The following morning started with brilliant sunshine and a clear sky. Our plan was to go to Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula and take the walk to Wineglass Bay. Kerry showered whilst I cooked the porridge and I showered whilst she cleaned up. We took a stroll to the waterfront of Swansea looking out to Great Oyster Bay where we found some great water front allotments for sale. However, there did not appear to be any rush to buy them.
The drive to Coles Bay was interesting in that we found that our path was dotted with wineries but we were too earlier for the cellar door to be open. So onto to Coles Bay and then Freycinet National Park for the trek to Wineglass Bay lookout. Now I had thought my ankle ligaments had healed sufficiently to do this trek but getting out of the van I twisted my ankle and my hopes were dashed as the walk is one and half hours long and up some steep pathways. So after grabbing a photo of the climb that might have been we ventured back to Cape Tourville Lighthouse.
The Cape Tourville Lighthouse is an unmanned, automatic light, lighthouse built in 1971. The lighthouse replaced the Cape Forestier Lighthouse which had been situated on another island jutting off the Freycinet Peninsula known as Lemon Rock. The walk to the lighthouse is fantastic and gives great views of Lemon Rock and partial views of Wineglass Bay.
A cup of coffee and a biscuit in our house and then we were back on track for Launceston. But first a little wine tasting at Freycinet Cellars and Devil’s Corner Vineyard. We tried a few things at Freycinet and bought a bottle of bubbles for our anniversary and a bottle of savoury and spicy 2015 Louis Freycinet Pinot Noir. Devil’s Corner was a bit different. A spectacular view of the Freycinet Peninsula spread before us as we parked the van. In the lookout tower we were treated to even better views of the vineyard and the bay before going down to the cellar door. This is an offshoot of the Tamar Valley winery and gets its name from a dangerous spot for sailors in the Tamar River. The Cellar door appears to be a traditionally built building and the other outbuildings forming a bar restaurant and eating room are all containers fitted out for the purpose and disguised by a wooden skeleton surrounding each container. Once we were above the cellar door we could see that even the tasting room was a combination of two containers. We had bought provisions at the IGA in Swansea so we were able to lunch in the van with our dramatic view.
The trip to Launceston took a little over one and a half hours travelling through Campbelltown and we arrived at the Launceston Caravan Park around 3.00 pm. It had been a bit lonely on the road with no other camper vans but the minute we turn up in Launceston these others arrive. A few chores like emptying the night soil chamber had to be attended to and then to rest for some. Our anniversary dinner awaits us at Cataract on Paterson in Launceston.
glendon1954 