Freycinet: Where in the world is this wonderful natural resource?

An island the size of Sri Lanka, a host of natural wonders, including a magnificent place named Freycinet, half a million souls and dangling 250 km south of the world’s sixth largest country. But where in the world is Freycinet?

Much to the annoyance of the 570,000 inhabitants, Tasmania is often airbrushed off the map when considering Australia as a whole. But it is a major world island in its own right and one that should be on anyone’s bucket list of places to visit.

Enchanted

We spent two weeks over the Christmas and New Year period in Tasmania. It certainly isn’t my first visit, but it’s the longest. And I returned enchanted. This is a wonderful place to visit.

The Mini went over on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry, which sails from Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, to Devonport on the north coast of Tasmania. The 240-km crossing takes ten hours, and the two-ship service provides options for an overnight or daytime crossing.

It’s just over 1,000km from my home town of Terrigal, in New South Wales, to Geelong in Victoria. All but 25km of that is motorway, so it’s an easy but long drive. We made an overnight stop on the way down, so we arrived at the ferry terminal with plenty of time in hand. We were not alone. Soon the vast car park was full, and the Mini sat like a minnow beside some of the huge pickups/utes and caravans crossing with us.

Make way for boarding

By fluke, we were the first car selected to board the ship, and I now know how Jonah must have felt when he was swallowed by the whale. I had no car to follow; the inside of the ship was like a huge cavern and in the far distance was a solitary man in hi-vis gear waving me up to the highest car deck where the Mini was soon joined by many SUVs, cars and utes. Below it were five more decks of vehicles and containers. And two new, bigger ferries are under construction in Finland for the TT-Line to increase capacity on the crossing. Tasmania is very popular.

Being first to embark had one big benefit — after dropping our overnight bags into our cabin, we were first in the bar!

Smooth crossing

The Bass Strait has a reputation for being very rough because of the confluence of two major oceans, the Indian and the Pacific. The discreet piles of small seasick bags throughout the ship are a testament that rough crossings are the norm rather than the exception. But Poseidon must have taken an early holiday because we had a smooth crossing in both directions.

Being first on the ship did not mean we were first off. Quite the opposite — we were among the last to drive down the ramp and onto terra Tasmania.

After a three-hour drive south, we reached our destination, Freycinet Lodge, in the Freycinet National Park on the Freycinet Peninsula. Too much Freycinet, I thought, but soon changed my mind.

Before I wax lyrically about Freycinet, let me talk about our luggage. Because the east coast of Australia, including Tasmania, has suffered very heavy rain over the past six months, many roads have become riddled with potholes. Tyre and wheel damage has become a frequent hazard. Indeed I have had to replace two pothole-damaged front tyres on the Mini in the past three months.

Now the Mini does not have a spare wheel or even space for a spare wheel. As I have experienced to my cost, 18” Pirelli P7 low-profile tyres are not readily available even in major metro areas, let alone the wilds of Tasmania.

With this at the back of our minds, we took a spare wheel and tyre, and it had to go inside the car, somewhat restricting our luggage space. As the weather through October to December on the east coast of the mainland and Tasmania had been so wet and cool, we packed expecting the worst. We called it wrong, however. We enjoyed beautiful, warm and even hot weather. Much of the clothing we took was never used. You live and learn.

One camera, one lens

I took just one camera — my Leica Q2 — one spare battery and the charger. In early July, after a rush of blood to my head following the very satisfactory sale of a classic car, I bought a Lumix S5 and some of the L-mount lenses much beloved by some Macfilos readers. I have taken all of 20 photos with it since!

There are two reasons for this. First, I have not warmed to the camera — at least not yet, and suspect I never will. The menus and controls frustrate and annoy me. Second, soon after acquiring it, I decided that my beautiful house was just too big and that it was time to downsize. As a result of this decision, the second half of the year was totally occupied with clearing the house, selling it and finding and buying another beautiful but smaller property. That mission was very satisfactorily completed, but it was stressful and does not come recommended. It left no time for photography, even photography with a new toy.

Do I regret buying the S5? Yes, but it was a strange time, and there was a lot going on in my life. At least I have made a note for myself: No more gear, ever!

So it was just the Q2 for Tasmania, but it was hardly a poor decision. I just love the Q2. As regular Macfilos readers may recollect, I acquired my first Leica — a IIIa — in 1967, and although there have been many other brands along the way, I have always had Leicas. I still have that IIIa — it is being restored as I write. Yet of the tens of thousands of photos I have taken over the years, I believe the Q and now the Q2 have given me some of the best results. Nice, simple controls and menus, manageable size and weight, a beautiful lens and just a joy to use.

Spectacular

Anyway, the Q2 had a good workout in Freycinet. The 169 km2 Freycinet National Park is just spectacular. Named after the French explorer Louis de Freycinet, by good fortune it was declared a national park in 1916, so has not been ravaged by developers. There is fortunately very limited road access into the area.

If you want to see Freycinet, you make the effort to travel to the remote east coast of Tasmania, then walk in. Or you cycle or go by boat. You don’t drive in, park, take a cursory look at the view, drop your Big Mac wrapper out of the window and go home. Appreciating Freycinet needs effort, and there are thousands who are prepared to make the effort. But, despite its popularity, this Park is in a pristine state. The beaches are beautiful, totally free of plastic residue, the waters are crystal clear, and there is an almost total absence of litter. The vistas are spectacular.

We stayed in the beautiful Freycinet Lodge. On arrival, an echidna — the Australian version of a hedgehog — greeted us on the path to our cabin. Richardson’s Beach, immediately below the Lodge, is a glorious stretch of sand. It was simply perfect.

Wineglass Bay

On our first morning, we climbed up to the lookout over the beautiful Wineglass Bay. The tourist narrative now is that Wineglass Bay was home to two whaling stations in the early part of the 19th century, and the bay at that time ran red with the blood of the slaughtered whales. Some lookouts on the headland watching out to sea for whales one day decided that the red bay looked like a wineglass, and so the name was adopted. I think that this is a load of poppycock. First, 19th-century Australian whale lookouts would never have tasted wine or ever seen a wineglass. And second, I now know that the original name for the bay was Slaughter Bay — hardly a suitable moniker for the tourist brochure!

It’s a steep climb up to the Wineglass Bay lookout, but we managed it easily, and it was well worth the effort. We did consider tackling the long steep descent — 1000 steps — and return ascent to and from the bay but decided that we would not push our luck and would wait to see it from a boat in a few days.

While we’re talking whales… It’s absolutely wonderful that there are once again thousands migrating up and down the east coast of Australia every year. Only 20 years ago, there were barely any, and it’s a credit to Australia that the country has been at the forefront of the fight to protect them. However, let’s not lose sight of the fact that they were nearly extinct because Australians were mainly — but not solely — responsible for hunting them to that point. Shamefully, the slaughter did not stop until the 1970s, so hold the self-congratulations Australia.

Swap for the Grand Canyon?

I’ve included a selection of the photos I took while exploring Freycinet on foot and from the sea. Honeymoon Bay, Sleepy Bay and Friendly Beaches — the latter named by Louis de Freycinet after he discovered that the local aborigines on that stunning beach were quite friendly. A huge pod of porpoises surrounded the boat as we sailed into Wineglass Bay; sea eagles and kestrels soared over massive granite outcrops.

We had a wonderful time in Freycinet. It is such a stunning place, and I’m going to make a big call here. I’d take Freycinet over the Grand Canyon any day. That’s just my opinion, of course, but Freycinet is so beautiful, so pristine and so uncommercial. Long may it stay that way.

Read more from John Shingleton

Visit the author’s website at The Rolling Road

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