This morning I headed to the car park (bike park for me) to do the walk to the Wineglass Bay Lookout. It’s the shortest of the walks in Freycinet NP. I don’t exactly have hiking shoes. Surprisingly, my Five 10 shoes were okay. They’ve got a good grippy sole.
Anyway, I wanted to get an early start as there are lots of people here for the Easter holiday (Easter is very big here as holidays go). I was on the path shortly after 9:00. The path up to the lookout does exactly that—it goes up...and up...and up some more. There are lots of stairs. My quads seem to be in pretty good shape by now, so I didn’t find it too taxing.
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| Looking back at Coles Bay |
The view of Wineglass Bay from the lookout was quite spectacular. After the lookout, I decided I would continue down to the beach itself. It was only another 1000 steps down. The sign said 1.5 hours return. Down down down I went. The quads were beginning to feel it. But, I made it to the beach. I took off my shoes and socks and dipped my toes into the cold Southern Ocean water of Wineglass Bay.
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| Pano of Wineglass Bay |
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| Flat Will did the hike too! |
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| Some of the thousands of stairs |
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| Down to the beach at Wineglass Bay |
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| Dipping my toes in the Southern Ocean |
I met a group of 5 older guys who were also cycling around the island. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we had seen each other before.
I put my shoes and socks back on and began the climb back up the 1000 steps I had come down. I was glad I had come early because there were now lots of people doing the walk. It gets so busy that there is a section where it’s a one way return to the car park. Along this path, I happened along a wallaby munching some vegetation along the side of the trail. He/she let me take a photo.
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| Wallaby along the path |
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| Rock that looks like a whale |
Back on Tilmann, I decided to ride into the town (Coles Bay) for some lunch, and a look around.
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| Coles Bay |
I had pizza at Geographie, then continued along the Esplanade in search of dessert. I found the bakery, and who should be there but the guys from the trail. When I got there, one of the guys said they had seen me before between Rosebery and Zeehan. Then, I remembered passing them too. I think I even mentioned it in the blog post for that day. I told them, the funny thing about riding around an island, you usually see people twice! Especially when you are going in opposite directions. They seem to think I’ve been doing quite well getting where I am in the time I’ve taken to do it. Cole, the guy I talked to the most, said we might even see each other again! Who knows...
When I got back to my tent, I decided to go take a shower. The map said there were coin operated hot showers in the powered site area of the campground. I couldn’t find them. I went to the Visitor Center to ask. The ranger said they are only for the campers in the powered sites. Now, quite honestly, this doesn’t make sense to me. Why do they get hot showers when they could shower in their caravan? And, since they are coin operated, why can’t everyone use them? Crazy concept! So, I will have a cold shower once again...
Tomorrow is supposed to be a short day. I backtrack more miles than I’ll have new road.
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