Overlying these ancient relics, between shoreline and hinterland ranges, is a matrix of conservation reserves protecting unique terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments teeming with native flora and fauna. Five spectacular national parks (Tasman, Maria Island, Freycinet, Douglas-Aspley and Mount William) and the world-famous Bay of Fires Conservation Area provide boundless opportunities for seaside recreation and adventure.
Several Tasmanian marine reserves have been created in the waters off Maria Island, Governor Island and around the Tasman Peninsula to protect sensitive oceanic ecosystems and the diverse marine wildlife within them. In addition, the Australian Government has established the Freycinet Marine Park (58,000sqkm) that stretches due east from Bicheno across the continental shelf to depths of 4000m on the abyssal plain beneath the Tasman Sea.
FORESTIER PENINSULA
The East Coast is anchored at its southern end by the twin peninsulas, Forestier and Tasman. The thickly-timbered Forestier Peninsula is the smaller of the two (just 20km long by 15km wide) and is joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus (East Bay Neck) near the fishing village of Dunalley. The isthmus is bisected by the Denison Canal — the only purpose-built sea canal in Australia — which is crossed by a hydraulic swing bridge. The canal was completed in 1905 after agitation by east coast settlers and traders to avoid the long, often rough voyage to Hobart around Tasman Peninsula. Today, it is used by small boats and some Sydney–Hobart yacht racers returning to Sydney as a shortcut between Dunalley Bay and Blackman Bay.
TASMAN PENINSULA
Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsula, to which it is connected by the Eaglehawk Neck isthmus, and is surrounded by Norfolk Bay, Storm Bay and the Tasman Sea. Encompassing 660sqkm, the peninsula is renowned for the spectacular coastline and amazing rock formations that fringe its eastern and southern shores, and the World Heritagelisted historic site at Port Arthur.
The eastern side of Eaglehawk Neck is a sweeping sandy arc facing beautiful Pirates Bay. At the northern end of the beach lies the ‘Tessellated Pavement,’ an intertidal terrace with a surface fractured in a pattern of rectangular pools. The curved southern end of the beach forms a small cove sheltered by Fossil Island extending from a craggy headland that contains the dynamic ‘Blowhole.’
South of this headland, the rugged coastline features two of the peninsula’s most incredible geological wonders, carved by wave action over the past 6000 years. Tasman Arch is a natural bridge that towers 53m above the waves, while the Devil’s Kitchen is a 60m-deep chasm filled with the jumbled remains of a collapsed sea cave.
Protected by the Tasman National Park, much of the peninsula’s south coast is lined by vertiginous 300m sea cliffs, and studded with sea stacks and chunky offshore islands. Three soaring capes (Hauy, Pillar and Raoul) stand like sentinels overlooking the Tasman Sea, and Shipstern Bluff (Devil’s Point), near Cape Raoul, is notorious among the international surfing community for hosting the biggest, meanest wave in Australian waters.
PORT ARTHUR
At the end of the Arthur Highway (A9), 60km from Hobart, is the inlet, township and World Heritage-listed historic site of Port Arthur. Named in honour of Lt-Governor George Arthur, a penal settlement was established here in 1833 around the small natural harbour of Mason Cove, part of the larger Carnarvon Bay which was an anchorage for large ships. The main buildings were concentrated on the hillside rising to the southwest of the cove, while the waterfront developed as an industrial port, with wharves and jetties and a dockyard complex of workshops and slipways for building and repairing vessels.
For 44 years, the penitentiary housed the hardest criminals from England, repeat offenders from other Australian prisons and obdurate rebels against colonial authority. For its 1200 inmates, Port Arthur was “hell on earth,” a brutally harsh and inescapable prison, administering unremitting hard labour on near-starvation rations, surrounded by shark-infested waters and guarded by slavering mastiffs. It’s now Tasmania’s most-visited tourist attraction.
SORELL TO TRIABUNNA
From Sorell, one of the state’s oldest towns, the A3 winds north through valleys flanked by mountainous forest reserves to Orford on Prosser Bay. Once a port for the east coast whaling fleet and the convict settlement on nearby Maria Island, Orford is now a popular seaside hamlet for holidaymakers who fish in the bay and bask on the local beaches.
The larger town of Triabunna, 8km to the north, nestles within Spring Bay at the mouth of Vickerys Rivulet. It is home port for the local fishing fleet which maintains the town’s reputation for excellent crayfish, scallops, abalone and “the best mussels in the world”. From Triabunna’s marina, a daily ferry service connects with Darlington on Maria Island, and fishing and sightseeing charters operate into Mercury Passage.
