TRAVEL & WINE

WORDS ALICE HANSEN

Cod Rock Point is a haven for couples who love to be beside the sea and watch the little penguins on parade

The apartment is called The Lookout. And of course you can be on watch, but there’s more to staying at Cod Rock Point holiday accommodation than simply waking to the sight and sounds of Redbill Beach by barely raising your head from the pillow.

There are little eyes in the front garden of this new Bicheno hideaway on Tasmania’s East Coast. I had chatted to the owner before my arrival, my curiosity piquing when he told me about the rechargeable torch with his partner’s red nail polish painted across the glass to ensure a dim red glow.

“We have little penguins living in our front garden,” he says.

Deciding there’s no way I’m going to miss this welcome party, I arrive well before dusk. To my delight, the accommodation is about 20 paces from the sea.

Now, how to hail my local mates. The Bicheno Penguin Tours website lists a helpful countdown on when I might receive company.

I make my way through the narrow garden trail on to the broad lichen-licked rocks and two minutes later two tiny dark figures begin to pitter-patter their way across what seems like enormous granite mountains for their petite webbed feet. But march they do – they have children to feed.

They take a passing interest in me and continue on their journey. They stride so close I step back, remembering this is their home turf, not mine. Before long, another couple shake their sea-salty feathers and begin their procession. These two have their GPS set to the neighbour’s property so I stick to the parents already scampering up the winding garden path.

It’s when I turn for home and follow them up the path that I see the two little eyes upon me. I crouch down. We’re just metres from each other. The little penguin seems unperturbed that we’re having this silent interaction then he turns abruptly and disappears into his burrow. Our conversation, brief and polite, is over.

Sitting on the rocks with a wine watching these miniature mates come in from sea is a highlight of my Cod Rock Point stay. (The Lookout comes with its own chilled Tasmanian wine at the ready, wrapped in a modern, wellequipped apartment.)

Another is a stroll to Diamond Island. Head upstairs and get your “lookout” on with a quick peek through the binoculars. Keep an eye on the tide, then wander across to the small island, easily viewable out to the north. Time it correctly, and it will be all yours.

My companion and I opt for an outing to Douglas-Apsley National Park after coffee at The Farm Shed East Coast Wine Centre at Bicheno, where we are invited to do it ”Italian way” and stay to enjoy our coffee rather than taking it away.

I’ve been to the waterhole in the national park before, so we settle on the two to threehour circuit up to the gorge. After an hour climbing in dry eucalypt forest we arrive at a gorge with many dipping holes. We could take the first, the third or gather for a picnic down by No.5.

By this stage we’ve acquired a new friend, a Swiss woman who is travelling alone but afraid of snakes. The afternoon disappears as we seek just one more waterhole.

Back in civilisation, we head to The Gulch where the menu is a changing feast of the latest catch: trevalla, flathead, boarfish or tender calamari is cooked up in 10 minutes of ordering and served with crunchy chips.

To eat our fare, we head to the blowhole and watch nature at work. There’s a picnic table on the rocks where you can grab frontrow seats to “the show”.

The next morning, we rise early to a dawn chorus of birds. The swell is gentle. Cod Rock sits silently. Clouds rest on the horizon.

A pink glow hangs above. The day is coming, Bicheno style.

The author was a guest of Cod Rock Point