EAST COAST
Tasmania's east coast is a region of contrast - sunshine and sea life, wine and wildlife, crags and beaches, history and adventure. It's a coast of national parks - Douglas-Apsley, with its quietly flowing rivers, eucalypts and Oyster Bay pines; Freycinet, bushwalkers' and sea kayakers' paradise; and Maria Island, with its history, walks and fauna.
It's a coast of fine food and wine - as you journey on, you'll discover the flavours of the area's fresh, natural produce. Place names tell the story of the region's heritage: Dutch navigator Abel Tasman mapped Schouten and Maria; French explorer Nicolas Baudin charted Freycinet; nostalgic Welsh settlers named the town of Swansea; Triabunna and Wielangta remember thousands of years of Aboriginal presence.
Islands float on the horizon - across Mercury Passage, Maria beckons - it's an island rich in history, with beaches, cliffs and mountains to explore. Further north is the craggy outline of Schouten Island and the graceful profile of the Freycinet Peninsula, with its sea cliffs and forests, tracks and beaches.
The holiday town of Coles Bay nestles in a sheltered nook - from here it's a short walk across the Hazard Range to the perfect half-moon of Wineglass Bay. Above Coles Bay's quiet beaches, The Hazards' pink and grey granite rocks, carpeted with orange lichens, rise steeply. Climbers and abseilers test their skills, relishing the perfect friction, dramatic exposure and exciting height of crags that plummet to the water below.
Names capture your imagination Friendly Beaches, Honeymoon Bay, Isle des Phoques - all along the coast, bright beaches blaze, and the distinctive blue-green east coast sea washes the shores. Grey-green sheoak trees dapple the ground with cool shade. In the ocean beyond, migrating whales follow ancestral routes, dolphins frolic and sea birds wheel on the wind.
Swansea is a delightful historic town that overlooks Great Oyster Bay, about halfway up the east coast of Tasmania. There are lots of lovely beaches, bays and rivers and if you want a change from sunbathing, swimming and fishing you can take yourself on a local tour. There are the old saltworks ruins, the very unusual Spiky Bridge, vineyards where you can taste and buy, Nine Mile Beach that forms the southern edge of Moulting Lagoon.
Visit the Swansea Bark Mill and East Coast Museum and learn about life and work in the early European settlement. Back in Swansea have a coffee and a homemade cake and watch the boats on the bay - so relaxing!
On the east coast, just north of the Freycinet National Park. Sand, turquoise sea, and sun epitomise Bicheno, a pretty fishing town founded on the sea and its bounty. Nearby there's the Governors Island Marine Reserve with fascinating underwater scenery and sealife. Known for excellent diving and fairy penguins.
