Since I´ve recovered some of my photos from our big Australia Trip I´m spending my time sorting and editing them and I´m not done praising this country for its beauty.
Here is the next eye candy for you, the Wineglass Bay in the Freycinet Nationalpark on the Eastcoast of Tasmania. The Freycinet Peninsula is named after the French navigator Louis de Freycinet, who, under the command of Nicholas Baudin 1802-1803, explored Vandiemensland (today's Tasmania).
In the beginning, this area, where today's National Park and Great Oyster Bay are located, was dominated by whaling and tin and coal mining.
The National Park for the Protection of this Region was founded in 1916 and since then, together with the Mount Field National Park, has been the oldest national park in Tasmania.
Most people think that the name of the bay comes from the fact that it looks like a wine glass, which it doesn't. Other people think it comes from the orange reddish coloured granite boulders at the beach. In fact, the true origin of the name is far more cruel.
While The Hazard another beautiful feature on the peninsula was named after an american whaler, the Wineglass Bay also got its name from whaling.
When there were still whaling stations operating, the bay turned red from the slaughtering of the whales. From the Lookouts around the Bay, it then looked like a glass being filled with red wine.
Luckily, there is no more whaling anymore today, but beautiful white beaches, orange granite and many exciting walking tracks covering this peninsula.
One of these walks is the Wineglass Bay Lookout Track which will give you the most celebrated views over the beautiful white sands of Wineglass Bay. It is an relatively easy, short but fairly steep walk up from the carpark. The loose gravel can be very slippery at some section and you should bring a bit of hiking experience. From the saddle between Mt Amos and Mt Mayson, there is a side track leading you to a first Lookout with spectacular views.
Imagine, sitting up there, sweating like hell and the only thing you want to do is jump into that refreshing and crystal clear water down there. That´s how we felt. But the only chance to enjoy that is taking the approximately 1000 stairs down to Wineglass Bay Beach.
But the time we´ve spent at this spectacular beach, walking it up and down again, was totally worth the effort and all the mosquito bites we got on the way down. But honestly, if you are not fit or feeling unwell I can´t recommend to go down. Because, who would have thought, you have to walk all the way up again.
And if you have enough time and feel fit enough to carry a tent and other equipment down there, you have the chance to camp on the campsite down there. But you also have to bring your own drinking water which makes it even harder.
Last but not least, we saw a Wallaby back at the parking lot, that was begging for food.
There are many many hiking tracks in this Nationalpark. From easy 1 hour walks to several day walks over the whole peninsula. There is something for everyone and if you´re lucky enough you can spot wildlife like Wallabies, Wombats, Echidnas or even an Tasmanian Devil. When it is whale season you can even see Humpback whales or a bottlenose dolphin.
Whenever you have the chance to visit tasmania, don´t miss out on this nationalpark.
Such a beautiful place I've been there a couple of times.
Only been there once but would love to travel through Tasmania again