A Wineglass and Wallabies June 15, 2006
Over breakfast at the Lodge this morning, we decided where and how to spend our first day in Tasmania. After conferring with our new friends Keith and Ann, we decide we would drive to Freycinet National Park (FNP).
It’s a beautiful two hour drive to FNP northeast of Hobart through country where the sheep outnumber the people 100 to 1. The narrow two lane highway meanders through rolling hills while crossing rivers and skirting the coast of the Tasman Sea. Eucalyptus (gum trees), beech, pine and various fruit trees spotted the hill sides. The occasional vineyard passed our gaze as we leisurely made our way to the Freycinet Peninsula. The one constant was sheep. At first these woolly non-threatening animals added a sense of domestication to the bucolic scene, but after the first million or so we began to have the feeling we were being cast in a bad remake of a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie.
All our trepidations were forgotten as we approached the town of Swansea. A few kilometers shy of Swansea, the road begins to parallel Great Oyster Bay. The opposite side of the bay is defined by Freycinet Peninsula. Freycinet is a rugged, mountainous finger of land that extends due south from Cape Lodi. The wind was gusting to 30-40 knots across the bay, blowing the tops off of waves as they rushed toward us to finally crash on the beach. It was a wild chaotic scene made more dramatic by the backdrop of Freycinet’s Hazard Mountains.
We arrived at FNP around 2:30pm and were afraid that would not have time to climb to the Wineglass Bay overlook. This is one of the more famous views in a part of the world known for spectacular scenery and we did not want to miss it, but we also didn’t want to be out on a rugged unfamiliar trail after dark. We had read that a round trip would take about three hours and with darkness falling about 5pm it did not look like we were going to have time to complete this hike. We stopped at the park visitor’s center and were told by a very helpful lady ranger that it would take 3 hours for a round trip to the beach but only about 1.5 hours to hike to and from the overlook. We hurried to the trailhead and started toward a gap in the hills that rose in front of us. The trail climbed steadily as it left the parking area winding its way through the gum tree forest. As we topped a rise, Holly pulled up short as she spotted a wallaby sitting by the trail. A wallaby is a small (this one was maybe 12-15 lbs and standing about 24 inches high) kangaroo looking creature; it seemed not too disturbed by people, or at least not in a national park setting. He let us get within 15-20 feet and as we didn’t make any loud noises or quick movements he sat calmly as we continued on toward our goal. Five minutes later we were at the overlook and being rewarded for our efforts. (If we can sort out the problem with publishing photos we will post a shot of Wineglass Bay and the wallaby. By the way it was named Wineglass Bay because of the symmetrical curve of the beach and the dark color of the water. No I’ve never had any blue wine either but I guess you have to use your imagination). After spending 20 minutes or so at the overlook and with the light fading we headed back down though the pass. Our wallaby friend was no longer on the trail, but as we continued down the mountain we met several others. Like a lot of animals they are most active at night. They are also so damned cute that it’s hard to resist wanting to pick one up.
We did not have hotel reservations for tonight so we started looking for a place to stay. Although this is a national park and a tourist area, it is remote so we knew that we may end up driving back to Swansea (50k) or further to find lodging. Good fortune smiled on us and we are now housed in a small but new cabin in a place called Iluka Holiday Centre in Coles Bay, just a few minutes from the park entrance.
Tomorrow we head south, so stay tuned.
It’s a beautiful two hour drive to FNP northeast of Hobart through country where the sheep outnumber the people 100 to 1. The narrow two lane highway meanders through rolling hills while crossing rivers and skirting the coast of the Tasman Sea. Eucalyptus (gum trees), beech, pine and various fruit trees spotted the hill sides. The occasional vineyard passed our gaze as we leisurely made our way to the Freycinet Peninsula. The one constant was sheep. At first these woolly non-threatening animals added a sense of domestication to the bucolic scene, but after the first million or so we began to have the feeling we were being cast in a bad remake of a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie.
All our trepidations were forgotten as we approached the town of Swansea. A few kilometers shy of Swansea, the road begins to parallel Great Oyster Bay. The opposite side of the bay is defined by Freycinet Peninsula. Freycinet is a rugged, mountainous finger of land that extends due south from Cape Lodi. The wind was gusting to 30-40 knots across the bay, blowing the tops off of waves as they rushed toward us to finally crash on the beach. It was a wild chaotic scene made more dramatic by the backdrop of Freycinet’s Hazard Mountains.
We arrived at FNP around 2:30pm and were afraid that would not have time to climb to the Wineglass Bay overlook. This is one of the more famous views in a part of the world known for spectacular scenery and we did not want to miss it, but we also didn’t want to be out on a rugged unfamiliar trail after dark. We had read that a round trip would take about three hours and with darkness falling about 5pm it did not look like we were going to have time to complete this hike. We stopped at the park visitor’s center and were told by a very helpful lady ranger that it would take 3 hours for a round trip to the beach but only about 1.5 hours to hike to and from the overlook. We hurried to the trailhead and started toward a gap in the hills that rose in front of us. The trail climbed steadily as it left the parking area winding its way through the gum tree forest. As we topped a rise, Holly pulled up short as she spotted a wallaby sitting by the trail. A wallaby is a small (this one was maybe 12-15 lbs and standing about 24 inches high) kangaroo looking creature; it seemed not too disturbed by people, or at least not in a national park setting. He let us get within 15-20 feet and as we didn’t make any loud noises or quick movements he sat calmly as we continued on toward our goal. Five minutes later we were at the overlook and being rewarded for our efforts. (If we can sort out the problem with publishing photos we will post a shot of Wineglass Bay and the wallaby. By the way it was named Wineglass Bay because of the symmetrical curve of the beach and the dark color of the water. No I’ve never had any blue wine either but I guess you have to use your imagination). After spending 20 minutes or so at the overlook and with the light fading we headed back down though the pass. Our wallaby friend was no longer on the trail, but as we continued down the mountain we met several others. Like a lot of animals they are most active at night. They are also so damned cute that it’s hard to resist wanting to pick one up.
We did not have hotel reservations for tonight so we started looking for a place to stay. Although this is a national park and a tourist area, it is remote so we knew that we may end up driving back to Swansea (50k) or further to find lodging. Good fortune smiled on us and we are now housed in a small but new cabin in a place called Iluka Holiday Centre in Coles Bay, just a few minutes from the park entrance.
Tomorrow we head south, so stay tuned.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 4:17 AM
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