Situated at the northern edge of the Freycinet National Park, Coles Bay is the service town and entry point for the wonderful Ferycinet National Park. As such it is well served by accommodation, caravan sites and camping facilities. It is one of the justifiably famous wilderness beauty spots on Tasmania's east coast.



The town came into being in 1934 when it began to become a popular haunt for fishermen and bushwalkers. Coles Bay is also the major tourist centre on Tasmania's east coast and though it has plenty of holiday accommodation, the increased popularity of the Freycinet Peninsula as a tourist destination has meant you need to book ahead if you intend staying here overnight or longer.

Where Is it?: 202 km north east of Hobart and 218 km south east of Launceston.

Freycinet Peninsula

Wineglass Bay

The Freycinet Peninsula is noted for its spectacular coastal scenery and its emphasis on fishing, boating, bushwalking and swimming. As the 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 its 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.

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.

The peninsula was named by French explorer Nicholas Baudin on 28th February 1802 when mapping the coastline. It recalls 2nd Lieut. Louis Claude De Saules De Freycinet, of Baudin's survey vessel, Naturaliste. English explorer Matthew Flinders had already named it Rawstorne Peninsula in December 1798 after diarist Lawrence Rawstorne. Normally when a dual naming occurred the English name was given preference, but not in this case. Freycinet was in fact the peninsula's third name - Abel Tasman had named it Van Der Lijn's Islandt in December 1642, after Cornelis Van Der Lijn, a member of the Dutch East India Company's Council of India.

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 website




Parsons Cove is now home to a small village of privately owned holiday homes inside the national park. It is called The Fisheries in reference to the fact that in 1824 a whale fishery was established by African-American Captain Richard Hazard of the Thalia, on the site. The old granite quarry close by was opened in 1934 by Italian stonemasons who recognised the unique decorative value of Freycinet granite. It was closed in the 1970s, but before then, material from here was used in the Commonwealth Bank Head Office and Marine Board buildings in Hobart, as well as New Parliament House in Canberra.”

Sleepy Bay

Walking Freycinet National Park

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 and spending each day attempting a different walk.

When you enter the National Park, there is a visitors centre which can answer all your questions about the National Park. A brochure which provides a map and advice on a series of walks is available as part of your Park entry fee. 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.


Little Gravelly Beach

Little Gravelly Beach is a tiny beach nestled between two craggy headlands. It is reached by a track which goes of to the right from Sleepy Bay. The 30 minute walk is relatively easy, although the final stretch - from the top of the cliffs to the beach - is quite steep.



The most popular walk by far is to the lookout over Wineglass Bay. There is a medium walk of 1 1/2-2 hours which takes the walker to the lookout. There are a number of other ways to see Wineglass Bay. A 3-4 hour walk goes up to the lookout first, then continues down 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.


Wineglass Bay campsite. Photo: Tasmania National Parks & Wildlife Service

If you are seriously into bushwalking, then the Freycinet Peninsula Circuit Track is for you. It's a 27 km hike so allow 2 to 3 days to complete the walk. It commences at the Wineglass Bay car park in Freycinet National Park and offers offerings: ocean views, sandy beaches, rocky coves, orange granite boulders, mountain summits, forests, heathlands, abundant birdlife, friendly wildlife – and the iconic Wineglass Bay. Water availability on this circuit is scarce, so you need to be prepared to carry sufficient water - another reason to walk during winter when creek water is often more reliable. Walkers are advised to boil water before drinking.


Wineglass Bay campsite. Photo: Tasmania National Parks & Wildlife Service

The walk includes climbing Mt Graham from where you have the choice of a panoramic view the Peninsula to the north. Walkers can also be challenged by the optional climb to the top of Mount Freycinet (620m), with its spectacular views to Schouten Island to the south. Campsites for overnight walkers are situated at Wineglass Bay, Hazards, Cooks and Bryans Beaches. It’s 5-6 hours from Cooks Beach back to Wineglass Bay via Mt. Graham. Then a 1 hour walk from Wineglass back to the walking tracks car-park.

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Freycinet via Aqua Taxi

If you don’t have the 3 days - or the physical ability - to do the complete Freycinet Peninsula Circuit Track, you might consider doing a section of it in conjunction with the Aqua Taxi. To see Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach it can you on Hazards Beach. It’s a short 30 minute walk across the Isthmus track to Wineglass Bay. You can also join the Hazards circuit or Peninsula circuit tracks. There is camping available at the Hazards Beach campsite. Wineglass Bay is 20 minutes by Aqua Taxi from Coles Bay. Alternatively, it's 20 mins to Hazards beach and then an easy 1 hour return walk to Wineglass bay.


