Freycinet National Park

We free camped at River and Rocks Campground at the end of the huge Moulting Lagoon. It is about 25km down the road from Aspley River towards Coles Bay. We missed the turn off to the campground at first, so slow down when you get past the Freycinet Marine Farm and if you get to the Pelican Bay B&B you’ve gone too far.

Free camping at River and Rocks Campground

At the campground there are is a dump toilet (quite smelly) and the sand is a dirty grey colour however there is a lot of near flat camping spots suitable for big rigs and some smaller camping ‘bays’ for privacy if that is to your liking. The fishing is great (not that we are fishermen but we enjoyed the generous efforts of a fellow camper! (Thanks Ian and Barb!) If you are not so lucky, you can always call in at the marine farm just up the road where you can buy delicious mussels, salmon and other seafood. It was here that I tasted my first fresh scallops (and cooked them) with the encouragement of Ian and Barb. That is a big step forward for me! Scallops are OK but not something to rave about in my opinion but then maybe I need a better cook to appreciate it better. (I cooked it with fresh garlic and butter.) The fresh salmon was superb though! Even I couldn’t stuff that up! LOL

The sunsets there over the Swan River are superb. We took a chair and a bottle of wine and joined Ian and Barb for an extended happy hour. We also loved watching the thousands of tiny crabs come out at low tide.

We took in a trip to Coles Bay and drove and walked through to the lighthouse at Cape Tourville where it was very windy and thus cold. We stopped by Sleepy Bay and walked down. I thought Sleepy Bay was just lovely. I think the lovely rock and colourful lichen at Sleepy Bay really sets it apart.

On our first visit to Sleepy Bay we were there at low tide and I was fascinated by the giant jelly fish (to me they are giant) and enjoyed watching star fish too. There is also a lovely big hole worn in a rock which creates a amphitheatre in which maybe a half dozen friends can easily fit in. Some young people were enjoying the echo and acoustics that occurred naturally within the rock. Sadly we had forgotten to take the camera down with us so I determined to come back another time, which I did after the Wineglass Bay walk (Rob stayed back this time though!) It was high tide and no starfish or jelly fish were to be found the second time around! :)

Rob takes a rest on the walk back from Wineglass Bay

Wineglass Bay is justly famous for its pristine beach in a perfect wine glass bowl shape. The walk is fairly steep at time and there are a lot of steps but we took it easy as Rob had some lung damage from the blot clot in the lungs a few months back.

An example of the steps going up to Wineglass Bay Lookout

Wineglass Bay

Personally I liked Sleepy Bay even better than the beautiful Wineglass Bay. On our way back we stopped by Sleepy bay again so I could run down to take some photos but Rob stayed behind in the car. One long walk is enough for him in one day!

Colourful lichen on the rocks make Sleepy Bay very interesting

Sleepy Bay has an "Acoustic Rock" in which you can have some fun!