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The East Coast

Why Go? White-blonde sand, ice-blue water, wide blue sky and sun- National Park ...... 144 shine. Now, strip off and plunge in. Don’t think too long or it might just take your breath away. Swansea ...... 146 ’s east and northeast is salt tousled and refresh- Freycinet National ing. It’s a land of quiet bays and sandy shores, punctuated Park ...... 150 by granite hills and headlands splashed with fl aming orange Bicheno ...... 157 lichen. The whole coast is fringed with eucalypt or pasture Douglas–Apsley National green, national parks for wildlife spotting or adventuring, Park ...... 161 and agricultural country for fabulous food and wine. St Helens ...... 163 If you want to be active, hike, bike, kayak, surf, dive or fi sh here – then set up your beachside camp and chill. If luxury is ...... 166 more your thing you’ll fi nd that here too, with fancy lodges ...... 167 and beachhouses, and top-notch places to dine. It’s not all Weldborough ...... 168 high adventure or highbrow either: if you’re after buckets- Mt William National and-spades family fun, Tasmania’s east and northeast are Park ...... 169 perfect for sun-soaked beach holidays. See www.northeast Scottsdale ...... 171 tasmania.com.au for more. Bridport ...... 172 ...... 173

Best Places to Eat When to Go Picture-postcard shots of the east coast make you think » Piermont Restaurant (p 149 ) tropical: palm trees, bikinis and suntans. The truth is, those » Ripple (p 166 ) crystal-clear photographers’ dream days are often in winter, » Passinis (p 160 ) so be open minded about when you visit. » Freycinet Marine Farm The whole coast comes alive in summer. There’s a relaxed, (p151 ) vacation vibe, but the most popular spots do get packed and accommodation prices surge. In the dead of winter (June to August) you’ll fi nd these parts in the doldrums. In autumn Best Places to Stay (March to April) the sea’s at its warmest, and you might have » Saffire (p 153 ) a beach all to yourself. » Rocky Hills Retreat (p147 ) » Aurora Beach Cottage (p 159 ) » Point Break (p167 ) Ferry to Lady Barron Waterhouse Cape Portland (Flinders Island) (90km) Island Musselroe Bay Coastal Reserve Top 142 The East Ringarooma Camping Coast Waterhouse Bay Protected Area Mount William Stumpys Highlights Tomahawk Bay Anderson National Park Big Waterhouse 1 Whooping with Bay Lagoon To Pipers River Gladstone Mt William exhilaration as you Region (30km); B82 Mt Cameron (216m) Deep George Town Creek brave the ice-blue C832 (550m) B82 (46km) C843 Banca Eddystone waters of gorgeous Bridport South Point Wineglass Bay Cameron Bridestowe C840 (p154 ) Estate Lavender Bay of Farm Fires Walk 2 Swooping B84 Derby A3 B81 Scottsdale The Gardens over the Freycinet Nabowla Branxholm coastline on a scenic Weldborough Sideling C843 fl ight (p153 ) Mt Victoria Range Legerwood Forest Reserve Having close Mt Maurice A3 Binalong 3 Lilydale Forest Reserve Bay encounters with Ralphs Targa Falls Pyengana Stieglitz wildlife at Maria St Columba Evercreech National Park A3 Sout Falls Forest Georges (p144 ) Reserve Bay Mt h C423 Beaumaris 4 Luring in a deep- Barrow Ben Nevis Esk (1413m) (1367m) River Scamander sea monster – or at To Mathinna least catching your Launceston Falmouth (5km); Ben Lomond Ironhouse dinner – at St Helens Devonport National B43 Point (p164 ) (105km) Park St Four Marys Mile THE EAST COAST 5 Sampling Creek heavenly ice creams Elephant B42 iver Fingal produced by the R Pass Chain of A4 Lagoons Esk happy cows of 0 20 km th 0 10 miles Sou Douglas- Pyengana (p168 ) Apsley 6 Dreaming under M Avoca National a Park the whispering cq ua she-oaks when you rie C301

Bicheno camp at Mt William Millers Bluff (1210m) Campbell Town National Park (p169 ) r Cape

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7 Floating your boat Lake R B34 A3 on the mirror-calm Leake Cranbrook Friendly Mt Franklin Moulting Beaches Ansons River lagoon (1102m) Ross an Lagoon Cape with the Bay of Fires Sw C302 Tourville Swanwick Walk (p 167 ) River Lake Point Being a water Sorell Swansea Bagot Coles 8 Bay baby (or beach babe) A1 Spiky Bridge Great Lake Oyster Bay at Binalong Bay Wineglass Crescent Mayfield Bay Freycinet Bay (p 167 ) Tooms Lake East Coast Feasting on fresh Wines Freycinet 9 National seafood, and quaffi ng Oatlands Little Little Park fi ne East Coast Swanport Swanport Schouten wines A3 Island a Beachcombing Lake Tiberias Ile des for Killiecrankie Phoques diamonds on Flinders Prosser Cape T A S M A N Island (p173 ) Bay Bougainville Kempton Three Cape S E A Thumbs Orford Boullanger Lookout Darlington Buckland A1 Sandspit Maria Island Forest National

Reserve assage Maria Park P Island Richmond Nugent

ry C335 u Sorell rc Cape A9 e Peron To M (2km) To Port Copping Arthur (41km)