The water here is bathtub clear, and only waist-deep almost to where the boat is anchored. Meanwhile, Antilla has set a table and chairs in the sand, and we’re treated to plump creamy Bruny Island (Tasmania) oysters, champagne, dips, wine, beer, cider and soft drinks – all before we’ve dried off.

Robinson, from Perth in Western Australia, is tickled to find himself here with his daughter Lily. “While we were swimming I was looking up at Lady Eugenie, thinking, imagine living on a boat like that? And for three days, we actually are.”

How to combine a wine-country tour with an adventure holiday

Early next morning we motor east through Schouten Passage out to the high seas and turn north, skirting the east coast bushland of Freycinet Peninsula and reaching the shelter of Wineglass Bay 70 minutes later.

Robinson, Davies and I embark on the four-hour return hike to the 579-metre peak of Mt Graham – a gentle ascent through a forest of giant gums and bottlebrushes dotted with orange fungi and rosy hyacinth orchids.

Towards the summit the trail turns to boggy button grass, then we’re among Freycinet National Park’s distinctive lichen-spotted pink granite boulders. Our reward is the view north over Wineglass Bay, widely acknowledged as one of Australia’s most beautiful beaches.

Named for its shape, and protected from most wind directions, its water is a strangely opaque yet brilliant blue, and its northern rim is hemmed in by four pink granite mountain peaks.

On our last day we’re ferried across to Hazards Beach to take the two-kilometre isthmus track back to Wineglass Bay for one last swim. From here we tackle the steep stairs of the 1.5-kilometre Freycinet Trail, to be collected by van near Coles Bay for the run back south to Hobart, the state’s capital.

Seven of the best waterborne holiday adventures in Asia

Stopping at Darlington Vineyard – perched just above the east coast holiday hamlet of Orford – we meet owner Paul Stranan and sample his pinot gris, riesling, and a tart, excellent pinot noir.

Packing up my gear before we’re dropped back at our hotels, it occurs to me that a winning feature of a hiking and sailing trip is the footwear: no heavy boots, just light hiking shoes, and bare feet for the boat. Three days of sandy hiking socks is a price we’ve all been happy to pay.

Getting there:

Qantas flies from Hong Kong to Hobart (14 to 15 hours) via Melbourne for about A$800 (US$600) return. The writer was a guest of Tasmanian Walking Company (taswalkingco.com.au). A$3,200/A$4,300 per person for a twin share (four-day/six-day itinerary).