Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 14 . TASMANIA
EXPLORING THE PARK
If you only have time to do one walk, then head out from Freycinet Lodge on
the 30-minute uphill hike past spectacularly beautiful pink granite outcrops to
Wineglass Bay Lookout for breathtaking views. You can then head down to
Wineglass Bay itself and back up again. The walk takes around 2 1 ⁄2 hours. A
longer walk takes you along the length of Hazards Beach, where you’ll find
plenty of shell middens—seashell refuge heaps—left behind by the Aborigines
who once lived here. This walk takes 6 hours.
Tasmanian Expeditions (& 1800/030 230 in Australia, or 03/6334 3477;
fax 03/6334 3463; www.tas-ex.com) offers a 3-day trip from Launceston and
back that includes 2 nights in cabins at Coles Bay. The trip includes guided
walks to Wineglass Bay and Mt. Amor. It costs A$540 (US$351) and departs
Wednesday year-around. The company also offers 6- and 12-night walking, rafting,
and cycling trips.
Not to be missed is a trip aboard Freycinet Sea Charter’s vessel Kahala (& 03/
6257 0355; fax 03/6375 1461), which offers whale-watching between June and
September, bay and game fishing, dolphin watching, diving, scenic and marine
wildlife cruises, and sunset cruises. Half-day cruises cost A$60 (US$39) per person
with a minimum of four adults onboard. Full-day cruises cost A$100 (US$65)
per person.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
Camping is available in the park itself for A$10 (US$6.50) a tent, though water is
scarce. For inquiries, call the Parks and Wildlife Service (& 03/6257 0107).
Budget options include the Iluka Holiday Centre, Coles Bay Esplanande (& 03/
6257 0115; www.ilukaholidaycentre.com.au). Dorms in the YHA on the site cost
A$18.50 (US$12); campsites cost A$20 (US$13); caravans A$60 (US$39) for
two people; two-bedroom cabins A$75 (US$49); and self-contained two-bedroom
units overlooking Muir’s Beach & Great Oyster Bay cost A$110 (US$72)
per night.
WORTH A SPLURGE
Freycinet Lodge I can’t praise this eco-friendly lodge enough. Comfortable
one- and two-room cabins are spread unobtrusively through the bush
and connected by raised walking tracks. Each has a balcony, and the more
expensive ones have a huge spa tub. (The deluxe cabins are newly furnished, and
some have water views.) Twenty cabins have their own kitchen. The main part
of the lodge houses a lounge room and a truly excellent restaurant that sweeps
out onto a veranda overlooking the limpid green waters of Great Oyster Bay.
The lodge is right next to the white sands of Hazards Beach, and from here it’s
an easy stroll to the start of the Wineglass Bay walk.
Freycinet National Park, Coles Bay 7215.& 03/6257 0101. Fax 03/6257 0278. www.freycinetlodge.com.au.
60 units. A$190 (US$124) standard cabin; A$225 (US$146) spa cabin; A$255 (US$166) deluxe spa cabin. AE,
DC, MC, V. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; golf course nearby; tennis court; bike rental; activities desk; coinop
laundry; e-mail kiosk; nonsmoking rooms. In room: Fridge, coffeemaker, hair dryer.
HOBART TO LAUNCESTON: THE “HERITAGE HIGHWAY”
By the 1820s several garrison towns had been built between Launceston and
Hobart, and by the middle of the 19th century convict labor had produced what
was considered to be the finest highway of its time in Australia. Today, many of
the towns along the route harbor magnificent examples of Georgian and Victorian
architecture. It takes about 2 hours to drive between Launceston and Hobart