Walking to the Friendly Beaches Scenic Lookout

Photograph of long stretch of beach ending in a rocky point.

The Friendly Beaches are a long expanse of beach in Tasmania, Australia. They are just north of the famed Freycinet Peninsula on Tasmania’s East Coast. A scenic lookout overlooks the beaches.

Getting there

The Friendly Beaches lie within the Freyincet National Park, so visitors will need a current National Parks Pass.

The access to Friendly Beaches was from Cole’s Bay Road, which also led to Freycinet Peninsula. Friendly Beaches Road turned east off Cole’s Bay Road, then divided after about 1.9 kilometres. North (left) from the fork passed the Friendly Beaches Scenic Lookout.

Friendly Beaches did not have extravagant amenities at the time of our visit in September 2016. All of Friendly Beaches Road was unsealed, and the only facilities were toilets without running water at each end of the road. However, Friendly Beaches also experienced a fraction of the crowds that flocked to Freycinet Peninsula.

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Walking around the Bicheno Lookout Rock

Photograph of granite rock outcrop with occasional plants growing on it.

Lookout Rock is a granite outcrop within the town of Bicheno, Tasmania, Australia. A short loop walk circles the rock.

Getting there

There was no really good road to Bicheno from the rest of Tasmania. The logical drive from Hobart would be along the Tasman Highway up the east coast. From Launceston it would be fastest to drive south to Campbell Town and east past Lake Leake, but might be prettier to drive through Fingal and St Mary’s.

Once in Bicheno, the simplest place to start the walk from was from the turning circle at the east end of Morrison Street. Morrison Street led directly off Burgess Street, which was part of the Tasman Highway as it passed through Bicheno.

An alternative car park was at the north end of Little Street, although there was less space there.

All road approaches to Lookout Rock were sealed.

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Walking the Weldborough Pass Rainforest Walk

Photograph of wide myrtle tree roots.

The Weldborough Pass Rainforest Walk is a short bushwalk in northeast Tasmania, Australia. It is an accessible way to see the myrtles and treeferns that make Tasmania’s cool temperate rainforest so distinctive.

Getting there

Navigating in the general direction of the walk was easy – just drive the Tasman Highway between Weldborough and the junction to Lottah Road. While the highway was sealed for its entire length, it had some tight curves. Respect any yellow signs recommending low speeds around hairpin bends, even if the recommended speed is as low as 25 km/h.

The car park for the walk was on the south side of the highway. Signs in both directions warned of “Weldborough Pass Rainforest Walk 200m,” but it would still be easy to miss.

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