Looking from Coles Bay across to the Hazards in Freycinet National Park

Coles Bay (including Freycinet National Park)
Entry point for those eager to explore the beautiful Freycinet National Park.
Coles Bay is situated at the northern edge of the Freycinet National Park. As such it is the site favoured by visitors wishing to explore the Freycinet Peninsula and thus is well served by caravan sites and camping facilities. Located 202 km north east of Hobart and 218 km south east of Launceston it is one of the justifiably famous wilderness beauty spots on Tasmania's east coast.

The Coles Bay-Freycinet National Park area is noted for its spectacular coastal scenery and its emphasis on fishing, boating, bushwalking and swimming. As the excellent brochure Let's Talk about Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park declares: 'Where else would you find granite mountains rising straight from the sea to form a magnificent sheltered waterway?

'Where else would you find a beach so beautiful and secluded that on the last Royal visit to Australia, the Royal Yacht Britannia anchored to allow the Queen ashore for an Australian-style beach barbecue?' This latter event is still talked about by the locals and, when you have seen Wineglass Bay where the picnic took place, you can understand the romantic notion of such an activity.

Before the arrival of European sealers and whalers the area was popular with Aborigines and there are many shell middens along the coast suggesting that it was a popular retreat from the coldness of the Tasmanian winter.

Richardsons Bay in front of Freycinet Lodge

By the early nineteenth century whalers and sealers were well established on both Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island. From this time the settlement of the area was largely restricted to adventurers and near-hermits. It was Silas Cole, a lonely lime burner who collected the shells from the Aboriginal middens and burnt them for lime, who gave the town its name. He loved the area and often described its beauty to his friends when he took his lime across Great Oyster Bay to Swansea.

It wasn't until 1934, when a retired auctioneer named Harry Parsons purchased 5 ha of land at Coles Bay, that any kind of settlement developed. Parsons' purchase became the land for the town - and the town became a popular haunt for fishermen and bushwalkers. It was a retreat from modern life. A true escape to a small community of shanties on the edge of a beautiful bay. A rough road was hewn around the coast but most of the building materials for the town arrived on the SS Koomeela which made regular journeys across the bay.

The appealing quality of Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park is that they haven't really changed in fifty years. Today people still come to the area to get away from it all. They fish in the waters of Great Oyster Bay, which are still rich in trevally, flathead, crayfish and trumpeter. They walk into the park and climb the Hazards or the mountains to the south, both of which offer marvellous views across the bay and out across the Tasman Sea. And they drive on the rough roads through the National Park stopping for a spectacular view or pulling off the road to go swimming in the clear, safe waters of the bay.

Things to see:  

Sleepy Bay in Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park
In its own way Freycinet National Park is one of Australia's most interesting wilderness areas - where else in the world do you see red granite cliffs tumbling into the cold ocean? This 10 000 ha park is alive with unusual animals - Tasmanian pademelons, white-breasted sea eagles, red-necked wallabies - and in season offers spectacular displays of rare native flora, notably a wide variety of native orchids. It is fair to say that it is one of the country's most spectacularly beautiful areas and when the weather is perfect it is hard to imagine a more peaceful and awe-inspiring piece of coastline.

Looking south from Cape Tourville

Freycinet National Park Activities
Cape Tourville
The most popular activities in Freycinet National Park are bushwalking and scenic views. A good starting point is to drive to Cape Tourville. The 6.4 km dirt road, while hardly amazing, is perfectly adequate for conventional vehicles. The views are spectacular. Although Wineglass Bay is hidden by Mount Parsons there is a dramatic view across Thouin Bay to Lemon Rock and Cape Forestier.

Day Walks
When you enter Freycinet there is a brochure which provides a map and advice on a series of walks. These walks include an easy ten minute walk to the beach and rocks around Sleepy Bay. The Bay is on the route to Cape Tourville and the walk down to the rocks is easy and enjoyable. The kelp on the rocks is particularly impressive.

There is also a walk to Little Gravelly Beach, a tiny beach nestled between two craggy headlands. This is a 30 minute walk with the final stretch - from the top of the cliffs to the beach - being quite steep.

There are a number of ways to see Wineglass Bay. There is a medium walk of 1 1/2-2 hours which takes the walker to the lookout above Wineglass Bay. There is a 3-4 hour walk which goes to the lookout then continues on to the beach. It returns by the same route. The final route is 5 hours and is a circuit via the lookout and the beach and back to the main carpark.

There are many more walks of varying difficulty in the park. It is hard to imagine a more attractive option than staying for a week in the outstanding, award-winning Freycinet Lodge and spending each day attempting a different walk.

	Motels
	Freycinet Lodge Freycinet National Park Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0101 Facsimile: (03) 6257 0278 Rating: ****
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Coles Bay Retreat 29 Jetty Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: 0418132538 Facsimile: (03) 8660 2446 Rating: ****
	Apartments
	Iluka Holiday Centre Apts Esplanade Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0115 Rating: **
	Three Peaks Holiday Apts Freycinet Dve Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0333 Rating: ****
	Cottages & Cabins
	Cottages by the Sea 2308 Main Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0102 or 1800 632 351 Facsimile: (03) 6257 0102 Rating: ***
	Cottages By The Sea 2308 Main Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0102
	Gum Nut Cottage Cnr Coles Bay & Jetty Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0109 Rating: ***
	Haven Holiday Cottages Swanwick Dve Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0216
	Jessies Cottage 7 Esplanade East Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0143 Rating: ****
	Swan River Cottages 100 Swanwick Drive Swanwick Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0370 Rating: ***
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Churinga Farm Cottages Coles Bay Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0190 Rating: ****
	Lodges & Chalets
	Friendly Beaches Lodge Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: 1 800 506 003
	Pine Lodge Cabins ³Pine Lodge" Harold St Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0370 Rating: **
	Caravan Parks
	Freycinet National Park (Limited Facilities) Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0107
	Iluka Holiday Centre Esplanade Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0115 Facsimile: (03) 6257 0384 Rating: ***
	Coles Bay Caravan Park Coles Bay Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0100 Rating: ***
	Camping & Other
	Coles Bay Waterfronters Coles Bay Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0416
	Restaurants
	Cottages By The Sea 2308 Main Rd Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0102
	Freycinet Lodge Freycinet National Park Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0101 Facsimile: (03) 6257 0278
	Madge Malloys Restaurant 3 Garnet Ave Coles Bay TAS 7215 Telephone: (03) 6257 0399