Freycinet National Park, Tasmania

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19 - 25 December 2010

We arrived at the much anticipated Freycinet National Park two days earlier than planned for a couple of reasons but the main one being we were in need of water - the hot shower variety!! Packing up from Dora Point was a muddy affair and by the time we got to Freycinet a gurnie would have been more appropriate for this family of four. If truth be known, I was a little concerned to find out that a precious $2 coin bought only 4 minutes of the liquid gold. I had to scrub and polish two small human grubs (as well as a big one) in a very limited time frame. Believe me, I spent a while working out how I was going to maximise results in the most efficient process to make the most of the time and water. So off I went with my three coins but only had to use two in the end... Hmmm seems like I'm making a big deal out of the shower thing but in the circumstances, it was completely rational behaviour.

So we settled into civilisation pretty quickly and used the first couple of days to relax which, believe it or not, we don't get to do that often as we have been moving quite quickly.

One of the stand out memories of Freycinet was Reef started riding his bike without training wheels. He picked it up straight away - round corners, through gravel, over speed humps. And, of course, more of those secret shared "knowing" looks between Alex and Belle - feeling so proud right now!!...

Half way through our stay, Em and Benny finally arrived! Hooray!!! Was so good to see them and catch up over the next few days. The boys had a surf, the girls chewed each others ears off and a great time was had by all.

It was the first Christmas where there was lobster on the menu - Benny cooked up a VERY memorable lobster mornay and we splurged out on smoked salmon, king prawns and ham. If we were away from home, we certainly were going to eat like kings! We decorated a tree next to our camp site and put all the presents under the tree before the boys woke up. Then the local fire brigade came through the town and camp ground on Christmas morning sounding their siren (which was super loud) and all the fire fighters were standing on top of the truck alongside Santa and throwing lollies and chocolate out to all the kids. Needless to say, we cleaned up - didn't know how many chocolate bars Alex could fit in his hands!!

From Freycinet, the 6 of us did the hike to Wineglass Bay which took around 4 hours (Benny & Em went further but seeing as Reef was walking it by himself and Alex had Oscar on his back, we figured 4 hours was more than enough when the terrain was over a mountain range - called The Hazards - so included loads of steps, boulders, tree roots, etc etc). While we were down at the bay, we saw dolphins swim by and a wallaby with it's baby tucked up in it's pouch on the sand. This made the hike even more worth while, not to mention the stunning views.

We also did quite a bit of exploring whilst at Freycinet. Off road driving with our convoy of 2 whole cars!! Friendly Beaches is a gem of a spot and we had a picnic there one of the days. Had a beer at the Freycinet Lodge which had amazing views over Coles Bay at dusk time. The beer was appropriately named The Hazards which we thought we had earned after hiking over The Hazards. Did the Cape Tourville walk (a nice easy one!) with great views over Wineglass Bay and beyond.

What a perfect place to meet our good mates and share Christmas!!!!

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