Walking the Hazards/Wineglass Loop
Dianne and I came up to the east coast a couple of days ago to do some cycling. Or so I thought. This morning she proposed that we go for a walk at Freycinet National Park. I would have preferred another ride on top of the one we did yesterday but was persuaded to be a good sport and trot along behind Her Majesty. Glad I did actually. This is that story.
(By the way, before I forget, if you want to get a good look at any of the photos
they can be viewed in a larger format if you click any image.)
We are staying at north of Freycinet at Bicheno for a few nights, but we really like the Geographe Restaurant and Café Bar in Coles Bay - who do outstanding breakfasts and have a brilliant view overlooking the Hazards - so decided to start our day there.
After a thoroughly enjoyable feed we drove to the start of the peninsula walking tracks. Di had suggested a more ambitious plan but I persuaded her that the loop around Mt Mayson would be sufficiently energetic and provide enough entertainment for the day and not leave us too wasted to watch a bit of the Tour de France this evening. We love this hike and have done it many times: with students, our kids and grandkids, overseas visitors and lots more times just by ourselves.
When Di asked which way I'd like to go it transpired we were on the same wavelength. We usually do this walk in a clockwise direction so we get the views down into Wineglass Bay after climbing up to the lookout, especially when we have guests along. But today we both had a notion to go the other way, so that's what we did. The first thing we noticed was how wet and healthy the environment looked. The first creek crossing had a delightful amount of water flowing ...
... and this turned out to be the pattern throughout the walk. In fact it was so wet that Parks staff had posted a sign warning visitors of the abundance of mosquitos, and the risk of catching the Ross River Virus if bitten. When we saw that we decided not to linger as we crossed the creeks.
It soon became apparent that this was perhaps the healthiest we've ever seen the park in all the times we've visited. The bush was lush, and some of the flowering plants were even starting to bloom, which is certainly earlier than normal. There are a small number of ancient Grass Trees along the path that were burned almost to the ground during savage fires that devastated the park some years ago. These have rebounded well in the last decade or so and this one is looking great ...
Cool conditions and almost no traffic made for excellent walking. With views across Spring Bay, gently undulating terrain taking us across granite slabs and up and down through sections of bush to cross a number of creeks, we rolled along until we were brought closer to the shore. This tiny beach has been a favoured spot for dips by us and others in the past ...
A little more time back in the bush and then we were soon approaching the glorious Hazards Beach ...
While Wineglass Bay is more picturesque and easier to get to, Hazards Beach is far better for walking along and having a swim.
Once on the beach itself we were gobsmacked to discover that we were alone on the strand: the first time in many, many years we've had this beach to ourselves. There was a time when we could rely on no-one else being there if we turned up in winter relatively early in the morning. Today was a throwback to those days. Remarkably, it stayed that way for the entire traverse of the beach even though we stopped a few times for photos ...
At the point where the track leaves the beach to cross the isthmus we were delighted to discover that Parks has constructed a new set of stairs up and through the dunes to stop the erosion that has been getting worse with the increased traffic over recent years ...
They have also sited a bench and it was amusing to see a number of towels left there ... for passing skinny-dippers perhaps?
With the amount of rain the east coast had recently received we thought there was a good chance the lagoon might actually have some water in it after being dry for so long. Nothing could have prepared us for the magnificent sight that greeted us halfway across the isthmus ...
It has been literally decades since we've seen water like this in the lagoon. Hopefully it will once again attract large numbers of birds. Fingers crossed!
Being low lying and therefore relatively damp (in fact, this year was the wettest we'd ever seen this section of the route) with an abundance of eucalypts and banksias, the isthmus does attract quite good numbers of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos who love to feed on gumnuts and banksia flowers. At one point along the track there was a lot of nuts - or the caps at least! - where the cockies had been feeding. Here is one of the remaining gumnut caps ...
With the walking rather than sightseeing being our main focus and having trodden the sands of Wineglass Bay many times before, we decided to bypass the beach turning left at the junction and started up towards the lookout. Initially the track rises very gradually, making for a good warmup for the steepness ahead. Parks has done a huge amount of work to improve the track between Wineglass Bay and the lookout, which was much needed. The result is terrific. As you start to climb more steeply, there is a long section of individual steps formed with thick timber fronts. Further on, where it is steeper, the steps are constructed of granite sourced locally ...
A little further along the steps steepen up significantly but it's not long from there to the top of the pass but before there we spotted some heath in flower, significant for it shows that it won't be long before the tracks are resplendent with an abundance of these gorgeous flowers, perhaps earlier than normal thanks to the terrific rains the area has had ...
Turning right at the pass to enjoy the view we were delighted to see that the works at the lookout which were in progress the last couple of times we'd visited had been finished. There is now a one-way loop with various viewing spots to reduce congestion. Here's what some of the work looks like ...
... and the view from the platform above ...
Part of the new work features some lovely stonework ...
... and more views down over the water ...
We finished our day trip to the wonderful Freycinet Peninsula with lunch at Freycinet Lodge, grazing a plate of charcuterie and imbibing some terrific boutique beer (Harbour Masters Ale from the Hobart Brewing Company! 😉)
Whenever I eat food like this I think of our good friend Michel Leonard, who hails from Brittany and claims that his beautiful province is the home of such fare. He has visited us twice in Tasmania and we hope we can catch up again before too much more time passes. It's been too long since we've seen him.
... and a look at the walk in the context of the Freycinet Peninsula and Swansea across Spring Bay ...
If you're a fan of overnight hiking, there is a great walk out to Cooks Beach further down the peninsula. It's worth making a three day trip of it, spending a day at Cooks with a visit across to the secluded Bryans Beach. The trip back over Mt Graham with a side trip up Mt Freycinet makes for a very memorable trip. This is what it looks like on the map ...
... and finally here's a link to let you know what the climbs are like and distances you'd be letting yourself in for.