MARIA ISLAND
Maria Island is known as the ‘Jewel of the East Coast’, and consists of 11,500ha of mountainous terrain and open woodlands girt by majestic sea cliffs, long sandy beaches and azure seas. Abel Tasman named the island in 1642 after the wife of Anthony Van Diemen, the Governorin-Chief of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia. During the early 19th century, Maria Island was used as a convict probation station, and the former settlement at Darlington has many well-preserved buildings from that era. In 2010, Darlington’s historic precinct was listed as part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property.
The island is shaped in a figure-eight, comprising what were once two separate isles that are now joined by a 3km-long isthmus. The northern section is dotted with towering dolerite outcrops, including Mount Maria (711m) and the Bishop and Clerk Peaks (620m), which may be ascended by challenging walks to summits that afford panoramic views of the east coast and Tasman Sea.
Spectacular cliffs fringe the eastern side of the island and those at Cape Boullanger, on the northern tip, are embedded with 300 millionyear-old fossils of shells, sea fans, coral-like creatures and sea lilies. On the island’s western shore, the beautifully coloured and intricately patterned sandstone formations of the ‘Painted Cliffs’ form a striking façade bordered by limpid rock pools.
The entire island is a wildlife sanctuary contained within the Maria Island National Park, and is one of the best places in Tasmania for bird watching. In 2012, captive Tasmanian devils were introduced to the island as part of an ‘insurance population’ unaffected by the facial tumour disease that is sweeping through the species on the mainland.
A marine reserve around the northern coastline protects magnificent underwater seascapes teeming with diverse marine life. The island’s crystal-clear waters offer excellent conditions for snorkelling and scuba diving, and visiting boats will find sheltered anchorages in secluded coves depending on prevailing wind and swells. Fishing is permitted around the island, except for the no-take zone in the reserve off the north-west shoreline between Cape Boullanger and Return Point.
Fifty kilometres north of Triabunna, the A3 arrives at Swansea, with panoramic views across Great Oyster Bay to the peaks of the Freycinet Peninsula. First settled in 1821, it is one of Tasmania’s oldest towns and an important service centre for local farming communities and travellers heading to the peninsula. It’s a popular holiday destination in its own right, surrounded by pretty beaches and ready access to the bay for boating and fishing.
Opposite Swansea, the laid back holiday town of Coles Bay lies at the entrance to the Freycinet Peninsula and its world-famous national park. The town occupies a small headland bounded by two beautiful beaches, Muirs and Richardsons, at the foot of the dramatic pink-granite peaks known as ‘The Hazards’. With eco-tourism its economic mainstay, the small community offers accommodation and services to large numbers of visitors who come to enjoy outdoor activities in the national park and water sports on Great Oyster Bay. Its sheltered beaches offer safe swimming and calm conditions for sea kayaking, and the northern end of Richardsons Beach is a popular anchorage for cruising boats.
FREYCINET NATIONAL PARK
From Coles Bay, the Freycinet Peninsula stretches almost 50km to Schouten Island lying close by its southern end. The peninsula was named by Nicholas Baudin, in 1802, after two of his fellow expeditioners, brothers Henri and Louis de Freycinet.
Its northern half is dominated by ‘The Hazards’, which rise to more than 400m, while the southern section is covered by rugged forested hills with Mt Freycinet (620m) its highest point. The two sections are joined in the middle by a low sandy isthmus formed by Hazards Beach on Great Oyster Bay, and beautiful Wineglass Beach facing the Tasman Sea.
Except for Wineglass Bay, the seaward coastline of the peninsula is fringed by rugged cliffs, while the western side slopes more gently to several white-sand beaches. Schouten Island has similar topography with a seaward rampart of dolerite cliffs and sheltered sandy beaches on its northern coastline. The highest point on the island is Mt Story (400m).
The island and most of the peninsula are included within the Freycinet National Park (16,900ha), which extends northward in a narrow coastal strip between Coles Bay and Bicheno that includes Cape Tourville, Bluestone Bay and the magnificent Friendly Beaches.
Declared in 1916, Freycinet is Tasmania’s oldest national park and has significant conservation value for its unique landscape, endemic flora and abundant birdlife. Renowned for its scenic beauty, accessibility and mild weather, the park is a key element of East Coast tourism, attracting more visitors than any other reserve outside the World Heritage Area.
