Blogs from Swansea, Tasmania, Australia, Oceania

On Wednesday we left Launceston about 9 am and headed to Swansea. I had checked on Google Maps and directed Fletcher to drive south as that was what I was shown was the quickest way. However, we had our first and last "disagreement" when he saw we were on an expressway heading south when we should have been on a scenic route going east. Much silence and grumpiness on both sides ensued until we reached St Mary's where we stopped for a coffee and "breakfäst". This consisted of sharing a quiche which must have been left over from yesterday! From here we headed east and after a quick stop at Fingal for fuel we reached the coast after a very windy road. Here we headed north to St Helen's which had been our original destination. The ... read more

The morning broke with clear skies and the only thing making a ripple on the bay was a float plane taking a group of tourists on a scenic flight around the Freycinet Peninsular. As the engine reved up the sound echoed a few seconds later off the surrounding granite hills as if a second engine reved up. It was only an echo, but quite dramatic. I went up to the info centre as soon as it opened to see if there were any cancellations for sites for tonight, but the news was all bad. Plan B kicked in so we left the camp quickly and drove over the peninsular to Tourville Lighthouse. There is a really good walk from the car park out to the rocky east coastline, around the lighthouse and back to the car ... read more

Snaps near the Fortescue Bay Campground... read more

Monday Kate saw the penguins last night and so that just leaves the Wine Glass Bay on the to-do list, and possibly Kate's Berry Farm. Having ordered an 8.30am breakfast we awoke @ 8.31am - so the day started with a panic!! We drove to Freycinet National Park at a leisurely pace a photo opportunity and a coffee (fairly naff) chucked in for good measure. The ladies at the Freycinet National Park Visitors Centre shook their heads pessimistically - "it's a difficult walk upto the Wine Glass Bay lookout point and you'll need proper boots, an artic kagool, etc, etc". Looking at the ascent it seemed far less daunting than walking from Great Malvern up to The Beacon - so we decided to give it a stab. We took our time and 45 minutes later we ... read more