Wineglass Bay Lookout Walk

Moderate

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A steep 3km return track climbing to a saddle lookout over the curved white sand of Wineglass Bay, one of Tasmania's most photographed views.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

3 km

Est. time

1 hr 3 min

Elevation gain

111 m

Route type

Out & back

Steepest stretch: +65m over ~300m (around the 0.6km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Freycinet National Park, Freycinet, Tasmania. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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About this hike

This steep but short climb to a saddle between the Hazards delivers one of the most photographed views in Australia -- the perfect white curve of Wineglass Bay framed by pink granite peaks -- in just 3km return. The bay's name is a grim legacy of the whaling era, when the water reportedly turned red with the blood of processed whales, though today it's better known for regularly featuring on world's-best-beach lists. Most walkers treat the saddle lookout as the destination in its own right, though the track continues down to the beach itself via a separate, longer descent for those wanting to swim rather than just photograph it. Because the climb is steep and largely without shade, it's most comfortable earlier in the day, especially in the warmer months when the exposed granite holds heat.

In-depth guide

Wineglass Bay Lookout Walk: Complete Guide (Distance, Difficulty & Wildlife)

Real distance, elevation and difficulty for the Wineglass Bay Lookout Walk in Freycinet National Park, plus the threatened wildlife that lives there.

Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Westringia angustifoliaDocumented on this trail

Westringia angustifolia

Near Threatened — TAS: Near Threatened▾

Near Threatened — TAS: Near Threatened

Westringia angustifolia, commonly known as scabrous westringia, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small, upright shrub with mauve or white flowers.

How to spot it

Westringia angustifolia is a small shrub, 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) high with rigid, spreading branches. The leaves are arranged mostly in whorls of three, about 1.5–3.5 mm (0.059–0.138 in) long, on upright, slender stems about 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long, slightly bent backwards and a sharp tip at the apex. The lower surface has soft, silky hairs, the upper surface sometimes covered in small, coarse hairs. The flowers are borne in leaf axils on a pedicel, they may be white to pale lilac,

Family Lamiaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Westringia angustifolia

Sand GrasstreeDocumented on this trail

Xanthorrhoea arenaria

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, TAS: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, TAS: Vulnerable

Xanthorrhoea arenaria, commonly known as the sandy grasstree, is a species of grasstree endemic to Tasmania, Australia.

How to spot it

The sandy grasstree grows no discernible trunk, though it may have multiple crowns. The greyish to bluish-green leaves are 40–80 cm long and 2–3 mm wide. The flower spike is usually between a third and a half of the length of the scape, which is 8–11 mm in diameter). The small white flowers appear between June and January. The fruit is a capsule containing round, slightly flattened seeds.

Family Xanthorrhoeaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Xanthorrhoea arenaria

Horned OrchidDocumented on this trail

Orthoceras strictum

Near Threatened — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, TAS: Near Threatened▾

Near Threatened — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, TAS: Near Threatened

Orthoceras strictum, commonly known as the bird's-mouth orchid or horned orchid, is a species of orchid native to eastern and southern Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It has between two and five linear leaves and up to nine yellowish green, brownish or blackish flowers with two long, erect to spreading lateral sepals.

How to spot it

Orthoceras strictum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a tuft of between two and five linear to thread-like, grass-like leaves, 150–300 mm (6–10 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide. Up to nine flowers 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide are borne on a rigid flowering stem 300–600 mm (10–20 in) tall. Flower colour varies from blackish, brownish, maroon to yellowish green. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped and forms a hood over the rest of the flower, 9–12 mm (0.4–0.5

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Orthoceras strictum

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by Bruno Bell

OrchidDocumented on this trail

Caladenia pallida

Critically Endangered — AUS: Critically Endangered, TAS: Endangered▾

Critically Endangered — AUS: Critically Endangered, TAS: Endangered

Caladenia pallida, commonly known as the rosy spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single dark green, hairy leaf and one or two yellowish to bright, rosy pink flowers. Individual plants of this species have not been seen since 1987.

