23 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 10: Wineglass Bay

After checking out of Best Western Beachfront at Bicheno, we returned to the Blowhole to have another look before driving to Wineglass Bay at Freycinet National Park.  It was about 50 mins drive away. Freycinet National Park is loaded with natural assets, including the pink granite peaks of the Hazards Range that dominate the Peninsula and the iconic Wineglass Bay.  As it was very sunny, we put on our sunscreen before trekking up to the lookout.

The journey to the lookout was quite tiring as there seemed to be endless steps up.

As such, we took many short breaks along the way.

About 30 mins into our climb, we saw a lookout point and were so excited as we thought we were about to reach.

However that's Coles Bay lookout point.  Wineglass Bay lookout was further up!

There were many huge boulders along the track and the one below even provided a wonderful shelter for Jerlene and Javier.

We took another break at this saddle seat, which was designed and constructed by School of Architecture students.

We finally reached the Wineglass Bay Lookout after about an hour's climb.  Though tiring, it was very satisfying and we all had a sense of achievement.  Let's have a wefie!

Wineglass Bay is one of Tasmania's most photographed views.

The beach is perfectly curved and with the pristine waters, the view was spectacular.  For those who do not feel like taking the one hour climb, they can opt for the cruise tour.

The way down was much easier.

We met with a wild wallaby on our way down.  Isn't it adorable?

Wow, supergirl in action!

And what about this little ironman?

We did not walk down to Wineglass Bay beach because that will mean an additional one hour walk.  On our drive out of Coles Bay, we came by another nice Richardsons beach.

Our next destination was St Helens.  However since it's already lunch time, we decided to have our lunch at Bicheno.  Javier had again asked for sausages.  So we walked into the below Italian cafe and asked if they served sausages.  Initially the waiter said they only serve them during breakfast.  After seeing Javier's disappointed face, he went into the kitchen and put in a special order for Javier.  How nice of him.

Below were our lunch.

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22 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 9: Adorable Penguins at Bicheno

We were unable to book on a penguin tour because we arrived late at Bicheno.  As we'll be here only for one night, we decided to try out our luck by going out to a nearby beach to look for it on our own.  After some research done on the internet, we set off from our accommodation at about 11:20pm.  Our destination was the beach near Sealife Centre.  Initially we were not very hopeful.  However once we drove out onto the main road, we immediately saw two penguins crossing the road right in front of us.  After seeing that, we felt very motivated to look out for more.

Sealife Centre is just a 1 min drive away.  The moment we stepped out of our car, we began hearing sound coming from the bushes around.  We followed the walking track towards the beach and voila!  Several penguins appeared right in front of us.  We tried our best not to shine our dim torchlight directly at them as we did not have a red cellophane paper to cover the light.  We also refrained from using flash on our camera when taking photos.  At the same time, I had to keep reminding Jerlene and Javier to lower down their volume.  These little fairy penguins were simply adorable.

It was an amazing experience to have such a close encounter with wild penguins.  It's really worth sacrificing some of our sleep time to see these little fairies.

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22 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 9: Bicheno Blowhole and Sealife Centre

As it's still bright and sunny at 6:30pm, we decided to explore Bicheno Blowhole before having our dinner.  This blowhole is just a 5 mins drive from our accommodation and is so much better than the one at Port Arthur which we had visited earlier of the day.

Not only did the water shoot up to a great height, we can also get very close to it.

Here's a video showing the amazing blowhole as well as Jerlene and Javier dancing in front of it.

Take a closer look at the following photo.  There are 3 people in it.  ;-)

We spent about half an hour here before heading to Sealife Centre for our dinner.

Sealife Centre is located by the shore facing Waubs Bay.  It is just across a road from our accommodation, Best Western Beachfront.

Following were what we had for our dinner.  Yummy!!!

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22 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 9: Best Western Beachfront at Bicheno

On our way from Port Arthur to Bicheno, we passed by Dunalley Bay.  It was very unique as its beach seems to be "layered".

The drive from Port Arthur to Bicheno is about 3 hours.  By the time we reached our accommodation in Bicheno (Best Western Beachfront at Bicheno), it was already 6pm.  

Our unit has a double bed and two single beds.

It also has an outdoor balcony facing the pool and a mini playground.

Its location is within walking distance to a number of food outlets, supermarket and the beach.

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22 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 9: Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen

Before leaving Port Arthur, we visited several places of interest south of Eaglehawk Neck in Tasman Peninsula.  First, we came to Tasman Arch, which is a unique geological formation.

The following describes how Tasman Arch was formed.

Not far from Tasman Arch is the Devil's Kitchen, which is another amazing geological formation.

Read the following to understand how Devil's Kitchen was formed.

Another attraction nearby is the Tasman blowhole.

The blowhole here is not extremely spectacular and below was it began......

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