.

The view from
Cape Tourville Lighthouse

The mountains south of Wineglass Bay - Mt Graham and Mt Freycinet - tower over the southern section of the park, with Freycinet the tallest peak in the national park. From our vantage point, its slopes run from their apex, down through ridges and gullies, straight to tall cliffs who drop suddenly into the sea. This wall of cliffs extends to Cape Forester, with Lemon Rock an outlier of the cape. It was called Lemon Rock by whalers back in the 1820's, because they used to keep a signal light there to warn shipping of the cape. The signal was created by burning acetylene, which burnt as a yellow light.

The deep, rippling blue of the restless Tasman Sea, the pink of the granite in the Hazards, the dark tones of the dolerite of the southern twin mountains, the shades of green, the bright blue sky and just a few white clouds ... it was a painter's palette rich in colour and tones.

At times such as these, you just take a deep breath and thank your maker, or your lucky stars or Paul Keating (the fairy godmother who created superannuation).

At Sue's insistence, we had returned to the very small community heart of Coles Bay and sat in the pleasant dining area of Geographe and had hot chips and beers. The Hazards stood there before us, across the two kilometers of Coles Bay.

By now it was deep into the afternoon and we did some pre-packing in readiness for a quick getaway in the morning. We will be travelling to Lake Pedder on one of our longest driving days of our time in Tasmania. Grocery shopping at New Norfolk along the way and winding roads will make the 320kms and long day and we are heading into wet weather by mid afternoon.

Its all in the timing.

Sunset at Muirs Beach

Then in the final hours we crossed the road and went for a casual wander along Muirs Beach, which runs in a northwest line from Coles Bay, in the far north east of Great Oster Bay. With sun low, the water sparkled, making sighting Picnic Island difficult. Picnic Island is small and has only one purpose: the provision of high end retreat. A night there comes at the exorbitant price of $2,200 per night. Not for the likes of us but I guess as a honeymoon destination it might offer some attraction. Turning back to the way we came, suddenly we were confronted by the constant presence of the Hazards yet again, with Coles Bay and Muirs Beach in the foreground. In the late afternoon light, it was a jaw-dropping moment.

Click here for today's photos

Freycinet National Park has proven to be a superb experience and one which has burned deep into our memory and created comparisons with other visual treats both here in Australia and on our meagre journeys overseas. It will be hard to top but the next two weeks - Pedder, Lake St Clair and the Gordon River - are the strong contender to at least fight that conclusion to a draw.