Along Australia's South Coast - The Authentic Cruise Company

Day 1: Fremantle, Western Australia

The port city of Fremantle is a jewel in Western Australia’s crown, largely because of its colonial architectural heritage and hippy vibe. Freo (as the locals call it) is a city of largely friendly, interesting, and sometimes eccentric residents supportive of busking, street art, and alfresco dining. Like all great port cities, Freo is cosmopolitan, with mariners from all parts of the world strolling the streets—including thousands of U.S. Navy personnel on rest and recreation throughout the year. It’s also a good jumping-off point for a day trip to Rottnest Island, where lovely beaches, rocky coves, and unique wallaby-like inhabitants called quokkas set the scene.Modern Fremantle is a far cry from the barren, sandy plain that greeted the first wave of English settlers back in 1829 at the newly constituted Swan River Colony. Most were city dwellers, and after five months at sea in sailing ships they landed on salt-marsh flats that sorely tested their fortitude. Living in tents with packing cases for chairs, they found no edible crops, and the nearest freshwater was a distant 51 km (32 miles)—and a tortuous trip up the waters of the Swan. As a result they soon moved the settlement upriver to the vicinity of present-day Perth.Fremantle remained the principal port, and many attractive limestone buildings were built to service the port traders. Australia’s 1987 defense of the America’s Cup—held in waters off Fremantle—triggered a major restoration of the colonial streetscapes. In the leafy suburbs nearly every other house is a restored 19th-century gem.

Day 3: Albany, Western Australia

Proclaimed a city on July 1, 1998, Albany with a population of 28,000 is rapidly expanding. It is the commercial center of Western Australia’s southern region and the oldest settlement in the state, established in 1826. Boasting an excellent harbor on King George Sound led to Albany becoming a thriving whaling port. Later, when steam ships started traveling between England and Australia, Albany was an important coaling station and served as a penal and a military outpost. The coastline offers some of Australia’s most rugged and spectacular scenery. At certain times of the year, whales can be spotted off the coast. Among the city’s attractions are some fine old colonial buildings that reflect Albany’s Victorian heritage. Various lookout points offer stunning vistas.

Day 4: Esperance, Western Australia

Day 5: Archipelago of the Recherche

Day 8: Port Lincoln, South Australia

Port Lincoln is the second-largest city on the lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. Nestled on the shore of Boston Bay, Australia’s largest natural harbour, Port Lincoln opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. Port Lincoln is the largest city in the west coast region, and located approximately 174 miles (280 kilometres) from the capital city of Adelaide. Port Lincoln has a contrasting coastal landscape, ranging from sheltered waters and beaches to surf beaches and rugged oceanic coastline. The Great South Australian Coastal Upwelling System brings cold, nutrient-rich water into nearby waters of the Great Australian Bight and Spencer Gulf. This phenomenon supports lucrative fisheries, including that of the southern bluefin tuna and sardine, making Port Lincoln locally-renowned as the ‘Seafood Capital of Australia’. The Eyre Peninsula has been home to Aboriginal people for thousands of years. The Nauo (south-western Eyre), Barngarla (eastern Eyre), Wirangu (north-western Eyre) and Mirning (far-western Eyre) being the predominant original cultural groups present at the time of the arrival of Europeans. Port Lincoln was discovered by Matthew Flinders under his commission by the British Admiralty to chart Australia’s unexplored coastline. Flinders dropped anchor in Boston Bay in February 1802, and named the spot Port Lincoln after his native Lincolnshire in England. Port Lincoln was initially considered as the alternative site for the State’s capital, but was subsequently rejected by Colonel Light in 1836 in favour of Adelaide; a lack of fresh water supplies was a major determining factor. The first settlers arrived in Port Lincoln in March 1839 aboard the Abeona, the Dorset and the Porter. There is an historic plaque at the First Landing site to commemorate the event. In the years since, Port Lincoln has evolved into one of the nation’s biggest combined agricultural, fishing and aquaculture industries, with tourism becoming a major contributor towards the local economy. Port Lincoln offers ample opportunities to explore its unique blend of cultures and storied past. The local culture, traditions and storied past can be experienced during visits to any of Port Lincoln’s scenic and informative museums. The Axel Stenross Museum is filled with maritime history, relics and artefacts from windjammer days. The Koppio Smithy National Trust Museum is a vast, Heritage-listed, open-air museum nestled amidst the rolling hills of Koppio, and replete with buildings and artefacts representing the early pioneer heritage of Eyre Peninsula. The Mt. Dutton Bay Woolshed Museum is a Heritage-listed ‘working’ museum consisting of hundreds of local artefacts depicting the history of Port Lincoln’s historic shearing, farming and fishing era. The National Trust ‘Mill Cottage’ offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore the pioneering life of the Bishop family, one of Port Lincoln’s first settlement families, during a visit to their 1866 home. The Railway Museum provides an authentic setting for many of the museum displays, with many internal features still intact from the days when it was an active railway station. Port Lincoln is home to 148,263 acres (60,000 hectares) of national parks, with abundant beaches, local wildlife, flora and fauna, 250 bird species, and breath-taking panoramic vistas of Boston Bay, Spencer Gulf and beyond. Port Lincoln National Park, Coffin Bay National Park and Kellidie Bay Conservation Park are all located nearby, and represent a unique opportunity to explore Port Lincoln’s exquisite natural and coastal beauty. Land-based outdoor excursions include bird-watching, scenic walking tours, off-road 4WD excursions and wildlife tours at the Glen-Forest Tourist Park and Wilderness Wanders Adventure Tours, or a relaxing round of golf at the Port Lincoln Golf Club, located 6.2 miles (10 kilometres) from Port Lincoln. The abundant blue waters off Port Lincoln, Boston Bay, Spencer Gulf and the ocean beyond are ideally-suited for aquaculture tours, windsurfing, surfing, snorkelling, scuba-diving, fishing, boating, sailing, swimming with bluefin tuna at Swim with the Tuna, and shark cage-diving and swimming with sea lions, seals, rays, and grouper at Calypso Star Charters and Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions. Due to its compact size, Port Lincoln can be easily explored in just a single day.

Day 9: Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

Day 11: Grassy, King Island, Tasmania

Day 14: Hobart, Tasmania

Straddling the Derwent River at the foot of Mt. Wellington’s forested slopes, Hobart was founded as a penal settlement in 1803. It’s the second-oldest city in the country after Sydney, and it certainly rivals its mainland counterpart as Australia’s most beautiful state capital. Close-set colonial brick-and-sandstone shops and homes line the narrow, quiet streets, creating a genteel setting for this historic city of 215,000. Life revolves around the broad Derwent River port, one of the deepest harbors in the world. Here warehouses that once stored Hobart’s major exports of fruit, wool, and corn and products from the city’s former whaling fleet still stand alongside the wharf today.Hobart sparkles between Christmas and New Year’s—summer Down Under—during the annual Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race. The event dominates conversations among Hobart’s citizens, who descend on Constitution Dock to welcome the yachts and join in the boisterous festivities of the crews. The New Year also coincides with the Tastes of Tasmania Festival, when the dockside area comes alive with the best of Tasmanian food and wine on offer in numerous cafés, bars, and waterfront stalls. Otherwise, Hobart is a placid city whose nightlife is largely confined to excellent restaurants, jazz clubs, and the action at the Wrest Point Casino in Sandy Bay.The Hobart Tasmanian Travel and Information Centre hours are weekdays 8:30–5:30 and Saturday 9–5.

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