We were rained-out at Cradle Mountain - no TV, no phone, no internet - just kangaroo, birds and wombat!
Our drive to Bicheno was a welcome change and the weather cooperated beautifully. The most incredible blue ocean meeting pure white sand. The beach went on for miles and miles, and with every bend in the road, we were met with another picture perfect beach. It was great.
We settled in at our resort and began our plan of action for the area. The next morning we drove South about an hour to Freycinet National Park. We hiked up to the lookout for Wineglass Bay, then down to the beach of the bay itself. It was a tough hike, up to the lookout, a brief trip down to the beach, then back up all the way to the car park. Nancy was exhausted when we finished. We really enjoyed the park - the sand was pure and white, and the sea was very blue and very beautiful!
Another neat thing we got to experience at Bicheno were the little Blue Penguins. We were unable to use flash photography, and they only come out of the ocean well after dark, so we are luck to have any image at all. You see, using a flash will blind the little fellas, and a blind penguin is a dead penguin. There were hundreds of them and they have the most peculiar method of returning to their burrows.
Well after dark they emerge from the sea and gather in groups of 20 or so. They stand shoulder to shoulder in groups waiting for someone to take the lead. Occasionally one will start to cross the sand, followed by another, then another - then they get scared and go back to the group and stand there until some other little fellow gets its courage up enough to cross the sand. You must be very patient, it may take 20 minutes, but they finally do make the trek and they will walk right by you! It's the most amazing thing to witness.
They return to sea the next morning, well before daylight, around 4:00 am. They never leave the water - they remain in the sea until nightfall, to fish and to protect themselves as they have no way to defend against predators.
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