Tasmania - Australia 2004 - page 624

Buses leave at 9am and 3pm every day (except Sat, when there's no 3pm service).
Buses also meet every coach from Launceston, but you need to book in advance.
There are no direct buses from Hobart. Tassielink ( & 1300/300 520 in Australia,
or 03/6272 6611; www.tigerline.com.au) runs buses from Launceston to Bicheno
on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday leaving at 8:30am. Tasmanian Tours
& Travel Tigerline ( & 1300/653 633 in Australia, or 03/6272 6611; www.
tigerline.com.au) offers a day trip to Freycinet with an optional walking trip to
Wineglass Bay (see below) from Hobart on Friday and Sunday in summer only. It
costs A$59 (US$38) for adults and A$40 (US$26) for children. Car entry to the
park costs A$10 (US$6.50) per day.
From Hobart it's about a 3-hour drive to the park.
VISITOR INFORMATION The Visitor Information Centre ( & 03/6375
1333; fax [phone]) on the Tasman Highway at Bicheno can arrange tour
bookings. Otherwise, the Tasmanian Travel and Information Centre in
Hobart ( & 03/6230 8383 ) can supply you with maps and details. Daily entry
to the park costs A$9 (US$5.85) per vehicle.
EXPLORING THE PARK
If you only have time to do one walk, then head out from Freycinet Lodge on
the 30-minute uphill hike past spectacularly beautiful pink granite outcrops to
Wineglass Bay Lookout for breathtaking views. You can then head down to
Wineglass Bay itself and back up again. The walk takes around 2 1 ⁄ 2 hours. A
longer walk takes you along the length of Hazards Beach, where you'll find
plenty of shell middens—seashell refuge heaps—left behind by the Aborigines
who once lived here. This walk takes 6 hours.
Tasmanian Expeditions ( & 1800/030 230 in Australia, or 03/6334 3477;
fax [phone]; www.tas-ex.com) offers a 3-day trip from Launceston and
back that includes 2 nights in cabins at Coles Bay. The trip includes guided
walks to Wineglass Bay and Mt. Amor. It costs A$540 (US$351) and departs
year-round on Wednesday. The company also offers 6- and 12-night walking,
rafting, and cycling trips.
Not to be missed is a trip aboard Freycinet Sea Charter's vessel Kahala ( & 03/
6257 0355; fax [phone]), which offers whale-watching between June and
September, bay and game fishing, dolphin watching, diving, scenic and marine
wildlife cruises, and sunset cruises. Half-day cruises cost A$60 (US$39) per per-
son with a minimum of four adults onboard. Full day cruises cost A$100
(US$65) per person.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
Camping is available in the park itself for A$10 (US$6.50) a tent, though water
is scarce. For inquiries, call the Parks and Wildlife Service ( & 03/6257 0107 ).
Freycinet Lodge I can't praise this ecofriendly lodge enough. Comfort-
able one- and two-room cabins are spread unobtrusively through the bush and
connected by raised walking tracks. Each has a balcony, and the more expensive
ones have a huge Jacuzzi. (The deluxe cabins are newly furnished, and some have
water views.) Twenty cabins have their own kitchens. The main part of the lodge
houses a lounge room and a truly excellent restaurant that sweeps out onto a
veranda overlooking the limpid green waters of Great Oyster Bay. The lodge is
right next to the white sands of Hazards Beach, and from here it's an easy stroll
to the start of the Wineglass Bay walk.