Tasmania: St Columba Falls, Bay of Fire, and Freycinet National Park

Wednesday, 12/02/2020: After a very quiet night in Cradle Mountain National Park, we continue early the next morning towards Binalong Bay. On the way, we make a short coffee break with self-made waffles with fresh fruits and ice cream at Cow Shed in Avoca. We continue driving to St Columba Falls. After a short walk through an incredibly beautiful forest with huge fern trees, we reach the huge waterfall, the highest in Tasmania at 90 meters, which almost takes our breath away. Then we continue to the highlight of the day, the Bay of Fire. Before that, we pick blueberries at a plantation by the roadside. Actually, we wanted to buy already picked ones, but the farmer said it only takes about 10-15 minutes to pick about 1 kilogram. So we grabbed a bucket and went into the plantation. Finally, we reach our destination, the Bay of Fire. We find a nice free campsite called 'Sloop Reef' right in front of the red rocks. Behind them, the roaring sea with huge waves. The next morning, a short walk on the snow-white sandy beach, then with a heavy heart we continue towards Coles Bay with a short detour to Binalog Bay.

Thursday, 13/02/2020: We arrive in Coles Bay in the late afternoon and try to get a spot in Freycinet National Park, unfortunately without success. The next morning, we drive into the park and start the Hazards Beach Track, 11 km long. The path goes through the forest, to Hazards Beach, then across the peninsula to Wineglass Bay Beach. Beautiful vegetation, so different from home, and only the sounds of nature, equally exotic, and our own footsteps - and, when going uphill, sometimes a quiet panting. After a picnic on Wineglass Bay Beach, the big challenge awaits, 1,000 steps uphill, partly made of wood, partly made of stones of different heights and widths. The sounds of nature fade into the background.

Once we reach the top, we are rewarded with a great view of Wineglass Bay. On the other side, we go back down, and after 5 hours, we arrive at the car.

We have a visitor while drinking coffee.

Since we have included Port Arthur in our program, we drive about 120 km to Triabunna.