After getting up at my customary hour and working on this journal, we had a continental breakfast at the main building at 0615 to get an early start on the day. The bus dropped us off at the Coles Bay pier again and Noah took us first across Coles Bay were James drove and parked the bus to stage us for our return. We then boated south through the morning sunshine to the north end of Cooks Beach where Heidi and Glenn, led by Nick, were taking the more strenuous walk around Mount Graham. We were deposited at the southern end of the beach to begin our less strenuous walk. Compared to Scarborough Beach at Pine Point ME, this beach was sea shell heaven; enormous amounts of shells of numerous varieties. As this was in a national park, you are discouraged from taking them home, but we did take a lot of photos of them.
The next leg of the track took us through coastal forest similar to the one we tramped through on the island yesterday. As a result I took less pictures as a number of the varieties were already recorded. As we approached Hazards Beach around lunchtime, Isaac sent us off the path at individual points toward a hidden beach. By taking multiple patches, this prevents a path from forming that would invite others to follow, protecting the seclusion of the beach. So after working our way through the brush, we settled on the beach for lunch.
Rebooting.
The beach was shallow so we had to wade to shore from the boat.
Sea gull in flight.
So many shells… I used this shot as the background for this travelogue.
More of the jumble of sea shells.
Heading up the beach - Isaac in front, followed by Teresa, James, and Edwin.
Unidentified shell.
Unidentified shell.
Tasmanian scallop (Pecten fumatus), a/k/a southern or commercial scallop.
Unidentified shell.
Unidentified shell.
Sea slug eggs.
Dead tree snag silhoetted against the sky.
Jonathan and Isaac making their way up the beach.
Unidentified shell.
Eucalypt shadow in the shallows of Cooks Beach. One of my favorite shots from this trip.
A different angle on the previous shot.
Tasmanian devil scat - they eat the fur and bones, so their scat is characteristic.
Heading to the hidden beach for lunch - Marianne, Teresa, and Isaac.
We continued along the water over boulders and on higher ground to come to Hazards Beach. We detoured around a pied oystercatcher who was defending her nest to get to the long sandy beach. The sea shells were not present in the same abundance as they were at Cooks Beach, but the same varieties were there. The mounds lining the beach, looking like sand dunes, on the landward side were oyster shell middens left by aboriginal peoples. Oyster Bay is well named. After an hour or so, we caught up with the rest of the group at the next track we would be taking. James and Isaac took advantage of our lagging to take a swim.
I liked the contrast of the orange lichen against the blues in the distance - sea, mountain, and sky.
Jonathan walking up the beach.
Unidentifed seashell.
I took this shot because I could never catch these Yellow-tailed black cockatoos in flight.
On Hazards Beach - Isaac (half-shod after swimming), Marianne, Edwin, Teresa, Jonathan, and me.
Jonathan climbing the 'semi-ladder' to the top of the dune/oyster midden from Hazards Beach.
Edwin taking a snap of the track across the isthmus to Wineglass Bay - Teresa and James lead the way.
When the large eucalypts fall across the track . . .
'Got anything interesting?'
The first leg of the trail off the beach climbed the step dune/midden on a ladder-like structure, after which the trail descends back into the coastal forest. The trail crosses the peninsula at an isthmus of low ground that had been a channel before filling and connecting what had been an an island to the Freycinet peninsula. The track only took about half an hour, passing a lagoon and wetlands (disturbingly dry due to a multi-year drought) to the scenic and famous Wineglass Bay.
It was here that we were to rendezvous with the other group, so we set up on the rocks to the side of the beach to wait and finish our lunch/snacks. I took off my boots and waded in the shallows a little bit. The water was cold on this, the seaward side of the Freycinet. While waiting there, a wallaby wandered by in the bush behind us seemingly unconcerned by our presence before bounding on its way.
James, Jonathan, and I got an early start of the final leg. This trail led up through the saddle between two peaks of the Hazard Range and we were, as usual, the slowest pair of walkers. This trail is heavily travelled by tourists and was wide and park-like compared to previous tracks we’d be on so far. Indeed a lot of Asian tourists clad in casual tee shirts, jeans, and fashionable sweaters were going up and down the trail in contrast to us seriously equipped hikers. The sign at the top said that there were 1,000 steps on the track which has an elevation of 810 feet.
We rested at the top, taking advantage of the overlook to take some snaps of Wineglass Bay below. While there, Nick located a rock orchid in an out of the way corner behind the boulder where the bench was located. I crouched down and worked by way through where I could take a snapshot of the little yellow flower. When I came down from the overlook, I noticed Jonathan entering the same narrow crevasse. I though Nick was guiding him to see the orchid, but it turned out that he was just looking for a place to relieve himself and totally missed seeing the orchid.
The path down was uneventful and the car park was up on the slope of the mountainside, so we did not have to descend all the way back to sea level.
Trunk of Eucalyptus regnans; I took the shot because I liked the pattern.
Steps from Wineglass Bay up to the saddle between Mounts Amos and Mayson started gently.
As we got higher, the steps were stone and more irregular.
Jonathan powering up the steps with Isaac.
Nick found a patch of these dainty (~1 cm) rock orchids hidden away at the Wineglass Bay Lookout.
The iconic view of Wineglass Bay.
A sign of the times.
Way to the rock orchids. Turns out Jonathan had other business on his mind, and didn't look up to see them.
A map at the parking lot showing the walks in the area.
With the climb up (810 feet in 1,000 steps) and then down, the bus was a welcome sight.
Return to the Lodge - Dan and Holly had a selection of beverages and tasty morsels for us on our arrival.
Tasty morsels.
Dinner - marinated quail, roasted cauliflower, cucumber salad with chili and rose petal.
Dinner was again excellent - marinated quail, pumpkin gratin, roasted cauliflower, cucumber salad with chili and rose petal, followed by a warm rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream and toasted macadamia nuts. After Nick and James’ debrief on the day and plans for tomorrow, we hit the sack and slept soundly.
