Bad idea: step in dog poo while packing in the dark and baste in the aroma for the next 2 hours while driving to the coast.
Anyway...
We stayed in a cabin overlooking Coles Bay for the night and woke the next morning to perfectly blue skies with the pink granite crags of the Hazards reflected in the bay. We could almost believe it was a mild summer day - until we noticed the layer of ice that had formed on the BT overnight...
The plan for the day was the Wineglass Bay/Hazards Beach circuit walk. This started by cutting through the rocky Hazards before climbing to a lookout over Wineglass Bay.
The scenery reminded me of the NT (only the rocks were pink instead of orange and red)(and the temperature was about 25 degrees cooler)
Wineglass Bay
From there we descended to the bay itself, which was doing a pretty good job of living up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful beaches in Tassie.
We walked the whole length of the bay, and were rewarded by sighting a pod of dolphins. This was pretty exciting (for me at least), until they were completely stood up by the acrobatics of a playful seal.
He swam closer and closer to shore, somersaulting out of the water, until all of a sudden he spotted us watching him. He took a long look, then hightailed it back in the other direction, pausing to stick his head out of the water to check on us every 10 metres or so.
I'm not sure who was more bemused - him or us
No fungus on the beach, but there were plenty of other subjects for macros...
After a long walk back along the bay, the track cut across the peninsula, passing by a chain of lagoons along the way.
And then deposited us on Hazards beach.
After walking along the beach for a bit, the track took us up onto the clifftops and through the bush.
One of several vantage points along the water
Looking back towards Coles Bay
As you can see, the weather was terrible...
We eventually made it back to the carpark, feeling a little footsore. After checking our GPS, we realized that we had actually walked almost 18km - guess that would explain tired legs...
View from the beach at our accommodation with the setting sun lighting up the Hazards
We drove to Swansea to find something for dinner (after discovering that all the hotel restaurants were closed for August). Then made a few stops along the way back to photograph the stars.
Aurora!!!
Our plan for the next morning was to climb Mount Amos - a peak in the Hazards range directly overlooking Wineglass Bay.
Target acquired
This friendly sign pretty much says that there is a lot of scrambling over exposed rock ahead and to turn back if it's wet because there is a good chance you might die...
Lucky for us it was dry. They weren't kidding about lots of walking across exposed rock.
This in fact is a picture of the "track"
As is this
We eventually made it to the top, where we were rewarded with some pretty amazing views.
Wineglass Bay
We gradually picked our way back down the rocks (picked, skidded, slid...), enjoying panoramic views over Coles Bay the whole way down.
These guys were sitting just beside the track as we approached the carpark.
After leaving Freycinet, we headed up the coast and made a brief stop in Bicheno to grab some lunch and to check out the blowhole.
Then we made the long drive back to Launceston, with the snow-capped Ben Lomond dominating the view (as if we needed reminding of the climate we were returning to...)