How to spot it

Caladenia pallida is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with a small underground tuber. It has a single, dark green, very hairy, lance-shaped leaf, 80–140 mm (3–6 in) long and 70–80 mm (2.8–3.1 in) wide. One or two yellowish to bright, rosy pink flowers about 45 mm (2 in) across are borne on a stalk 150–400 mm (6–20 in) tall. The sepals have dark glandular tips 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) long. The dorsal sepal is erect, 30–45 mm (1–2 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. The lateral sepals are

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Caladenia pallida

Prickly MosesDocumented on this trail

Acacia ulicifolia

Near Threatened — TAS: Near Threatened▾

Near Threatened — TAS: Near Threatened

Acacia ulicifolia, commonly known as prickly Moses or juniper wattle is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae, native to Australia.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Freycinet National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 1945) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Acacia ulicifolia

Freycinet Waxflower

Philotheca freyciana

Endangered — endemic to Freycinet Peninsula▾

Endangered — endemic to Freycinet Peninsula

A tiny shrub only known from The Hazards granite range within Freycinet National Park, first described in 2001. Threats include drought stress, browsing by native animals, unsuitable fire regimes and illegal collection.

How to spot it

A small erect shrub to about 40cm with heart-to-egg-shaped, leathery, glandular-warty leaves 9-13mm long crowded on the stems. White five-petalled flowers about 8-10mm long appear April-May and again September-October, growing out of bare granite rock crevices in dry scrubland — look closely on The Hazards range rather than the lower walking tracks.

Family Rutaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Philotheca freyciana

Photo: Cowirrie (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons

Bearded Heath

Epacris barbata

Endangered — restricted to Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island▾

Endangered — restricted to Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island

An erect heath shrub restricted to the Freycinet Peninsula and neighbouring Schouten Island, where it grows in heath and heathy woodland on granite. Listed as endangered under both Australian and Tasmanian legislation, with dieback caused by the introduced fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi its main threat.

How to spot it

An erect shrub to about 2m with small lance-shaped leaves 7-9.5mm long. White tubular flowers around 4-5.5mm long sit singly in the leaf axils, with distinctly hairy ('bearded') sepals giving the plant its name; flowers in spring.

Family Ericaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Epacris barbata

Photo: Murray Fagg (CC BY 3.0 AU) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Short-beaked echidna

Tachyglossus aculeatus

IUCN Least Concern — Australia's most widespread native mammal▾

IUCN Least Concern — Australia's most widespread native mammal

The short-beaked echidna is an egg-laying monotreme covered in cream-coloured spines and fur, with a long toothless snout and a fast, sticky tongue for catching ants and termites. It is found across almost every Australian habitat, from alpine areas to arid interior, making it one of the country's most widespread native mammals.

How to spot it

Usually seen ambling slowly across a trail or frozen mid-dig at the base of a log — a spiny, dome-shaped animal 30-45 cm long with a slender snout. If disturbed it will curl or dig straight down into the soil rather than run, leaving just a dome of spines visible. Most active by day in cooler months, more nocturnal in warmer weather.

Family Tachyglossidae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Charles J. Sharp (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Tasmanian devil

Sarcophilus harrisii

IUCN Endangered; Vulnerable under Tasmania's Threatened Species Protection Act▾

IUCN Endangered; Vulnerable under Tasmania's Threatened Species Protection Act

The Tasmanian devil is a stocky carnivorous marsupial found in the wild only in Tasmania, and became the world's largest living carnivorous marsupial after the thylacine's extinction. Since the late 1990s, devil facial tumour disease has wiped out more than 80% of the wild population.

How to spot it

Black-furred, dog-sized, with a distinctively large head and (in most individuals) an irregular white patch across the chest or rump. Almost entirely nocturnal, so a daytime sighting is unlikely — listen instead for the harsh screeching and growling calls made around a carcass at night, audible well before any animal is seen.

