Our last stop along the east coast was Cole's Bay. We went for a few small walks in Freycinet National Park around the light house and down along a pebble beach. We climbed in a small cave above the beach and then took our shoes off to allow the wet pebbles to give us a foot massage. Then we watched a beautiful sunset from Honeymoon Beach. Driving back slowly to our caravan park we were excited to see several wallabies and quolls running around.
The next day Dara and I joined Freycinet Adventures for another great sea kayaking trip. We kayaked around Cole's Bay to Honeymoon Beach and enjoyed hot tea and huge cookies while our guide Adam talked to us about the history of Freycinet Lodge, the transformation process of the huge rocks to sand, and the best walks and things to see in Freycinet.
As if it needed one, the claim to fame in Freycinet is one of the world's top ten beaches, Wineglass Bay. Dara and I were privileged enough to see it in style with Freycinet Sea Cruises. Irene greeted us with a warm smile at the sign in desk and her husband Duncan was our informed local captain for our day of cruising around the Freycinet Peninsula. Rastus-the-dolphin-spotting-dog ran from bow to stern, port to starboard on the look-out all day. We dropped anchor in the middle of the serene Wineglass Bay where the crew popped open local Tassie Champagne, oysters and cheeses for all to enjoy. We had a lively ride back around the beautiful pink and orange rocks on the coast of the Freycinet Peninsula. We ran in to hundreds of mutton birds flying inches from the water, two seals sunbathing and a few albatross. Rastus hung his head feeling like he had failed his mission for the day when all of a sudden something in the water caught his eye. He barked in excitement pointing out to all of us a pod of 30-40 dolphins. They swam so close to each other and to our boat and were jumping right out of the water to show off their shiny blueish-purple skin. Seeing these dolphins in their natural habitat of crystal blue water against one of the world's best shorelines with hundreds of birds flying overhead brought everyone under a silent reflection and is a moment I'm sure we will remember forever.
