James & Sara - Owners & Local Guides
The journey to call Tasmania’s East Coast home has been an adventerous one for Sara and James Barnes, owners and local guides of the Freycinet Walking Tour.
After meeting at Uluru whilst tour guiding in 2012, the Tasmanian gypsy and the Melbourne primary school teacher embarked on a life together full of travel and opportunities to work alongside each other in tourism roles across the country. Working in remote aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land and Central Australia, managing the Bay of Fires Lodge Walk for the Tasmanian Walking Company and working in guest relations for luxury travel company Abercrombie and Kent, just to name a few.
With a deep love and passion for sharing experiences and a wealth of experience under their belts, the husband and wife duo created Experiential Tasmania in 2018 to design authentic unforgettable experiences on their island home in Tasmania. With an appetite for hiking on Tasmania’s East Coast, the Freycinet Walking Tour was born one year later in 2019.
Today, Sara and James call the beautiful coastal town of Bicheno home (30min north of Freycinet) with their two young boys. Alongside their small team of local guides, the couple are passionate about giving guests an experiential experience in the Freycinet National Park and having guests leave the region with a deeper connection and understanding of the layers of history, flora and fauna, geology and more.
Naomi
Where are you from? I am 4th generation explorer, salty sea dog, lighthouse keeper, boat builder, shack dwelling Tasmanian.
What do you love about being Tasmanian? I love the sense of peace, the slow pace, the safe feeling of familiarity, but the excitement that there is still much I have yet to uncover of this beautiful island.
Favourite place in Tasmania? My little off grid shack on the north east coast, that gives me access to the best beaches in the world, with no one else on them.
What I love about the Freycinet Walking Tour? The reaction of every guest that hasn’t experienced Freycinet beyond Coles Bay on the Freycinet Walking Tour. There is something spiritual beyond the Hazards that is so uniquely Tasmanian.
Chris
Where are you from? I'm from Newcastle, NSW but have been a guide for 20 years around the world in Patagonia, the Himalayas & Africa. I've been guiding here in Tasmania since January 2023. They say I have to be here for 30 years to call myself a local, I only have 28.5 years to go!
Favourite place in Tasmania? I have to say the East Coast, especially Freycinet Peninsula, I love the micro climate of blue skies & the milder weather. I'm also a surfer & here we're in the sweet spot of being the perfect distance from the major cities, so when it's "busy" with good waves at Friendly beaches I'll be surfing with 4 or 5 others!
What I love about the Freycinet Walking Tour? It's an all encompassing tour including history, flora, fauna & fungi, geology, stunning scenery & a refreshing dip for those who are keen!
Local recommendation when travelling Tassie’s East Coast Breathe, relax, slow down & take it all in! Oh - and Granite cafe in Coles Bay does an incredible Haloumi breakfast brioche!
Amber
Where are you from? I am a true Tassie Girl; I grew up just 45 minutes away from Hobart in a small sea side community. My childhood consisted of long days wandering and exploring the bush and river that surrounded my house, later on stretching further afield.
What do you love about being Tasmanian? My favourite part of being Tasmanian is that feeling of connection between people and place. You are never very far from an adventure or a friendly face.
Favourite place in Tasmania? I have many favourite places, but one dear to my heart is Mount Wellington in Hobart. It holds many fond memories such as snow days as a child, with a snow man balanced on my parent’s bonnet for the ride down the mountain. Also spending nights camping under the stars in the secret huts scattered across the area.
What I love about the Freycinet Walking Tour? Freycinet is particularly special to me as it was one of the first places I went as a child. I feel privileged to lead others on a path my father helped build, with my favourite being a section of duck boarding on the Isthmus Track that is the same age as me and with a story to be told.
Memorable moment on tour? The first was having the privilege of accompanying a gentleman in his late 70s on his first ever bush walk, and seeing the look of pure glee and sense of achievement when he finished. The second was a wild day walking with an adventurous young couple and 200ml of rain! We walked sections in calf deep water and hundreds of baby frogs.
Shane
Where are you from? From Devonport, born and bred. I still live in the town where I was born and have never moved away. It ticks all the boxes for me.
What do you love about being Tasmanian? It has a great backyard from the remote South West and national parks. The food is great, the weather is fantastic, not too hot or cold. The diversity in wildlife and plants, I love our native orchids. Everything is relatively close and you don't have to go too far to enjoy the bush without the crowds.
Favourite place in Tasmania? That is a tough one. Anywhere in Tasmania pretty much. But Schouten island, Walls of Jerusalem and Bathurst harbour.
Personal highlight of the Freycinet Walking Tour? The Wineglass Bay Lookout, the view is fantastic no matter what the weather. Also the joy from the guests making it to the lookout and the joy they have in soaking up the scenery.
Memorable moment on tour? I think it would be seeing thousands of Spider crabs in the water as one big mass while they are moulting, just after being picked up by the Freycinet Aqua taxi.
