Bicheno

Bicheno is a small town of around 900 people on the east coast of Tasmania, roughly 185 kilometres north-east of Hobart. It was originally a whaling station and coal port in the early 1800s and later became a fishing village. Commercial fishing remains a significant part of the local economy, with crayfish and abalone the main catch. The working harbour at the Gulch gives the town an authentic maritime character that more tourism-oriented coastal towns sometimes lack.

The town's most popular attraction is the nightly little penguin viewing. A colony of little penguins (the world's smallest penguin species, standing about 33 centimetres tall) nests in burrows along the rocky foreshore near the Blowhole. Each evening at dusk, the penguins return from a day of fishing and waddle up the rocks to their burrows. Guided tours run nightly and use red-filtered torches that do not disturb the birds. The colony is one of the most accessible penguin viewing sites in Tasmania.

The Foreshore Footway is a walking track that loops around the rocky coastline on the northern edge of town, passing through orange and red granite formations that contrast dramatically with the clear turquoise water. The Blowhole, a sea-cut chute that sends spray high into the air during heavy swells, is along this path. Waubs Bay, the main swimming beach, is a sheltered crescent of white sand with water so clear that the bottom is visible in several metres of depth.

Bicheno's location makes it a natural base for exploring the wider east coast. Freycinet National Park and Wineglass Bay are a 30 minute drive south. The Douglas-Apsley National Park, a dry sclerophyll forest reserve with swimming holes and easy walking tracks, is 10 minutes north. The Bicheno to Douglas-Apsley link is a popular day-trip combination.

The town has a growing food scene, with fresh seafood at the core. Several restaurants serve the local crayfish and oysters, and the Fish Vanon fish and chip shop at the harbour is a regional institution. Bicheno is less visited than Coles Bay and Freycinet, which gives it a genuine small-town atmosphere that many visitors prefer.