Wednesday, February 24 – Hobart to Swansea: Freycinet and Wineglass Bay

We packed up and left our hill-top sanctuary in Hobart this morning with the goal of heading to Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay. This is a drive up the east coast of Tasmania to about the middle. We had a rocky start! Headed in the wrong direction after we crossed the bridge on the outskirts of Hobart and when we realized and got off the motorway, we couldn’t get back on the motorway in the opposite direction. Then when we could, we made a wrong turn and went wrong again and ended up in total discombobulation! There are times in life when you feel incompetent, and this was one of those times for us!! So….we ended up back in Hobart, going around the roundabout and heading out of Hobart again in the correct direction but now with the knowledge to take the right direction at the point we went wrong at before. Thank goodness for roundabouts!!

To be honest, we can’t say it was an interesting drive. Pretty enough, but there really wasn’t much of interest on the route.  We passed through lovely plains or valleys of parched wheaten coloured pastures dotted with sparse mop-headed trees with tons of sheep grazing on it and some cattle and horses. We meandered through hills,  and passed places with names like “bust me gal hill”. We passed a pretty Anglican church in Buckland,  signs that said “What’s around the next corner: Expect the unexpected….” We are still waiting to see the “unexpected”. In Orford we saw lots of smoke in the forest and smelled fire and passed safely along. We came to Trabunna, a pretty little fishing village with a ferry to Maria Island which used to be a convict settlement. Then when we hit the ocean at Mayfield Bay the scenery changed and the grass become much greener, and we passed pretty beaches such as Kelvedon Beach and Cressy Beach. 

We arrived in Swansea around midday and decided to find a hotel. It seemed so busy we started to get a bit nervous. We have a neat spot on the ocean - $185 – the “Waterloo Inn.” Expensive we think for what it provides. The Internet is so slow, the cups and saucers in the room were dirty, the carpet is worn so that the pile is flat. But it has a restaurant and a bar which is more than most and the room is a comfortable size with a balcony and a fridge…..and it seems clean!!

Pricing in Australia is really expensive. Especially down here on Tasmania. The wine they make here is probably $35 a bottle upwards, consequently we haven’t had any Tasmanian wine. 

Accommodation is very expensive given the condition of the hotels and motels. And yet, in Hobart we paid $159 for the first two nights and $209 for the third night which is probably the best value for money we have had since we left Sydney.

After checking into the hotel we drove another 40 k plus or minus to the Freycinet National Park which is situated on the Freycinet Peninsula. A pretty drive on narrow, windy, tree-lined roads with rough edges, enormous potholes, and speed limits of 100. It boggles our Canadian-saturated minds!!

Once in the park, we paid our $60 park entrance fee which entitles us to visit two or more National Parks and headed to the parking lot for the Wineglass Bay walk. 

We reached the lookout in less than the posted time and amazed at the pink granite mountains that rise straight from the sea to form a sheltered waterway for one of the “world’s top ten beaches”…..Wineglass Bay. While at the top, a wallaby came to visit. He, or she, was very relaxed and inquisitive and another couple grabbed my phone and took some pictures of us beside it. It was thrilling to be so close to such a beautiful animal. The beach below was definitely beautiful, and remote ….and beckoning…so we made the descent in about 30 minutes and couldn’t wait to dig our toes into the golden sand and run wild into the deserted ocean. Only another two or three couples were visible on the miles of sand. As I said to one couple going down as we were going up, “it is worth twice the effort.” The trail was like the ones in BC; we met a few hikers on the way with whom we  shared a few warm words. The rocks and boulders, and stone steps for the 2 k uphill return journey were reminiscent of The Chief in Squamish.  But on the way back the mosquitoes chased us, so we made it quite quickly with as few stops as possible.  We were so lucky. We almost made it back to the car before the rain that had been threatening us all afternoon decided to water the earth.

It is now after dinner; Ray is in bed; and I am, as usual, writing my blog.

Have I mentioned the really hard time I am having keeping all my “stuff” together? It has become a real issue. I have 2 cell phones, a camera and equipment, 2 pairs or reading glasses and 2 pairs of distance glasses. Then I have my water bottle, my money, my pen, the map of the moment, my pad for making notes….and I think that is about it. I am “paranoid” about losing something important….you know, stepping out of the car and my glasses falling on the ground, then moving on without them…and I do lose something at least two or three times a day, only to find it, or have Ray find it, lying on the floor under the seat in the car, in my bag, in the back seat..etc. etc. I have never been good about putting things in the same place all the time. Now I wish I had learned that ….it would have made my life at this point much easier!! Does anyone know what I mean???