Cooks Beach

Cooks beach is located south of Hazards Beach and is a pristine remote corner on the Peninsula; ideal for swimming, snorkelling or overnight camping. It also has access to a number of short and long walking tracks from here. A great point for walkers to join the Freycinet Peninsula circuit track to walk this awesome trail if you don’t have 3 days to do the complete circuit.

Bryans Beach, at the southern end of the Peninsula, is one of the most pristine beaches on the Peninsula. Bryans Beach offers views across the Schouten Passage to Schouten Island. It's an easy 45 minute flat walk from Cooks Beach across to Bryans Corner. Return to Cooks Beach and return to Coles Bay via Aqua Taxi.


Bryans Beach

Located off the southern tip of the Freycinet Peninsula, Schouten Island is a fantastic spot for day trips and overnight stays. It is a unique island with interesting geology and history. It is 6 km x 7km. Great fishing surrounds the island and pristine beaches for relaxing on. Crocketts Beach is a convenient drop off and return point for the Aqua Taxi. This secluded beach is a great spot for swimming and snorkelling. There is a camp site which also includes a small hut and water tanks. It also has a great walk up Bear Hill which gives walkers a magnificent view of the entire Freycinet Peninsula.

Aqua Taxi Website


Cape Tourville

Cape Tourville is one of the best places in the park to drive to for spectacular views. The 6.4 km dirt road is perfectly adequate for conventional vehicles but towing a caravan is not recommended. From the carpark, follow the short boardwalked track around the cliff line below the lighthouse. The lighthouse at Cape Tourville was constructed in 1971 to replace the inaccessable Cape Forestier Lighthouse which was decommissioned the same year. The lighthouse was constructed as an automatic light and was never manned.

Although Wineglass Bay is hidden by Mount Parsons, there is a dramatic view from Cape Tourville across Thouin Bay to Lemon Rock and Cape Forestier. There are several lookouts to take in the views from and it is only a short and level walk (20 minutes return) that can be easily managed without too much effort so it is a good place for all families to visit and take in the spectacular scenery. Cape Tourville was named by French explorer, Nicolas Baudin, on 28th February 1802, after Ann Hilarion de Contentin, Comte de Tourville (1642-1701), a French admiral who served under King Louis XIV.

The Hazards

A mountain chain opposite Coles Bay in Freycinet National Park, The Hazards are made of granite. Orthoclase, a pink feldspar, gives the mountains their pink tint. The four mountains in the group from west to east are Mayson, Amos, Dove and Parsons. The track to Wineglass Bay and its famous lookout runs over the saddle between Mounts Mayson and Amos. The Hazards are said to be named after local whaler, African-American Captain Richard Hazard of the Thalia, who was reported as whaling in the area in 1824. His name has also been given to one of the beaches on the peninsula, and a locally brewed ale served at the Iluka Tavern at Coles Bay.

Friendly Beaches

Friendly Beaches is known for its long stretches of light sand running along the pristine east coast of Tasmania to the north of the Freycinet Peninsula. The trail to Friendly Beaches is listed as one of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks, and it takes little effort to get from the car park to the beach. From there you can take a short or long stroll along one of Tasmania’s most beautiful beaches. Friendly Beaches are important nesting areas for shorebirds like pied oystercatchers, hooded plovers, red-capped plovers, fairy terns, and little terns. A national park entrance fee is required to visit the locality, or to use the campground, which are within the boundaries of Freycinet National Park.

Schouten Island

Part of the Freycinet National Park, Schouten Island is a large rugged island off the southern tip of Freycinet Peninsula. During the early colonial days, the island was used first as a base for whalers and sealers, and later exploited for its coal and tin deposits. Situated just 1.6 kilometres south of Freycinet Peninsula, Schouten Island is an isolated paradise which is fantastic for snorkelling, canoeing and camping. Part of Freycinet National Park, the island is approximately 6 kilometres wide by 7 kilometres long and is bounded by a picturesque coastline of small sandy beaches and rocky granite bays.

Though the island is popular with campers and kayakers, there is no settlement and no ferry service, which adds to the feeling of remoteness and being in a place where it is just you and nature. Walking tracks give access to the many parts of the island. There are huts near a caretakers' residence at Moreys Bay. Camping is permitted at nearby Crocketts Bay. Tours visit the island's shore, and boats can be chartered from Coles Bay to gain access. The island is a 30-minute boat trip from the township of Coles Bay.

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