Wineglass bay...

I have visited Tasmania previously as a guide for wildlife groups. I have recently visited the Wineglass Bay area with the expedition cruise ship Orion. We accessed the beach both by walking trail, and also by zodiac.

Geography and History

Wineglass Bay is one of the more famous 'beautiful' beaches of the world. It is often assumed to be called 'wineglass' due to the circlar shape of a glass and the clear water contained within, but it has also been suggested the name came from the colour of blood and guts resulting from previous whaling activities.

Access

Despite the fame of Wineglass Bay beach, it is perhaps surprisingly that you can not actually drive to it. Perhaps this is part of its appeal; you have to work to get there. The walk leaves from Coles Bay, passes up over a ridge with great views, and takes about an hour and a half to get to the beach (or longer with stops).

Wildlife & Nature

The walk passes through various habitats. in the Spring, there may be loads of Kunzea flowering, and when this happening the first half of the track is covered in bushes with white flowers which are buzzing with various insects. On the way up you go past several eucalypts with 'scribbles' made by moth larvae.

The views from the ridge, about halfway along the walk, are great. They look down over the white sand of Wineglass Bay. On the way up, there are also great views of the rounded granite walls. Down towards the beach, the walk passes through Casuarina forest.

There is often an individual Bennets wallaby on the beach. It bounces along between backpacks looking for a food handout.

The beach is fine and white in colour. There are dunes behind the beach, and at the other end of the beach, there is backwater which is tea-stained from Leptospermum 'tea tree'. There are often Pacific Gulls and Pied Oystercatchers on the beach, and there are sometimes nests of the latter birds on the beach .