Coles Bay

Destination: Coles Bay,Tasmania Australia

Coles Bay (including Freycinet National Park) Entry point for those eager to explore the beautiful Freycinet National Park.
Coles Bay is situated at the northern edge of the Freycinet National Park. As such it is the site favoured by visitors wishing to explore the Freycinet Peninsula and thus is well served by caravan sites and camping facilities. Located 202 km north east of Hobart and 218 km south east of Launceston it is one of the justifiably famous wilderness beauty spots on Tasmania's east coast.

The Coles Bay-Freycinet National Park area is noted for its spectacular coastal scenery and its emphasis on fishing, boating, bushwalking and swimming. As the excellent brochure Let's Talk about Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park declares: 'Where else would you find granite mountains rising straight from the sea to form a magnificent sheltered waterway?

'Where else would you find a beach so beautiful and secluded that on the last Royal visit to Australia, the Royal Yacht Britannia anchored to allow the Queen ashore for an Australian-style beach barbecue?' This latter event is still talked about by the locals and, when you have seen Wineglass Bay where the picnic took place, you can understand the romantic notion of such an activity.

Before the arrival of European sealers and whalers the area was popular with Aborigines and there are many shell middens along the coast suggesting that it was a popular retreat from the coldness of the Tasmanian winter.

By the early nineteenth century whalers and sealers were well established on both Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island. From this time the settlement of the area was largely restricted to adventurers and near-hermits. It was Silas Cole, a lonely lime burner who collected the shells from the Aboriginal middens and burnt them for lime, who gave the town its name. He loved the area and often described its beauty to his friends when he took his lime across Great Oyster Bay to Swansea.

It wasn't until 1934, when a retired auctioneer named Harry Parsons purchased 5 ha of land at Coles Bay, that any kind of settlement developed. Parsons' purchase became the land for the town - and the town became a popular haunt for fishermen and bushwalkers. It was a retreat from modern life. A true escape to a small community of shanties on the edge of a beautiful bay. A rough road was hewn around the coast but most of the building materials for the town arrived on the SS Koomeela which made regular journeys across the bay.

The appealing quality of Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park is that they haven't really changed in fifty years. Today people still come to the area to get away from it all. They fish in the waters of Great Oyster Bay, which are still rich in trevally, flathead, crayfish and trumpeter. They walk into the park and climb the Hazards or the mountains to the south, both of which offer marvellous views across the bay and out across the Tasman Sea. And they drive on the rough roads through the National Park stopping for a spectacular view or pulling off the road to go swimming in the clear, safe waters of the bay.

How to get to Coles Bay (Click this link to see a Google Map)

Coles Bay is located on Tasmania's East Coast. Coles Bay is 202 klm from Hobart (2hrs 15 mins) , 218 klm from Launceston (2 hrs) and 315 klm from Devonport (3 hrs) (the arrival point for the Spirit of Tasmania).

Driving directions to Coles Bay from Hobart click this link | from Launceston click this link | from Devonport click this link

Things to see:

Freycinet National Park
In its own way Freycinet National Park is one of Australia's most interesting wilderness areas - where else in the world do you see red granite cliffs tumbling into the cold ocean? This 10 000 ha park is alive with unusual animals - Tasmanian pademelons, white-breasted sea eagles, red-necked wallabies - and in season offers spectacular displays of rare native flora, notably a wide variety of native orchids. It is fair to say that it is one of the country's most spectacularly beautiful areas and when the weather is perfect it is hard to imagine a more peaceful and awe-inspiring piece of coastline.

Freycinet National Park Activities
Cape Tourville
The most popular activities in Freycinet National Park are bushwalking and scenic views. A good starting point is to drive to Cape Tourville. The 6.4 km dirt road, while hardly amazing, is perfectly adequate for conventional vehicles. The views are spectacular. Although Wineglass Bay is hidden by Mount Parsons there is a dramatic view across Thouin Bay to Lemon Rock and Cape Forestier.

Day Walks
When you enter Freycinet there is a brochure which provides a map and advice on a series of walks. These walks include an easy ten minute walk to the beach and rocks around Sleepy Bay. The Bay is on the route to Cape Tourville and the walk down to the rocks is easy and enjoyable. The kelp on the rocks is particularly impressive.

There is also a walk to Little Gravelly Beach, a tiny beach nestled between two craggy headlands. This is a 30 minute walk with the final stretch - from the top of the cliffs to the beach - being quite steep.

There are a number of ways to see Wineglass Bay. There is a medium walk of 1 1/2-2 hours which takes the walker to the lookout above Wineglass Bay. There is a 3-4 hour walk which goes to the lookout then continues on to the beach. It returns by the same route. The final route is 5 hours and is a circuit via the lookout and the beach and back to the main carpark.

There are many more walks of varying difficulty in the park. It is hard to imagine a more attractive option than staying for a week in the outstanding, award-winning Freycinet Lodge and spending each day attempting a different walk.

Motels

Freycinet Lodge
Freycinet National Park
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0101
Facsimile: (03) 6257 0278
Rating: ****

Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses

Coles Bay Retreat
29 Jetty Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: 0418132538
Facsimile: (03) 8660 2446
Rating: ****

Apartments

Iluka Holiday Centre Apts
Esplanade
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0115
Rating: **

Three Peaks Holiday Apts
Freycinet Dve
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0333
Rating: ****

Other Sites www.Tasmania-Australia.com, Tasmania Towns www.Hobart-Tasmania.com | www.Launceston-Tasmania.com | www.WestburyTasmania.com | www.DevonportTasmania.com | www.Burnie-Tasmania.com, Tasmanian Experience Destinations www.ColesBay.com | www.Cradle-Mountain.com | www.Strahan-Tasmania.com | www.PortArthurTasmania.com | www.Tarkine.com |

Cottages & Cabins

Cottages by the Sea
2308 Main Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0102 or 1800 632 351
Facsimile: (03) 6257 0102
Rating: ***

Cottages By The Sea
2308 Main Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0102

Gum Nut Cottage
Cnr Coles Bay & Jetty Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0109
Rating: ***

Haven Holiday Cottages
Swanwick Dve
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0216

Jessies Cottage
7 Esplanade East
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0143
Rating: ****

Swan River Cottages
100 Swanwick Drive Swanwick
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0370
Rating: ***

Coles Bay Caravan Park
Coles Bay Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0100
Rating: ***

Camping & Other

Coles Bay Waterfronters
Coles Bay Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0416

Restaurants

Cottages By The Sea
2308 Main Rd
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0102

Freycinet Lodge
Freycinet National Park
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0101
Facsimile: (03) 6257 0278

Madge Malloys Restaurant
3 Garnet Ave
Coles Bay TAS 7215
Telephone: (03) 6257 0399

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