Sunday 18th February: one night in Bay of Fires area of St Helen’s
It was another glorious morning in this part of the world so Mark set off for an early bike ride whilst I did yoga and then we both went for a walk out to the beach before joining Gordon, Jude and Mike for breakfast at a local Ulverstone cafe.
We then said farewell to our generous hosts and set off just before 11 am for the 3 hour drive across to Saint Helen’s, Tasmania’s largest town on the north-east coast. It had been suggested we stop at Evandale along the way and this was a pretty little town, just out of Launceston, where we visited the local Sunday markets and had lunch at the Clarendon Arms Hotel. A word of advice if you ever want to visit the Evandale Sunday Markets though: there is a 50 cent cash donation entry fee. Luckily for us, a lovely young lady behind us at the entry gate paid the one dollar fee for Mark and myself as neither of us had any cash. It was worth the entry though as I bought a nice broad-rimmed hat which can be squashed up in a bag for travel. We have found that, whilst it may not be as temperature-hot down here, the sun is blisteringly intense.
It was 3.30 pm by the time we reached our Bay of Fires Apartments accommodation in St Helen’s and we were pleased to find our lodging was clean, modern and well located to services within the small town. Our booking was for Suite 4, which I see is also listed on AirBnB, and this location of St Helen’s had been chosen for its proximity to the Bay of Fires which we planned to explore the next day. We rested up in our room for a bit before heading back out to explore the local area and then on to dinner It was rather surreal walking through town as it was absolutely deserted and quite different to the rather busy north west region. It was a Sunday afternoon though so perhaps that explained the quiet as all the shops, apart from the two IGAs, were shut.
Our dinner venue was The Wharf Bar and Kitchen and this was a great choice located right on the waterfront of George’s bay so we had a lovely view out over the water as we dined on delicious and food. The service was great and my seafood linguine was the best I have ever had, and our prawn entree was exceptional as well, so this is another place I’d recommend to visit if you’re ever in the area.
Monday 19th February
We were gifted another glorious morning of sunshine, blue sky and a gentle breeze. Mark went for an early ride whilst I did yoga and took a walk along the waterfront pathway around George’s Bay. I continue to be in awe of the beauty of this part of Australia; it really is a most magical place. I then caught up with Mark for a coffee at the Lifebuoy Cafe and the lovely aroma emanating from the kitchen suggested this would be a great place to have breakfast.
We checked out of the apartment at 10 am and headed up to The Gardens where we parked the car for our walk to explore the Bay of Fires beach. It was a beautiful place to spend an hour wandering the beach and rocks so please forgive the many photos.
Our next stop involved backtracking about 20 minutes to Binalong Bay where there was a popular cafe, Meresta Eatery, that I had heard had the best waterfront restaurant view in the whole of Australia so we were going to check out the claim. The view was rather spectacular but the food was quite ordinary, however, we were not surprised. There was a rather emphatic sign, and by that I mean large harsh letter strokes, at the cafe entry that clearly stated they were ‘very understaffed’ and ‘very under stocked’.
We took a stroll after lunch to explore the beach and boat harbour area where there were similar lichen-covered rocks and the water was still the magnificent turquoise blue. The sand is almost white in many parts up here so I wonder if it is this that makes the water such a spectacular color. We then left Binalong Bay to our next stop at Bicheno, which was about an hour or so further down the coast, where we had a 3 pm check in. The weather changed for the drive down and the temperature got down to 16 degrees. I may end up needing all the winter clothing that I had brought after all!
