The Hazards

Freycinet Peninsula on the east coast of Tasmania is a long narrow neck of land jutting south, dominated by the granite peaks of the Hazards Mountain Range.

The Hazards were formed by liquid granite magma rising up through rocks in the earths crust as heat was generated when continental plates collided. Over many millions of years, erosions wore away the softer sedimentary rocks on the surface, exposing the peaks of the granite beneath. This process exposes a variery of rock types that can be seen in the colour variation on areas such as below

The Hazards and Mt Freycinet are links in a chain of granite that extends from Wilsons Promontory in south-east Victoria, through Flinders Island to north-east Tasmania, along Freycinet Peninsula and south through Maria Island to the Tasman Peninsula.

Sand such as this began as quartz-bearing rock, weathered into quartz sand, was buried ans squashed into sandstone, then was eroded into sand again, and perhaps even again. The siize of the sand grains and the roughness of their surfaces tell how often the sand has been recycled.

Freycinet National Park, on the tip of the peninsula, is criss-cossed with walking tracks along beaches, over mountains and around headlands and across lagoons. The most popular site is Wineglass Bay – the blue waters of the bay are cupped against a crescent of golden sand.

But to get the best view, we took on the 3hour return route to the top of Mount Amos (one of the Hazards). Up that...

The route is not for the faint hearted

It crosses mostly large rock surfaces which can be very slippery when wet, and becomes very steep

and in most places, a scramble

However, it is worth it for the views, looking down towards Coles Bay

The climb is rewarded for what is described as the best view in Tasmania

Wineglass Bay is one of the worlds most famous beaches, yet the origin of its naming unknown. Is the water as clear as a wineglass, or is the bay shaped like a wineglass? Or was the water once red with the blood of slaughtered whales?

As always, photos are taken

Most of the bush you can see in the foreground is Moulting Lagoon Game Reserve, which qualifies for listing as a Ramsar site, which aims to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands, because it is an important habitat for a number of rare and vulnerable plants and animals including up to 10,000 black swans that live here all year round. It is also an important area for the Aboriginal people as records show that the Oyster Bay group inhabited the area.

and of course what goes up, must go down

There is always chance to see the local wildlife if you look carefully

Back at the start, there is another, less committing walk to the beach of Wineglass Bay – a short steep trip up and over the saddle of the mountains.
The path takes you through the Moulting Lagoon Game Reserve

to bring you out on the beautiful beach

Where you can look up to The Hazards and spot the people on top of Mount Amos who are looking down on you

After a spot of sunbathing, we were back on our way up and over the mountain.

Further along the peninsula is Cape Tourville Lighthouse, constructed in 1971 to assist the safe passage of the many vessels plying the East Coast.

It replaced the Cape Forester Lighthouse on Lemon Rock, which was decommissioned the same year. The lighthouse is 126 metres above sea level and is only 11 meters high. The light is 67 726 candelas, which can be seen for 28 nautical miles (52km) and flashes every 12 seconds for 0.10 second.