Monday December 19, 25.5km/15.8mi
Hazards Beach Campsite (9.2/5m) to Wineglass Bay Trailhead (31.8/35m) (TAS) +2.9km Cooks Beach Hut
It was a warm morning, and for the first time in awhile I could hike in shorts! The trail was mostly in the forest today, with a couple of short beach walks.
I crossed probably a dozen tiny streams, and they all had a little pile of foam. There must be something dissolved in the water here, it’s very unusual.
I came to a trail junction for Cooks Beach, and decided to investigate the beach. It’s a short 1.5km side-hike, and ends at the Cooks Beach Hut. There were lots of footprints on the beach, and they all led to the Hut and campground area.
The hut was a very old stone structure, which gave a better first impression than it’s actual condition.
The hut’s inside was nice enough, I sat and had a snack at the table, and got some water from the tank. There were 2 other rooms, but I didn’t go in those due to spiderwebs and rotting floorboards.
It was a little after 9am and there were still 5 or 6 groups packing up their campsites. I’m always amazed how late some people start their day … they’re missing the best part of the day for hiking! I hiked the 1.5km back to the main trail, and found this enormous starfish along the beach. It was like 1.5 shoes in diameter!
Back on the main trail, it climbed up a few hundred meters toward Mt Freycinet. There must’ve been a recent storm, as there were fallen trees everywhere for over a kilometer. It was slow hiking and scrambling over all the blowdowns.
When I got to the saddle between Mt Freycinet and Mt. Graham, the trail split. Apparently Mt Freycinet is an optional side-hike, but there was no way I was skipping the trail’s namesake mountain! It started off at a reasonable climbing grade…
And within minutes, became quite steep. I was glad to have a light pack and no hiking poles!
At the summit of Mt Freycinet (629m), I initially didn’t have much of a view, as a random cloud had moved in.
I could tell the cloud wasn’t big, so I waited for the fog to burn off….
And it did burn off 10 minutes later. I could see Hazards Beach (left) where I hiked yesterday, and Wineglass Bay (right).
A closer look at Hazards Beach.
To my south, I could see the rest of the peninsula. There aren’t any trails down there, I think just a couple small beaches that boats can access.
Looking over to Mt. Graham, I could tell the clouds had mostly moved away, as I had visibility for a long distance.
I hiked off Mt Freycinet, rejoining the main trail, and climbed up Mt Graham. The skies were really clearing now, it was looking blue everywhere.
From the top of Mt Graham (el. 579m), I could see back to the summit of Mt. Freycinet, which by now was clear of clouds.
As I descended Mt Graham, I could see down to Wineglass Bay, where I would be in a couple of hours.
Back in the forest, it seemed much greener on this side of the mountain.
This little waterfall was surprisingly loud!
Wineglass Bay getting closer….
I descended all the way down to the Beach at Wineglass Bay. The waves were definitely bigger on this side of the peninsula.
It was a very enjoyable hour walking along the beach.
Looking out to the turquoise colored water.
More Wineglass Bay amazing-ness.
After 3km of beach walking, I was back in the forest, it was time to climb some stairs over a pass!
The view from the lookout at the top of the pass was unreal.
Even better views were around the corner! The clouds seem to be perched atop Mt Freycinet, ha!
This part of the trail was clearly much more popular, as I passed dozens of dayhikers on my way to the car. I finished at 4pm, and started the drive to Hobart. But I was soon distracted by ice cream!
So many flavors, it was hard to choose. I restrained myself to picking only 4 flavors.
The wildlife signs in Tasmania are top-notch. So detailed!
I arrived back in Hobart at 7pm, dropped off the rental car, and walked a short distance to my hotel. And with that, my Tasmania hiking is complete!
I’ll have to return someday to hike the Western Arthurs circuit, and the Lake Rhona trail, which I couldn’t complete due to weather. Until next time, see ya Tassie!