8 Weeks in Tassie - part 2.

Our hearts were set on a beach-front campsite on the Bay of Fires, so that meant we needed to be there early.  We only had to travel about 40km to get there, but we had also thought we’d take a look at St Columba Falls in the hills above Pyengana before we left.  So we hit the road at 7.30am to drive the 10km or so to the carpark, then made the half hour walk down to the base of the falls.

St Columba Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in Tasmania, being a spectacular 90m drop to the rocks below.  It was cool and damp as we made the walk down and so quiet.  Then a 30 minute walk back up, saw us back at camp before 9am.  Pretty good eh? 

The walk down to St Columba Falls

St Columba Falls

It was the Monday of the long weekend, and we’d hoped that local campers would be packing up and heading home by the time we reached the beach.  We stopped in St Helens to check out things at the visitor information centre, then drove out the road that hugged the coastline of the Bay of Fires.  We had a favourite beach in mind, so thought we’d try there first, with the thought that we could work our way down the list of beaches if we needed to.  As it turned out, we were lucky.

We drove in the road towards Swimcart Beach and parked the car and van.  The campsites were strung out along the beach in a long line and the only thing to do was walk in to see if there were any gaps.  We met a man and his van coming out and had a quick word - “are you leaving? Is there a space for our van???”  It turned out that he and his mate were leaving that morning so there was a big space right down the end.  So we didn’t waste any time.  I ran on ahead to grab the space (I would lie down in it if I had to!!!) and Doug went back to get the car and van.  Half an hour later, this was our view from under our awning.  

Monday was spent reading, relaxing and walking along the beach.  

Tuesday arrived and it also happened to be Doug’s birthday.  We thought we’d take a bit of a look around, and drove out the top of the road at The Gardens, and turned into the Mt William National Park to take some tracks up through.  It was a lovely area of thick bushland, but every so often, a view of a fantastic bay or coastline would appear.  We came out at a place called Policeman’s Point, another great camp spot, before turning around the heading down another dirt road towards St Helen’s.

St Helen’s was our destination for lunch and we wanted to enjoy the local seafood.  A walk up and down the main street gave us nothing.  The local pub looked a bit average, and we were starting to give up hope.  We were passing the local council offices, so I thought I’d just pop my head in and ask where we’d get good fish and chips.  The lady behind the desk couldn’t have been more helpful, and pointed us to a place called Skippers, down on the docks.  What a find!!  It was an old fishing trawler that had been converted into an eatery.  We ordered and perched ourselves at a makeshift table on the front deck.  Ten minutes later we were enjoying the best fisherman’s basket I’ve ever had.  A great birthday lunch.  

We drove back to camp via Binalong Bay, where we stopped to take in the views of the wonderful red rocks of the Bay of Fires.  And it’s not called the Bay of Fires because of the rocks - red lichen (as I thought), but because of all the fires of the Aboriginal camps seen from the ship of the early explorer Tobias Furneaux.  This has to be one of my favourite places ever.

The weather had turned, and the forecast was for wind and rain on Wednesday, so we made the decision to move on.  We’d packed up and were on the road before the storm arrived.  We drove back down through St Helen’s and by that time, the rain was lashing and the wind was so strong we wanted to find somewhere to get off the road.

Little towns in Tasmania are exactly that - very little towns with not much there by the standards of the mainland.  We turned off the main road in a little place called Scamander as we’d seen a sign to a berry farm/cafe.  We drove in the tight driveway, Doug thinking that we may not be able to get the van turned and back down again.  At the top of the farm yard was a little shop/cafe all in darkness.  The storm had knocked out their power, but they welcomed us inside and were trying to do the best they could with a generator and a gas ring.  We were sat at a little table and given a plunger of coffee and a piece of wonderful home-made cake, while the elderly owners tried to hook up a few lamps.  He laughed and likened himself to Basil Fawlty and we smiled cause it wasn’t far from the truth.  But we came away with a bottle of homemade “Fiery Red” sauce, a punnet of strawberries and a tray of beautiful homegrown tomatoes.  Just as we were leaving, the power came back on!!

The worst of the storm had passed by the time we were back on the main road, but the clouds looked dark as we continued on the road that hugged the coastline down to Bicheno.  We had planned to stop there for lunch, but as we’d had a lovely morning tea of coffee and cake, we didn’t really need much lunch.  We had a walk around the pretty little town, but it was very busy with tourists everywhere.  We got back to the car just as the next storm came.

Bicheno has a blowhole on the edge of town, and we drove around to the carpark with the intention of walking out to it, but the rain was horizontal by this time, so we looked from the car and drove on.  By the time we arrived at Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula, the last of the bad weather seemed to be moving off into the Tasman Sea.  There is a camp in the grounds of the local golf club for self-contained travellers and this was to be our base for a few days as we explored the area. Coincidentally, Steve and Anne, who we’d met while camping at the Pub in the Paddock were there too, so we said “hi” and had a chat.

Thankfully, it was a much brighter day that greeted us on Thursday, as we’d planned a long hike which included a visit to the lookout over the famous Wineglass Bay.  To avoid the worst of the crowds, we were up and ready by 8am.  

There were a few intrepid souls ahead of us as we started the climb, but not many, but numbers grew steadily as we climbed.  The walk was a circuit, which started with a steep climb over 2km and 300 or so steps to the lookout (several rest stops were had, let me tell you).  Most people just do that and go back down the way they came.  More adventurous travellers walk down the other side to the beach on Wineglass Bay (900 steps down!!!)  A quick swim in the bay, a walk along the beach and, again, most would turn and return the same way.  But not us!!  Oh no.  We had to do the whole thing!!!!

