Tasmania (Eastern Region)
Bicheno
Halfway up the east coast, BICHENO (pronounced “bish-eno”), sheltered in Waubs Bay, is a busy crayfishing and abalone port. The same conditions that make Bicheno ideal for fishing also make it a perfect spot for diving. The usually clear waters are rich with a variety of marine life, and there’s a marine reserve on the eastern side of Governor Island, with spectacular large caves and extraordinary vertical rockfaces with swim-throughs and drop-offs. The Bicheno Dive Centre, 4 Tasman Highway (tel 03/6375 1138), offers dive courses and rents out gear. 

Information on other activities around Bicheno is available from Bicheno Penguin & Adventure Tours on Foster Street (daily 9am–5.30pm; tel 03/6375 1333), which arranges diving, horse-riding, cycling, and a wide variety of local tours, the most popular being the evening visits to Diamond Island to observe the local penguin population (Sept–March; $12). Visitors are discouraged from going there alone, as it’s becoming a successful penguin breeding ground; also, the tides are treacherous, and people have drowned. The same company offer a one-hour glass bottom boat tour of the marine reserve ($12). 

The Sea Life Centre (daily 9am–5pm; $4.50), on the Tasman Highway, has a rather dingy aquarium but an excellent, cheap seafood restaurant (daily 9am–9pm; reserve for dinner on tel 03/6375 1311).
Bicheno makes a pleasant stopover, as it has plenty of accommodation. A nice place to stay is Diamond Island Resort. Food, too, is excellent in Bicheno. The formal Cyrano French Restaurant, at 77 Burgess St (tel 03/6375 1137; daily from 6.30pm), is in the classic French vein, while the Long Boat Tavern, on the Tasman Highway, has the best counter meals. For a good breakfast try the Galleon Coffee Lounge at 45 Foster St (daily 8am–7.30pm), but for a more salubrious cuppa (even cappuccino), head for Mary Harvey’s Kitchen in the gardens of the Bicheno Gaol, where you can sample some gourmet Tasmanian products (daily 10.30am–5pm).

To get to Freycinet National Park by bus from Bicheno, take the Coles Bay–Bicheno Coach Service (tel 03/6357 0293), which leaves from the Night Owl takeaway at 52 Burgess St.