Family Dasyuridae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: JJ Harrison (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Eastern quoll

Dasyurus viverrinus

IUCN Endangered; EPBC-listed Endangered▾

IUCN Endangered; EPBC-listed Endangered

The eastern quoll is a medium-sized carnivorous marsupial that went extinct on the Australian mainland by the early 1960s and now survives naturally only in Tasmania (small reintroduced populations exist in fenced mainland sanctuaries). It comes in two colour morphs, fawn and near-black, both marked with white spots but lacking spots on the tail.

How to spot it

Cat-sized but slighter, with a pointed face, large rounded ears, and a thick coat (fawn or near-black) covered in white spots — check the feet, as eastern quolls have four toes on the hind foot rather than five. Nocturnal and ground-dwelling; most likely seen at night around forest edges bordering open grassland.

Family Dasyuridae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Charles J. Sharp (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Common wombat

Vombatus ursinus

IUCN Least Concern - common but iconic▾

IUCN Least Concern - common but iconic

A sturdy, ground-dwelling burrowing marsupial found across south-eastern Australia including Tasmania, with an isolated northernmost population in the granite country of the Queensland-NSW border. It digs extensive tunnel systems 2-20 metres long and is mostly active at dusk and night.

How to spot it

Low, heavy-set body up to 1.2m and 35kg on the mainland (smaller in Tasmania), small eyes and ears, large bare nose, and a rolling waddling gait. Look for large rectangular burrow entrances and cubed scat left as territory markers on rocks and logs - a reliable sign even when the animal itself is denned up during the day.

Family Vombatidae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: JJ Harrison (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Long-nosed potoroo

Potorous tridactylus

EPBC-listed Vulnerable (IUCN Near Threatened)▾

EPBC-listed Vulnerable (IUCN Near Threatened)

A small, rabbit-sized hopping marsupial of south-eastern Australian forests, heaths and Tasmania, which digs at night for underground fungi, roots and invertebrates. It is listed Vulnerable nationally under the EPBC Act and Endangered in Victoria.

How to spot it

Body 34-38cm with a shorter, semi-prehensile tail (15-24cm); grey-brown fur and an elongated pointed nose give it a bandicoot-like look at rest, but it moves in kangaroo-style hops with front feet tucked to its chest. Look for small conical diggings in the leaf litter of dense understorey near forest edges and heath, most active around dusk and dawn.

Family Potoroidae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Gunjan Pandey (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Red-necked Wallaby

Notamacropus rufogriseus

IUCN Least Concern▾

IUCN Least Concern

A medium-sized wallaby common in the temperate coastal scrub and forests of eastern Australia and Tasmania, also known as Bennett's wallaby in its Tasmanian form.

How to spot it

Identify it by its grizzled medium-grey coat with a reddish wash across the shoulders, black nose and paws, and a white stripe on the upper lip; unlike some similar species it lacks a dark stripe down the back. Commonly seen alone at dawn and dusk along forest edges and grassy clearings in coastal and highland eastern Australia and Tasmania.

Family Macropodidae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: JJ Harrison (Noodle snacks) (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Swift Parrot

Lathamus discolor

IUCN Critically Endangered; EPBC-listed Endangered▾

IUCN Critically Endangered; EPBC-listed Endangered

The swift parrot breeds only in Tasmania's blue gum forests over summer before migrating across Bass Strait to winter in mainland box-ironbark woodlands of Victoria and New South Wales. With an estimated 300-500 birds left, it is threatened both by loss of old-growth breeding forest and by predation from introduced sugar gliders on nesting females and chicks.

How to spot it

A small (25cm), fast-flying parrot with long swept-back wings and a long tapering tail - built for speed, not manoeuvring. Bright green overall with a red face, chin and shoulder patch and a blue-tinged crown. Told apart from lorikeets by its swift, direct flight (hence the name) and shrill, chattering in-flight calls. In Tasmania, look and listen for them high in flowering blue gum canopy from September to February.

Family Psittaculidae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Charles J. Sharp (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons