Tuesday 10^th

After breakfast and packing drove down to the Avis Depot as their phone calls were being diverted to the central call centre. They didn’t quibble at all and immediately swapped the X-trail for a Tarago! They didn’t even bother to test drive the X-trail.

We set off on the selected route across the Tasman Bridge to Sorrel. Stopped for a coffee and wrote and posted some postcards. Picked up a hitchhiker who’d been on a one man beach clean and dropped him off at his village a few km down the road. Carried on to Port Arthur which took much longer than anticipated, especially after we’d stopped to view the Eaglehawk Neck crossing, the tessellated pavement and the blowhole at Fossil bay. When we finally got to Port Arthur we discovered what we hadn’t appreciated before, namely that it was a ‘Williamsburg’ style town. Entry was a minimum of AU$28. As it was now 1.30 and we still had a very long way to drive we decided that we couldn’t afford the time. A good decision as after stopping for a brief lunch, it took us until 6pm to reach Freycinet Lodge, driving much of the time at the maximum 100kph, when we weren't behind logging lorries. This was very disappointing as this last stretch up the coast to Freycinet was really attractive and in other circumstances we’d have happily spent the entire day doing the journey and stopping at all the bays, etc. We have to say that the driving tour is not at all well planned so far. We did see an echidna on the road near where we’d picked up the hitchhiker on our way down.

We had a quick refreshment stop at Orford. Not only was the cafe very smart, but it had an amazing collection of cricket memorabilia, with bats signed by loads of Test teams. On this last leg we started to see lots of dead kangaroos, and as we finally approached Freycinet, we saw a couple of live ones on the roadside but weren’t quick enough to film them.

Freycinet Lodge is really amazing. From the outside our cabin looks like a little dull wooden shed. Inside it’s incredibly smart with polished wooden floors, lovely furniture, a marvellous bathroom with a spa bath as well as a large shower. When we went in the lights were already on and there was music playing quietly on the music system. The tea and coffee making facilities include a cafetière and a pack of ground coffee. In general it’s probably as good as anywhere we’ve stayed, except perhaps the Shangri-la in Kuala Lumpur. The cabins are spread out through the grounds,  Kings Canyon style. We walked to the main building to eat. As we went we saw a kangaroo sitting by the side of the road outside our cabin next to the barbecue area. By now it was relatively dull. Anne fired off a couple of shots on the camera but didn’t think she’d got anything. Later in the evening Les lightened them in Photoshop and the roo shows up quite clearly. We went in the Bistro and had a really nice meal and a beer – Anne had Salmon & Leek tart. Les had blue eye Trevalla in beer batter (a little like cod but very nice).

After dinner we tried the wifi but found it was AU$8 per hour so didn’t bother. Then we had a drink in the spacious bar – The Hazards. Looked at the menu for the posh restaurant but there was less choice for Anne than in the Bistro so tomorrow will be either the Bistro or a short drive to Coles Bay.

As we walked back to our cabin in the dark we saw a small furry animal crossing the road, possibly a Tasmanian Devil. It disappeared before Anne could get the camera out. We looked at a wildlife booklet next day and decided it must have been a possum.

Wednesday 11th

Slept well. Breakfast at the Lodge. Drove to the National Park Station and bought our pass to cover the rest of our visit. Drove to the car park and set off for the walk to Wineglass Bay Lookout at 11am. Not too bad going up although we were passed by lots of people. Eventually got to the viewpoint and took various pictures of Wineglass Bay – as good as all the pictures in the brochures make it out to be. Coming down was more of a struggle especially for Les – the return path is separate for about two thirds of the length and seemed to be slightly rougher. The whole round trip took us exactly two hours as opposed to the 1-1.5 that the brochure suggests.

Drove back to the cabin to pick up bits and then to Coles Bay where we had lunch in the Oystercatcher Café whilst sitting outside and writing more postcards. After lunch we drove via Sleepy Bay to Cape Tourville and did the short walk around the lighthouse. Spectacular views back to Wineglass Bay and also north along the coast.

Came back to the cabin again and rested for a while with a cup of tea. Les had a doze and Anne sat outside on the balcony in the sun reading Memories of Freycinet by Molly Greaves who owns Molly Malone’s restaurant in Coles Bay. We’d looked at this while we were there but decided that we’d be just as well off eating in the Bistro again.

Walked down to Honeymoon Bay, which in fact was just outside our cabin. We saw a wallaby on the way. Photographed the Bay and the mountains behind. Les decided to move across to photograph Richardson’s Beach before we came back and while looking we saw a seal fishing in the small inlet. One of the rangers told us later that this was quite rare at this time of year. We just had time to go back to the cabin and get our washing and walk up to the Lodge. We put the washing on and grabbed a beer and then went into the Parsons Room for the presentation of photographs. Only 8 of us there and the rest were Aussies but it was quite interesting.

Came out and put our washing in the dryer and returned to our cabin to get changed for dinner. When we walked back up we found that the washing was still cold and wet – the door on the dryer had opened just after we left. We hung around while the dryer finished and then drove it back to the cabin before walking back up to the Bistro. Excellent meal – we both had the specials – Anne had flathead and Les had a lamb gigot cooked to perfection with pink grapefruit and a salad of green beans, rocket and feta. Apart from service we can’t understand why anybody eats in the posh restaurant where the menu contains far fewer things that Anne can eat.

Sat and had a quiet drink in the lounge before walking back to cabin.

Thursday 12th

Up at 7.30am. Partly packed and then went down to breakfast. On the way heard that bird again and finally spotted it. Some passing guests identified it as a Red Wattle.

After breakfast we finished packing and cleared the cabin. Went back to the Lodge to check out and bought some presents and then went out on to the veranda and down on the jetty to take final photographs. A real wrench to leave!