Tassie - East Coast - St Helens and The Bay of Fires

The drive up from Bicheno to St Helens isn't a long one. Carol took a turn at the wheel. We both need to feel comfortable towing the van. The roads in Tassie are narrow, and very quiet from what we have been used to, so it is a great place for practice. As usual, she does a great job.

Beautiful East Coast Beaches.

We pass through the seaside towns of Four Mile Creek, Falmouth and Scamander.This is Tassie's premier surfing region, and also some excellent fishing is to be had in the estuaries and the sea. These are all small villages, with a lot of holiday homes, and so very quiet. This is summer, and they are still deserted! 
Scamander is also a centre for berries, and there a re a number of farms where you can either pick your own or purchase ready packed, and the choice of jams and pickles is endless. You can also stop in at wineries along the route or the IronHouse Brewery.


Arriving at St Helens we checked into the Big4 Caravan Park. It is a nice park set on a hill, but most sites have nice level pads. Our site is towards the top of the hill. It is large and grassy. We felt in need of some lazy days after the busy 3 weeks with Lynne and Paul, so decided to take it easy, and just have a lazy look around the area.


Personally, we liked Bicheno better. St Helens is larger, and has a much bigger harbour. It is home to a large fishing fleet that catches fish and lobster. There is also a thriving oyster industry in the bay, and you can buy the most delicious freshly shucked Pacific oysters for as little as $10 per dozen. Also great Fish & Chips at the marina off the old paddle boat. We just liked the feel of Bicheno more.

Binalong Bay - Southern End

A short drive away, is Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires. At Binalong Bay are beautiful beaches  and a large area of nature reserve. The area known as Humbug Point Nature Reserve is lovely for camping and hiking, and there are numerous bays and beaches to explore. The cafe/restaurant across from the beach is a good one, and we enjoyed a good coffee and freshly cooked muffin for morning tea. But it is the scenery that really is the centre of focus in this area.

Along the Bay of Fires

A drive out along the road to The Gardens takes you out along the Bay of Fires. We drove down almost every little road to dozens of beautiful beaches. All along the way are the huge boulders of the headlands that separate the beaches. Many of them are covered in the red that characterises the seascape of the area. Like most people, we thought it was iron oxide or some other mineral, but in fact, it is a fungus that grows on the rocks.


It is along this road that we found a large number of lovely spots to free camp in caravans, motorhomes and camper trailers. Swimcart Beach, and Cosy Corner Campground No.2 were suitable for our big caravan, and are right on the beach. If time permits, we may get back here. It was cold and windy while we visited, and these are places for being lazy, as apart from the beach, there is little else to do, but fish, swim (brrrr!), or walk. 

Eddystone Point Lighthouse.

Cold & Windy at the Bay of Fires

Another drive took us out to Ansons Bay and Eddystone Point, supposedly Tassie's most easterly point. It was a dirt road, in need of some work. The corrugations in some sections, really tested the fillings in our teeth! Ansons Bay was spooky. Lots of old shacks, and the odd new shack. It appears to be a fishing destination, and we are guessing that these shacks fill up with men with fishing boats. I don't think Lonely Planet will be listing it any day soon!! At Eddystone Point, it was hard to miss the lighthouse. The point is at sea level, so the lighthouse is very tall, and one of the only ones we've seen that isn't painted white. It is an isolated spot, and was cold and windy when we visited. It obviously doesn't get many visitors, as there wasn't much tourist information to be found!


In town, we did the shops, which didn't take long at all! The tourists must keep their hands in their pockets around here! Our last day in St Helens had turned wet and windy, so we opted for Fish & Chips from the marina, along with almost everyone else in town! Still it was worth the wait.
Next morning, the weather gods were good to us, and eased the rain long enough to get packed and hitched. We had decided to take the windy road through Scottsdale. A neighbour had told us about some wood carvings along the way, that shouldn't be missed, so off we went, hoping they would be well sign posted!

Picture says it all!

Not far from town we saw a sign that pointed to "The Pub in the Paddock" and Pyengana Cheese Factory. We couldn't resist, so left turn and off to Pyengana. The Pub was what it said, but a bit treacherous for us to get the van in and out, so we headed back to the Cheese Factory, that housed the Holy Cow Cafe, complete with raging log fire! Just what we needed on a cold wet morning. We hadn't had much brekkieMoochanic" and "Accowntant". It was a funky little stop.

Says it all.

Amazing what you can do with
a chainsaw.

Back on the road, the drive was slow and wet, but very pretty up and down through the mountains. We came to the old mining town of Derby. We just didn't realise what a rich mining heritage this little island had. Quaint little town, nestled in a gorgeous valley on a river. We stopped at Legerwood to see the wood carvings. Someone at the caravan park had said they should not be missed. It was rainy and misty, and quite uncomfortable, but well worth the stop. The photo explains the story of the carvings. It was quite moving, and a wonderful tribute. We headed on to Scottsdale, a little town that time has forgotten. It was cold and wet and Carol craved soup. We went into a number of places but were told that soup doesn't go on the menu until after Easter. Try and explain that logic! Well, we found a nice little old fashioned cafe, full of old fashioned people being served by old fashioned staff. At the table beside us, two elderly ladies clasped hands and said grace when their meal was served. I think they said grace. Maybe they were just grateful their meals arrived!! It was wholesome and cheap, and we headed on to Launceston, in search of the 21st century
Launceston is Tassie's second largest city, and is set in a beautiful location in the Tamar Valley. The wine industry is in full swing around here, with a host of vineyards, and even a brand or two we recognised. Wonderful Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir in these hills!!
We quickly found our caravan park, the Launceston Holiday Park Legana, about 10kms north of Launceston, on the West Tamar Hwy. It is very nice and quite busy. We get ourselves set up and ready for Jenny & Dave's arrival the next day.