Tasmania – the Great Eastern Drive (Day 2)

On Day 2 of my road trip I got up good and early and had breakfast out of the back of the Scooby before driving the short distance (ten minutes) from Coles Bay town to the entrance of Freycinet National Park.

It was a glorious sunny day so I was glad of my hat and sunscreen, and getting an early start to miss the worst of the midday heat

The first part of the walk was up the steep slope of the ridge between Mount Amos and Mount Mayson which had some unusual rock formations along the way.

After about twenty minutes you come to the to the first lookout point where you can look back and get a view of Coles Bay itself.

Continuing upwards to the top of the ridge between the two mountains…

…you come to the best view of all, looking down the other side to iconic Wineglass Bay.

Click on the video.

Many people stop at this point because, if you go down to Wineglass Bay, you’re looking at 1000 steps coming back up, or a 2.5 hour round walk coming back round Mount Mayson..

In need of a good hike, I’d already decided to chose the latter route, so I continued down the steep track till I got to the bay.

Once I got there, I could understand why it has been voted as one of the top ten beaches in the world, due to its white sand and crystal clear water.

Some brave souls were playing in the surf, despite the big waves and the strong rip tide, and the fact the beach is unpatrolled.

Click on the video.

If you look at the first video you’ll notice there’s a second bay to the right of Wineglass Bay, with an isthmus separating the two. This was my next destination, Hazards Beach.

The walk over the isthmus was nice and flat so it easy going, and very peaceful and quiet with fewer hikers.

I came across this peaceful scene along the way. Video here.

After twenty minutes I arrived at Hazards Beach which was virtually deserted.

The sea here was much calmer and far better for swimming.

Click on the video.

There were lots of these strange plant growths rolling along the beach like tumbleweed being blown in the wind. I learned later they were from a kind of grass called Spinifex.

Walking past the main beach and back into the forest, I began to really regret not bringing my swimming gear as I came across a chain of small coves and beaches.

Then came the hardest part of the hike, the two hour slog around Mount Mayson over undulating rocky terrain.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, I got back to my starting point, the carpark where the Scooby was parked up. The Hazards Beach loop is supposed to take about 5 hours but somehow I did it in 4 with lots of stops.

But the day wasn’t over. I had an oyster farm tour booked in at four o’clock at Melshell Oyster Shack melshelloysters.com.au.

My tour leader was the highly ebullient Cassie who gave me good grounding on how to farm oysters.

And I got to try my beloved Pacific Golds for the second and last time. So wish I could eat these again! But more about that in my coming post on oysters.

After the tour I headed north to Bicheno where I’d spend the night. I made it just in time to eat at the Lobster Shack www.lobstershacktasmania.com.au before they closed at 7pm. It’s a popular place so I had to queue for a while. It’s an informal place where you pay, collect a beeper and wait to be called.

I had their half lobster (decent) with garlic butter meh) but the chips were great and the salad was nice. Not cheap at $65 though.

The local Pinot Grigio (Devil’s Corner) I had with it was lovely. The restaurant has a great view of the small harbour and the seabird colony flocking on the rocky islet opposite.

Bicheno’s whisky distillery, Waubs Harbour Distillery waubsharbourwhisky.com, was right next door and I would have gone for a tasting but it was closed on the Tuesday I was there.

Instead I went to the local pub, the Long Boat Tavern www.beachfrontbicheno.com.au/longboattavern and tried two whiskies, one from Waubs (subtle) and another called Maverick (full on) from the Ironhouse Distillery www.ironhouse.com.au just up the coast. I preferred the big flavours of the Maverick.

Map here.

Day 3 of the drive, coming next…