Freycinet National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Aboriginal culture
- Natural features
- Native plants
- Wildlife
- PWS 1300 135 513
- Freycinet Visitor Centre
- (03) 6256 7000
- www.freycinetcolesbay.com
- The Freycinet Experience
- 1800 506 003
- SEARCH for rare orchids in the gullies and woodlands
- STROLL to Cape Tourville lookout for panoramic views of the Tasman Sea, Wineglass Bay, the Friendly Beaches and The Nuggets
- PHOTOGRAPH the perfect white-sand crescent of Wineglass Bay from the Hazards lookout
- GO BEACHCOMBING among the rock pools and headlands of the Friendly Beaches
Introduction
Freycinet National Park is a rare combination of dramatic mountains and picturesque beaches along a narrow twisted peninsula, dissected by a low-lying isthmus dotted with lagoons and marshy wetlands. Rugged rust-coloured granite peaks, often topped with mist in cooler months, light up with an orange glow in the setting summer sun.
Fact file
Access
From Hobart via Tasman Hwy then C302 to Coles Bay; from Launceston via Midlands, Esk and Tasman hwys
Best Season
Spring to autumn
Location
200 km north-east of Hobart
Park Information
Permits
Park entry fee payable
Size
16 800 ha
Where to Stay
Coles Bay (03) 6256 7000
Freycinet Lodge (03) 6257 0101
Freycinet Villas (03) 6257 0320
Illuka Holiday Centre & Youth Hostel
(03) 6257 0115
A look at the past
Abel Tasman sailed up the east coast to Schouten Island in 1642, but it was Nicholas Baudin, following in 1802, who named the peninsula after two of his officers, the brothers Louis and Henri de Freycinet. Sealers, whalers, miners and farmers soon arrived and the hut at Cooks Beach is a relic of this period. The national park was the first in Tasmania, declared in 1916, the same as Mount Field National Park.
Aboriginal culture
Freycinet Peninsula is part of the territory of the Oyster Bay tribe. These people enjoyed a variety of seasonal foods from ducks, swans and shellfish in the coastal lowlands to wallabies and kangaroos inland. The Toorernomairremener band occupied the peninsula, and middens on the coast indicate where food was harvested and stone tools manufactured.
Natural features
Freycinet’s 23-kilometre peninsula is dominated by two rows of granite mountains that sweep up from the sea on either side of a narrow isthmus that connects its two famously beautiful beaches – Wineglass Bay and Promise Bay. Mount Dove (485 metres) and Mount Freycinet (620 metres) are the highest peaks. A coastal dune sweeps northwards from Cape Tourville along the unspoilt Friendly Beaches. Schouten Island in the south is uninhabited and accessible only by boat.
Native plants
Around the beautiful coastline there are shady groves of she-oaks, while inland are blue gum, white peppermint and white gum woodlands with banksias and Oyster Bay pines. Black peppermint, brown-topped stringybark and silver peppermint grow where soils are poor. On the forest floor there are 43 species of orchids; two of the most rare are the horned orchid and rusty hood orchid.
Wildlife
Along with Bennett’s wallabies, Tasmanian pademelons, sugar gliders, common wombats, short-beaked echidnas and ringtail possums, and some very bold brushtail possums around the campgrounds, the park is one of the few places in the state with Tasmanian bettongs, which are extinct on the mainland. Dolphins, humpback whales and southern right whales are seen around the coast. Birds are numerous and some of the noisiest are yellow-tailed black-cockatoos, green rosellas and yellow wattlebirds.
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
The park offers magnificent bushwalking and some of the loveliest beach walking in Australia. Circular bays rimmed with white-sand beaches and lichen-leached boulders entice with romantic names such as the renowned bays of Honeymoon and Wineglass.In summer, there are slide shows, talks and spotlight walks with park rangers. The boulder-strewn Bluestone Bay is accessible by 4WD only. Cruises operate to Wineglass Bay and Schouten Island.
Beach and bushwalking
Cape Tourville Walk is a wheelchair-accessible track offering views over the Tasman Sea from several vantage points. The longer Hazards saddle track (1½ hours return), the most popular short walk, leads to breathtaking views of Wineglass Bay and Mount Graham. The Freycinet Circuit (30 km) heads from the saddle to Wineglass Bay (40 minutes) and either along the sand to its southern end (30 minutes) or across the isthmus to Hazards Beach, where tracks lead south to Cooks and Bryans beaches (3 hours) or back around the coast via Lemana lookout with spectacular views of Promise Bay (2 hours). The Peninsula Track (6 hours) leads from Cooks Beach up and over the East Freycinet Saddle and Mount Graham before descending down to the southern end of Wineglass Bay. Friendly Beaches offers secluded beachcombing amid headlands and rock pools.
Canoeing and kayaking
This coastline is excellent for inshore canoeing or ocean kayaking. There are coves, cliffs and sea caves to explore but keep an eye on the weather.
Fishing
From a boat or the shoreline there is great fishing for trevally, flathead, trumpeter and salmon.
Rock-climbing
The park’s granite peaks offer some challenging climbs, with Whitewater Wall, south of Sleepy Bay, one of the most spectacular.
Scenic flights
Flights take in the Freycinet Peninsula’s dramatic and beautiful landscape. For flight details call (03) 6375 1694.
Campsites
Richardsons Beach (Freycinet Main) Campground
Richardsons Beach (The Sand Dunes) camping area
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