Freycinet Peninsula Circuit

[hunsta]

Gday all. The wife and I are considering visiting rellies down your great neck of the woods over the 2013-14 Christmas period and I was hoping to get a 2 dayer and maybe a single days walking whilst down there. I was searching for 2 day hikes and came up with the Freycinet Peninsula Circuit. Seems to be about 30km which is perfect for 2 days. Tried to see what sort of camping could be had and it seems its mostly on a balloted system. Is this true for all of the camping on the walk or just certain spots. If not any suggestions. It would only be me walking not the wife. What sort of grade would this walk be? Has anyone got a link to a good free map of the track?
Im sure theres more 2 day walks of this nature, so if anyone has any suggestions(except "go home tourist") that would be great.
Ive been to Tasmania once before and loved it. I`d love to see more than just the usual tourist hotspots this time round.
Cheers
Craig

[Hallu]

2 day walks would include Walls of Jerusalem, Mount Field, Cape Pillar skipping Cape Huay (or doing it at a good pace), Mount Anne (not for beginners), Lake Judd + Schnells Ridge (some off track walking), Mount Shakespeare (kind of off the beaten path), a return trip on the South Coast Walk stopping when you feel comfortable, and many options in the Cradle/Lake St Clair area. But for easy/medium walking, Freycinet or Mount Field would probably be the way to go. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

[wayno]

prince of wales range .... oh hang on thats a two weeker for mountain goats

[hunsta]

2 day walks would include Walls of Jerusalem, Mount Field, Cape Pillar skipping Cape Huay (or doing it at a good pace), Mount Anne (not for beginners), Lake Judd + Schnells Ridge (some off track walking), Mount Shakespeare (kind of off the beaten path), a return trip on the South Coast Walk stopping when you feel comfortable, and many options in the Cradle/Lake St Clair area. But for easy/medium walking, Freycinet or Mount Field would probably be the way to go. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Thanks for the Hallu. I had read a little that the Walls of Jerusalem, might be a bit challenging on my own, for me. Not that Im overly unfit or anything, just that my walking/scrambling has been a little limited,due to the fact I usually do it on my own. A nice easy/medium in summer would suit me fine.
What about the camping side of things? Am I limited to the ballot system for Freycinet?
Craig

[sixfingers]

Hi,
As long as you're not in the Coles Bay area you can go for your life. Cooks Beach is a great spot to camp but you'll need to check on water supplies there.
This thread could be helpful
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11873
Best wishes Steve

[gossy1985]

hey there

freycinet circuit is a good easy to follow walk well maintained track. it has 3 designated camp sites all with toilet set up (pit and composte) it can be done in two days but to take in the full beauty off the place 3 days would be better. the walk consists off sand, rock and dirt the highest peak the track takes is on mount graham at 579M and the famous wine glass bay look out sits at 200M between mt mayson and mt amos

[hunsta]

Thanks sixfingers and gossy1985. Great info there. I guess my next step would be to get hold of a parks map to see whats what.
Cheers
Craig

[Eremophila]

We did the Freycinet circuit at the end of November, it was already very dry and very little creek water available.
The walk is easy, Cooks Beach/Hut campsite has 3 water tanks but there was pretty much nothing after that (going anti-clockwise as recommended), a couple of creeks were still just trickling.
The Visitor Centre staff, while helpful and friendly, had absolutely no idea about water levels.....
I guess around Christmas time it would be pretty busy and the tank levels may be questionable.
We purchased a map at the Visitor Centre.
Just frustrating walking on all those fabulous beaches when the water's too cold to swim.
Oh and the wildlife is very "humanised" they will just about wrestle food out of your hands.

[Mick]

Hi

Just did the Freycinet circuit last weekend.

Still plenty of water in the tanks at Cook's hut.

Also managed to collect good water from a stream on the way down from Mt Graham to Wineglass Bay.

[Doonish]

Mt Freycinet is a nice little sidetrip - slightly better views than Graham, I thought, but makes a longer walk if you're only taking two days. I think it's good to camp at Cooks Beach (really a nice campsite - we were there in mid-January and virtually had the place to ourselves) and Wineglass, then there's just the easy stroll over the saddle back to Coles Bay in the morning.

But I'd definitely carry water from Cooks to be sure, Mick's stream notwithstanding .

[GD4Up]

...going anti-clockwise as recommended...

There is Phytophthora in the park so going anti-clockwise (along with washing down your boots etc before heading off somewhere else) can help prevent its spread. Water can't be guaranteed at any time.