Wednesday, March 28 – The East Coast

Today started early! We were up in time to get a beach walk in at sunrise. Not as spectacular as it could have been, due to some clouds, but we had the beautiful beach all to ourselves. That in itself is pretty spectacular! 

First Light, at Binalong Bay, TAS

Soon, the day's first light appeared. Time to get moving! A quick breakfast at the cottage, then we were off, heading south.

We made a quick stop at the Bicheno Blowhole, but it wasn’t going very strong so we moved on. We got to Freycinet in good time but Lisa had forgotten her annual park pass. Luckily, they were able to look the information up for her, and we were in without having to pay again! We parked and got ready for the hike to the Wineglass Bay lookout.

Wineglass Bay Hike, Freycinet NP, TAS

We were hoping to get some shade on the hike, but the trees were scrubby and the shade was only partial. Still, a nice hike with views that got better and better as we climbed higher. And the absence of tree cover made for better pictures.

We had to wait for a wallaby to get out of our way at one point.

Wineglass Bay Overlook and Freycinet Peninsula

Then we crested the hill and the gorgeous panorama awaited us. Wow, what a view!

Time for pictures. And also some cooling down, after that climb. 

Narrow inlet to Wineglass Bay

We thought about hiking down to the actual beach, but decided that the view was good enough, and besides, we had lots of other stuff to do. 

So back down to the car, and time for lunch. 

On the way to lunch, we took a detour to the Cape Tourville Lighthouse. That was a gorgeous view, with cliffs and the blue waters of the Tasman Sea as far as the eye could see.

Cape Tourville. Next stop, New Zealand, in 1000 km

We stopped off for lunch at a fish market, the Freycinet Marine Farm. Luckily, we pulled in just ahead of a large tour bus. We were glad that we didn’t have to wait in line behind them. After a nice scallop dish and some wine, we were ready for more touring. 

Or wine tasting. Whichever came first, and it was Devil’s Corner Cellar Door that won out. They had a nice view from the observation tower on their property. And, a delicious Pinot Noir which we bought.

Observation Tower, Devil's Corner Cellar Door

A quick shopping stop where we bought a souvenir – a glass dolphin to join the many other animals on our shelf in the living room. That’s usually the only type of souvenirs we buy; otherwise, we’d have a house that’s even more full of stuff that we never use. 

Bicheno Blowhole, Bicheno, TAS

One more stop at the blowhole, but still not as impressive as Lisa thought it should be. 

So it’s off to see animals.

We got to East Coast Nature Reserve with plenty of time, so we wandered around seeing a few exhibits before it was devil feeding time. 

Quoll at East Coast Natureworld, Bicheno, TAS

First the quolls. They were very cute, but they ate like vicious killers. Yet they were docile when the handlers picked them up.

Tasmanian Devil at East Coast Natureworld, Bicheno, TAS

Then the Tasmanian devils - the highlight event. They knew it was feeding time!

We think Tasmanian Devils are adorable. But you would not catch me in that pen with them. Those jaws are powerful and they really chow down!

We moved on to the wombats, which were cute and cuddly. 

And finally, the wallabies, which were relatively boring, but you could pet them. 

Bouncing Wallaby at East Coast Natureworld

A nice park and worth the stop.

From here it was an hour’s drive back home, where we relaxed on the balcony with more wine and good company. Robbie and Jan joined us and eventually we decided that we needed a little more food than just cheese. So we grabbed some pizzas from the restaurant next door, which were cooked in their wood-fired oven, and we enjoyed them on the deck. With more wine, of course.

Last Night at Kingfisher Cottage

Our stash is finally getting manageable, though we do have one more night to drink some. I have brought two wine checks so that we could safely bring wine home, but I didn’t bring the Styrofoam inserts in order to save space. This has proven a bit tricky, as nobody seems to sell the inserts. We are crafty though, and we’ll think of something.

Tomorrow we leave for Launceston. We had planned to stay at the cottage for the whole time, but Lisa rents out her cottage on the side. Since it’s Easter Weekend, someone has it booked starting tomorrow. So we’ll overnight in Launceston before flying back to the mainland on Friday. I don’t want to think about what comes after that!