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.

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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. 

MOT Tour Day 33 - Freycinet

Staggering, jaw dropping scenery which took us by complete surprise. 

That might be enough to describe our day of leaving Bicheno and arriving at Coles Bay, on the doorstep of Freycinet NP. The Hazards, a series of mountains which are crammed onto to a peninsular that sticks out in a southerly direction about half the way down the Tasmanian east coast. It creates the large Coles Bay and the mountains of pink granite tower above the water which surrounds the Freycinet Peninsular. To cap it off, an isthmus joins the even bigger peaks of Freycinet and Graham to the peninsular.

Its just very hard to explain the magnitude of mountains rising from the water.

After the short run down the coast from Bicheno, we had the van back up and open before an early lunch, giving us a leg up on our visit and freeing up an afternoon. It was an automatic decision to head to the National Park for the walk to Wineglass Bay Lookout.

It was a climb to reach the saddle between Mt Amos and Mt Mayson which would occupy our afternoon and reveal the world famous Wineglass Bay to us. It was steep. There were lots of steps. We took our time and rested several times on both the way up and the way down. On the way up we listened carefully - if breathlessly - to encouragers who were descending and wanting us to experience what they now had in their memory. On the way down, we did the same for others wondering if their legs and lungs would overpower their anticipation.

The reveal at the top is dramatic and beautifully presented by Tasmanian National Parks, with long platforms from which to absorb the amazing view before you and places to sit. The picture before us was as dramatic as it was beautiful. Wineglass Bay is there, almost at your feet, with its iconic curve of white sand and stunning aqua water. To the left are a series of cliffs and spurs which run down to the ocean. To the right, Hazards Beach reveals Coles Bay. Behind it all are the towing peaks of Mount Graham and Mount Freycinet.

It is just one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen.

The descent was hard in its own way, with different leg muscles having their turn to scream but glimpses of Coles Bay through the trees and the regular appearance of Mt Amos above us still gave us moments of awe.

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Returning to the car, we drove around to Coles Bay, to find the few shops that exist in this small community of under 400. With fish and chips on a picnic table, we sat by the water as Coles Bay was lapping away, while 3 kms away across the bay, the Hazards sat defiantly on the Freycinet Peninsular, shadows of the afternoon sun giving a changing character to folds and cracks and diverse angles.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.