We celebrated Graham’s 70th birthday with a stay at Freycinet Lodge. And of course we took the opportunity to enjoy some day walks in the Freycinet National Park. Our short walks included Cape Tourville lighthouse, Sleepy Bay, Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach. We hope this Blog will help you plan your next visit to the National Park!
Because we have stayed here before, we knew we would enjoy our two-night stay at Freycinet Lodge. It didn’t disappoint! The semi-detached rooms are comfortable, spacious and quiet. The service was professional and courteous. We especially enjoyed our conversations with the young staff who have come to Tasmania from many different countries – including Nepal and France. And the meals in the Bay restaurant were excellent!
Cape Tourville & Sleepy Bay
The weather was wild when we arrived. The wind was gusting and the rain was stinging. But Tassie is beautiful in all weather!
Cape Tourville lighthouse
After checking-in to our accommodation, we decided to drive to Cape Tourville. I guess it’s not surprising that we were the only people there. If COVID-restrictions weren’t keeping people away, then the icy rain most likely was.
This is Graham doing his explorer of the antarctic impersonation. We were nearly blown off the path as we walked to the light house! The lens on my camera fogged up, and I couldn’t photoshop all the rain droplets of the images, so these are the only images I could post.
Sleepy Bay
Driving back down the hill from the lighthouse, on Cape Tourville Road, we took the short left-hand detour to Sleepy Bay.
From the car park, there is a short track leading down to the bay.
We really enjoyed this walk. The wild weather and angry sea turned the walk into a mini adventure.
Graham saw two seals playing in the waves.
Our umbrellas were almost turned inside-out and our coats were dripping wet, but this was an enjoyable start to our Freycinet National Park getaway. We were mesmerised by the waves crashing onto the rocks. So here is a short video of the waves and crackling rain.
Hazards Beach walk
After a cosy evening of reading, followed by a luxurious deep sleep, then a hot breakfast we drove a short distance along Freycinet Drive to the National Park visitor car park.
I had walked the Hazards Beach trail about 25 years ago. Graham had also completed a multi-day walk on the peninsular track many years ago. But our memories of the beauty of the beaches, mountains and rugged granite outcrops had faded.
However, I still had a vague memory about the track from Hazards Beach back to the car park being difficult. My memory was of rocky slopes and awful afternoon heat – it was January when I did last did this walk!
Unfortunately there was still some currency in my memory. So having completed this walk again now, I’m thinking it might have been more enjoyable to walk back, past Wineglass Bay to the car park. That is, cut out the Hazards Beach-to-car-park section of the walk.
One aspect of exploring Freycinet National Park while Tasmania is closed-off from Australia’s other Island and overseas countries, is the absence of crowds! We met less than half-a-dozen other small groups on the track.
Unlike last year when we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to drive to Freycinet, walk to the Wineglass Bay Lookout and have an evening meal in Bicheno. Well, we managed the dinner part. We drove to the Freycinet car park and had to keep driving, because the car park was full! There were people everywhere.
The following video provides a visual description of the 11.5 km Hazards Beach walk at Freycinet National Park in Tasmania.
If you are interested in other iconic (and lesser-known) walks in Tasmania, you might like to take a look at our Off the Beaten Track blog.
[…] time we are off to Cradle Mountain for some short walks. We enjoyed our getaway to Freycinet so much, that we got away again! We took advantage of Tasmania’s border restrictions and the […]