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Freycinet: Three Nights on Tasmania's East Coast

Pink granite peaks, Great Oyster Bay and oysters shucked to order, reached by an east-coast drive and left by a flight out of Launceston.

Duration3 nights
TransitAbout 2 hr 30 min by car from Hobart via the Tasman Highway
DepartsHobart

After the Hobart Marathon: Freycinet and the East Coast

The Route: Hobart → Coles Bay (Freycinet) → Launceston Airport Logistics: Hire car, one way. North-east up the east coast from Hobart to the Freycinet Peninsula, then inland to Launceston for the flight home. Marathon Month: April Duration: 3 nights

Hobart ──(about 2 hrs 30 mins by car, Tasman Highway / east coast)──> Coles Bay, Freycinet
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Launceston Airport (LST) ◄──(about 2 hrs by car)──────────────────────────────┘

The Hobart Marathon finishes on Castray Esplanade on a Sunday morning, and the Freycinet Peninsula is the classic extension up Tasmania's east coast. Leave it until the Monday, drive up the coast, and give it three nights so that the walking can stay short.

April on the east coast: early autumn, with cooler evenings and shorter days than the summer season. Conditions on the coast can change quickly, as anywhere in Tasmania, so pack a warm layer for evenings. Summer crowds have gone, which makes the park car parks and restaurants easier, but opening days for some businesses shrink outside the peak months, so check before relying on a particular dinner.

A one-way car hire is the right tool: collect in Hobart, drop at Launceston Airport. The drive to Coles Bay takes about two and a half hours along the Great Eastern Drive, with the road running beside the sea for long stretches. Coles Bay is the last place to buy supplies before the national park. Freycinet National Park requires a park pass, bought online or at the Freycinet National Park visitor centre; check the current price on the Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania website.

Nights One to Three: Coles Bay

Coles Bay sits at the base of the Hazards, a range of pink and grey granite peaks that runs down the peninsula into the sea. The water in front of it is Great Oyster Bay.

The recovery walking here is along the shore. The beaches around Coles Bay are level sand, firm near the water's edge, and reached from roadside car parks without climbing. Honeymoon Bay, a small cove inside the park, is where guided sea-kayak trips start: three-hour paddles that head out at sunrise. They use the arms more than the legs, though getting in and out of a kayak on stiff quads takes some care.

Wineglass Bay is the reason most people come, and it needs an honest warning. The lookout walk is 3 km return with about 214 m of climbing, the first 1.3 km steep and on rough bush steps. It is graded moderate and takes about an hour and a quarter at normal pace. Two or three days after a marathon the climb is possible for many runners, but the descent on the same steps is harder on sore quads than the way up. Save it for the third day, go slowly, or leave it out. Scenic flights over the bay from Freycinet Air, from 25 minutes up to more than two hours, show the whole peninsula without any steps at all.

Bicheno, further north along the coast, runs evening tours to watch little penguins come ashore. They involve standing still in the dark rather than walking.

Where to stay: Freycinet Lodge sits inside the national park at the southern end of Coles Bay, with two places to eat on site, so there is no need to drive after dark. Freycinet Resort, on Mount Paul, has views across the Hazards, Great Oyster Bay and the Tasman Sea. Saffire Freycinet, a lodge of 20 suites with meals and a spa included, is the expensive end of the peninsula.

Where to eat: Freycinet Marine Farm shucks its oysters to order and serves them at simple outdoor tables, which makes an unhurried lunch on any of the three days. Devil's Corner, a winery on the drive between Hobart and Coles Bay, serves woodfired pizza and is a natural stop to break the drive. At Freycinet Lodge, the Bay Restaurant focuses on seafood and Richardson's Bistro is the casual alternative.

Getting to Launceston Airport

Launceston Airport (LST) is about two hours' drive from Coles Bay, heading inland. Flights from there connect through the mainland airports for international departures; check routes when booking. Returning the car at Launceston saves the two-and-a-half-hour drive back to Hobart; check the one-way fee when booking the hire. Hobart Airport (HBA) is the alternative if a return hire works out cheaper, at about two and a half hours back down the coast.