Day 39: Walking around Wineglass Bay area

Wineglass Bay

Today we walked a long way, much further than we usually do. Definitely hiking territory and we really aren’t hikers! We saw some amazing postcard-worthy views. It was a stunning day—cool and sunny, but not cold or windy or hot. Apparently Wineglass Bay is considered one of the top ten beaches in the world! 

We didn't swim, but a number were stripping down after the hike in (there is no road access, only hiking up about 1,000 steps and back down again over the pass). We'd packed a simple picnic lunch and ate that at the beach, then hiked back to our van on “the low road”.

One joy on this journey was being able to stop and "read the signs". There are a lot of informative signs around the state and it's felt like doing a jigsaw that I didn't know needed doing. The various bits of information we've read has filled out our understanding of this part of the world, so we have a bigger picture now.

Again and again we've come across this 
struggle: plunder or protect. It's something
that seems especially obvious to our modern
eyes in such a stunning place as this. Whales,
mining, and electricity (hydroelectricity) seem
to have been the three biggest arenas where
in the past people have been keen to take 
advantage of Tasmania's natural resources. But
that all came at a cost, of course.

One thing we've learned is that there was a lot of "explorer" and "scientific" interest in the area in the late 1700s and early 1800s, and much of that wasn't from Britain. The Dutch and French played a big part. The island is named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman (he was here in 1642!). The French left their names all over the East Coast: Freycinet Peninsula, Cape Baudin (named after the captain that Napoleon Bonaparte send in 1802), Cape Tourville, Cape Sonnerat, Cape Forestier, etc.

If you can, enlarge the photo to read some 
interesting historical background
about this peninsula (pictured on right).

The line of mountains on the peninsula are named after an American whaling ship captain. One of the mountains is even named after a long-serving local Anglican rector, Rev Joseph Mayson. We encountered his name on the next day too.

More stunning clear water at Wineglass Bay

Hazards Beach

So many wonderful views! The water is truly amazing. 

We walked from the red "You are here" directly
up the picture and then at Wineglass Bay took
a right and walked across the Isthmus to Hazards Beach
then around the coast back to "You are here". Our
phones reckoned we walked about 10 km, including over 90 "floors"

One portion of the walk around the coast