It is also a popular venue for yachts and pleasure craft, with sheltered anchorages in crystal-clear water off pristine beaches at Wineglass Bay, Coles Bay and Bryans Beach on the peninsula, and Crocketts Bay and Moreys Bay on Schouten Island.
BICHENO TO ST HELENS
The quiet seaside town of Bicheno, 30km north of Coles Bay, is named in honour James Ebenezer Bicheno, the British Colonial Secretary for Van Diemen’s Land during the mid-19th century. In the 1840s, a small harbour was developed at ‘The Gulch’ in the lee of Governor Island, and this now serves a small commercial fishing fleet which delivers crayfish and other seafood for the many local cafes and restaurants.
The town is also one of the East Coast’s best-loved holiday destinations, popular for its sparkling ocean beaches, distinctive granite outcrops and scenic walks. The nearby Diamond Island Nature Reserve is home to colonies of little penguins, short-tailed shearwaters and sooty oystercatchers. A marine reserve on the eastern side of Governor Island was established in 1991 to protect a spectacular underwater environment, which is recognised as one of the best temperate diving locations in Australia.
Continuing its scenic journey north to St Helens, the Tasman Highway hugs the coast through a string of conservation areas sandwiched between forested mountains and long white beaches. Along the way, the small rural communities of Falmouth, Scamander and Beaumaris provide seaside accommodation to holidaymakers and seasoned surfers looking for remote wave breaks.
Overlooking beautiful Georges Bay, 250km from Hobart, St Helens is the largest town on Tasmania’s East Coast. The bay is sheltered from the Tasman Sea by the long arm of St Helens Point and its conservation area to the east. The seaward side of the Point is fringed by the 9km sweep of Maurouard Beach, behind which coastal plant communities of the Peron Dunes protect nesting sea birds. Spectacular pink granite formations ring the Point and enclose the immaculate white sand nook of Beerbarrel Beach.
St Helens is the home port of the state’s second largest commercial fishing fleet which, along with timber and tourism, drives the local economy. It is also renowned as the gamefishing capital of Tasmania. The deep ocean off the continental shelf, less than 30km offshore, abounds with trevally, kingfish, marlin and tuna, which support a vibrant local charter industry. The protected waters of Georges Bay teem with flounder, bream and salmon for recreational anglers, while the inshore kelp forests and rocky coastal fringe provide divers with opportunities for crayfish, abalone and rock lobster.
THE BAY OF FIRES
St Helens is the gateway to the small town of Binalong Bay and the stretch of coast known as the Bay of Fires, considered one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Bay of Fires was given its unusual name by English navigator Tobias Furneaux who, during a night passage along the coast in 1773, saw numerous Aboriginal fires on the shore.
The coastal scenery in this region is renowned for its kaleidoscope of colours: rugged outcrops of pink granite rocks splashed with orange lichen, punctuating a string of pearly-white sand beaches lapped by turquoise waters. It’s easy to understand how it reaps so many tourism accolades, such as Lonely Planet’s “hottest travel destination,” and regularly ranks highly among industry lists of the world’s best beach locations.
Binalong Bay township occupies a triangular headland flanked on the east by the Humbug Point Nature Recreation Area and to the northwest by Cosy Corner, an exquisite beach curling around a sheltered inlet backed by Grants Lagoon. It is the southernmost in a series of stunning beaches that comprise the Bay of Fires coastline stretching north for 50km to Eddystone Point on the edge of the Mount William National Park.
This superb environment is the perfect setting for a wide range of recreational activities — camping, beach walking, boating, fishing, swimming, surfing, snorkelling and diving — and a fitting climax to an East Coast escape.
Contacts
EAST COAST TASMANIA TOURISM
PORT ARTHUR HISTORIC SITE
Arthur Highway, Port Arthur
P: 1800 659 101
E: reservations@portarthur.org.au
TASMANIA PARKS & WILDLIFE SERVICE
P: 1300 827 727
TASMAN FIELD CENTRE
5803 Arthur Highway, Taranna
P: (03) 6250 3980
MARIA ISLAND FIELD CENTRE
Corner Charles St and Esplanade West, Triabunna
P: (03) 6257 1420
E: maria.island@parks.tas.gov.au
FREYCINET FIELD CENTRE
Bicheno
P: (03) 6256 7000
ST HELENS FIELD CENTRE
Eagle Street, St Helens
P: (03) 6387 5510