Aboriginal Name for Tasmania - Palawa

Freycinet Peninsula Circuit

It was midday Sunday in November. We were perched high on the granite summits of Mount Freycinet. Looking down onto the turquoise waters and white curved beach of Wineglass Bay, we contemplated the dark history of Van Diemen’s Land. In the early 1800s, barbaric whaling practices had turned the bay into ‘wine’. While the bay has since recovered, the whale population never did.

We had set out two days earlier, on a Friday morning, heading south from the Wineglass Bay car park towards Cooks Beach, following the anti-clockwise directive (Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service (TPWS) wants you to hike in this direction so you don’t spread root rot).

After making our way along the Hazard Beach cliff and scrub track, we dropped down onto the long stretch of Hazards Beach. Under a blazing un-Tasmanian sun, we powered through soft sand for what felt like hours – it was hours – only sure we were getting closer when we looked back and could see how far we’d come.

Hiking boots long discarded, we crossed trickling creeks where they ran out into the ocean, and marveled at the untouched savage beauty of it all.

At the end of Hazards Beach we re-entered the scrub, trekked along the Peninsula Track towards Cooks Beach, and the dappled sclerophyll forest was a welcome relief from the unexpected midday heat.

We popped out onto Cooks Beach, the white sand simply dazzled and was accented by terracotta coloured rock formations and a cyan coloured ocean. We were alone, having not seen anyone the whole day and we took our time selecting our beach side campsite at Cook’s Corner, settling in for the evening.

The next morning, Saturday, we awoke to another unexpected blazing hot, clear day. Make while the sun shines, we thought. We spent the day as local castaways, exploring our deserted stretch of island. We basked in the sun, and shivered knee-deep in the icy ocean. It was a rare day off, and we were cut off, and it was fabulous.

Sunday morning, under a grey fog, we packed up camp and headed for the hills. The climb started rather innocently, winding its way through the leafy scrub before really asserting itself. We left our packs at the track mouth to Mount Freycinet and climbed the summit. The granite boulders provide postcard-worthy views over Wineglass and Promise Bays, with The Hazards between them.

Back at the fork, the main track descended steeply upwards. As in, hand-and-foot steep. Several times I felt my heavy pack try to tip me off the track, and I was relieved to get to the top in once piece. The walk along the tabletop and down again to Wineglass Bay was fairly easy going and scenic, and the spring wildflowers throughout this stretch were amazing.

As we descended down into Wineglass Bay, the humidity and biters increased. Natural viewpoints out to the Bay called to us to stop, but the mosquitoes drove us (me) on. We passed natural waterfalls and through different forest types. Finally, we wound our way to the bottom, through the campground and onto the glorious white sands of Wineglass Bay.

After an invigorating plunge and lunch, we noticed a dark storm in the distance. We decided to play for home – we were only 1.5 hours from the car, with lunch under our belts, and the campground was populated which was not too appealing. We threw our boots over our shoulders and hoofed it, but the storm roared over top before we were half way around the Bay. Bracing winds and biting rain: that ‘Tasmanian’ weather that we’d prepared for had come after all.

At the other end of the Bay we continued (barefoot) up and over The Hazards, down into the Wineglass Bay carpark and piled into our little (warm and dry) rental.

Key details:

The circuit is probably best done in 2-3 days, and TPWS estimates the following timeframes:
   •   4-5 hours from Wineglass Bay carpark to Cooks Beach;
   •   5 – 6 hours from Cooks Beach to Wineglass Bay via Mt Graham; and
   •   1.5 hours from Wineglass Bay back to the Wineglass Bay carpark.

We had enough food for 4 days and water for 2 days (or 3 at a stretch). TPWS warns that the water collection points on track are rainfall and/or usage dependant. For our first leg, we filled up with rainwater from Cooks Hut, which is along the trail towards Bryan’s Beach. Brian’s Beach is an hour walk from Cooks Corner, and there is no water there. On our second leg, we had planned to stop at - but missed - Graham Creek, which is said to be a water source.

We travel with our ultra-light/small MONT Moondance II tent, Thermarest mats, MONT down sleeping-bags, Trangia cooking gear, Deuter water bladders and Nalgene water bottles, all packed into our One Planet packs.

I've never met a pair of shoes that didn’t blister. I advocate the ‘don’t look until you’ve finished’ approach.

by Claudia Gillies

claudiagillies.com

LFRF acknowledges all the Traditional Owners of the land [or country] and pay our respects to the Elders, past and present of all of Tasmania and urges you to please do the same.

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