Hazards Circuit map

A bit puffed on the way up

Alright for some!!!

Along with a few others ahead of us (you could count them one one hand - Steve and Anne being among them) we turned and took the track across the isthmus to come out across the other side of the point, on Hazards Beach.  The Hazards are the four granite peaks that form the back drop for Wineglass Bay and are the spine of the Freycinet Peninsula.  

We reached a steep dune and had to cross that before coming out onto the beach.  A walk of about 1km up the beach led us to our lunch stop where we devoured the sandwiches and fruit we’d brought with us on a sheltered rock and gave my poor knees a bit of a chance to recover.

Contemplating what my knees will say tomorrow!

Rest break

Walking across the isthmus

The last section of the walk was a 6km track which hugged the headlands around back to the starting place in Coles Bay.  A nice undulating walk the girl in the information centre had said!!  Undulating!!!! OMG!!  Six kilometres of ups and downs on goat tracks, climbing up and down rocky steps and just when you get around one point, there’s another one in the distance.  But the good points were the wonderful views you got of the bays and peaks on the other side.  I did a lot of stopping to appreciate the views (no other reason, of course).  

Being as fit as he is, Doug found the going easy and he was very patient with me, as by the last 2 kilometres, the legs had gone completely!  If I hadn’t had my walking poles, he would have been carrying me!!  But with a great sense of achievement, we arrived back at the car.  Almost 6 hours and 20,000 steps later.  There was nothing for it, but to have a celebratory ale at the local pub on the way home.  

Finished!!!!

Here we met Steve and Anne, who were thinking exactly the same thing.  We all sat and congratulated ourselves on how well we’d done and complained about how hard it was (well, Steve and I did anyway) all at the same time.  It was decided that no one could be bothered cooking that night, so we booked a table at the pub for dinner for the four of us.  A really pleasant evening to round off a good day - but by 8.30pm I was falling asleep at the table and it was time for an early night.

Doug had promised me a quiet day on Friday, so we went for a drive up into the mountains to visit Lake Leake.  On instructions from my friend Anne, we were to visit there as her family (the Leakes) hailed from that area originally.  

The weather as we left Coles Bay was quite pleasant, but by the time we’d pulled off the road to view Lake Leake, the temperature had dropped 6 degrees and the rain and mist had come down.  Unfortunately, Lake Leake looked more like Lake Bleake (sorry Anne).  And what can I say about the township?  It’s a little community of fishing shacks each with its own distinguishing “features”.  Hmmm - I swear I could hear “Duelling Banjos” playing somewhere in the background and Doug wanted to get out fast before we were shot!  It turns out Mr Leake was a prominent citizen of Campbelltown, a much nicer place further on.

Lake Bleake

Back down the mountain, we called in for lunch at Devil’s Corner Vineyard and enjoyed fantastic views over Moulting Lagoon and a fabulous wood-fired pizza and coffee before heading back down the peninsula and taking a drive up to the Tourville Lighthouse. 

The view over Moulting Lagoon (the Hazards in the background)

This lighthouse is on the ocean side of the peninsula and guides ships through the dangerous waters of the Tasman Sea.  A short walk to the top (just to keep the muscles from completely seizing up, Doug said) rewarded us with the most fantastic views back around to Wineglass Bay and the Hazards.  We both agreed the view was better than from the top of the lookout the day before.  So glad we went up there.

We were moving on on Saturday, but not very far.  Just over a hundred kilometres down the road, we arrived at our next stop, the little town of Triabunna.  Just an ordinary little fishing town on the coast with not much to recommend it (except great fish and chips from the van by the docks).  But here we were to catch the ferry to take us across to Maria Island.  So we pulled up in the free camp opposite the pub.   

Friends of ours, Dave and Kathy, were also in Tasmania on a trip organised by their Mustang club, and we had been following them down the coast that morning.  An impressive sight, 35 Mustangs travelling in a pack.  We caught up with them and their news while enjoying fish and chips from the van in the sun for lunch.  

Our tickets were booked on the 9.00am ferry to Maria and we were down at the wharf early, ready for the 30 minute trip across to the island.  Maria Island was the site of a convict settlement in the mid 19th century and a lot of the buildings and features of the island still stand and are now a World Heritage-listed site.  

Darlington Penal Station

Fossil Cliffs

Old brick kilns

Millers Cottage

As well as all the history, the island is a beautiful place to explore and has wildlife galore, with wallabies and roos, wombats, Cape Barren Geese and even a colony of Tasmanian Devils (although we didn’t manage to spot any of those).

We spent a great day on the island, doing a lot of the walks, exploring the old buildings and historical sites and speaking to the locals.  We were weary as we headed back to get our return ferry at the end of the day and yes, you guessed it - fish and chips was the meal of choice that night!!!  And another quiet night in the free camp.  It’s a funny place; a lot of vans and motor homes all parked up in rows on a dusty, vacant bit of land in the middle of town.  It wouldn’t have been our choice for a couple of nights, but it was super-close to the ferry for Maria (read, across the road) and it was free - so it served its purpose.

Week 2 in Tassie down and lots more to come.  We’re just loving it here.  You have to come here, really you do.