Doing it tough at the Bay of Fires

Everyone talks about the Bay of Fires.  They ask if you've been there yet.  They all have a favourite camping spot (actually, everyone told me the same place! - and I didn't stay there!).  They rave about the shops at St Helens.  And the fish and chips!  Crayfish!  Divine!  So I guess it's no surprise that I went there.  However, the favoured camp site was wall to wall campers and caravans (as one review put it ... you would be able to hear someone fart three doors away!) and instead, I followed Merran and Warren to Grants Lagoon which might not have been on the beach, but it did border a beautiful lagoon, had very few campers, enormous sites and great hybrid toilets.

Here's my next bit of trivia ... Tasmania is full of bumblebees.  They were smuggled here from New Zealand and were first observed in 1992 (and are probably very inbred since they think there were only two original queens - that trivia is for you, Kelvin).  They are everywhere!  And the Tasmanians (in particular the tomato growers) are lobbying for these introduced species to be bred up and used to pollinate crops.  Jacqui Lambie (who has said some sensible, if rude, things in the past) agrees with this, so she is now off my Christmas card list!  I cannot believe that this is being contemplated considering the evidence about the harm introduced species do to the natural environment.  There is a theory that they are trying to get this approved in Tasmania so that tomato/cucumber growers can get the bumblebee introduced to the mainland.  Be vigilant!

The beaches on the Bay of Fires are absolutely stunning.  Huge rounded boulders splashed with vivid orange lichen tumble out of the white sand.  The sea is a delightful turquoise in the sunlight and is surprisingly warm, although our lagoon was even warmer and a beautiful (and clean) way to start each day.  Maggie thought the lagoon was wonderful!  One day, I walked out from Skeleton Point to Grants Point and then Dora Point.  When I got to Dora Point, I was delighted to see four dolphins, lazily make their way past me ... it looked to be two mothers and their young.

Merran named this the Rock of Australia.  It was huge and you had to wonder how it was formed, with this significant gap (the Bight) at its base.

I had the loveliest time at the Bay of Fires with Merran and Warren.  Apart from the delicious fish that Warren was catching, it was great to have company (sorry Maggie ... sometimes I need to have an actual conversation!).  But it was time to ...

... get clean!  So I went back to St Helens and spring-cleaned the van, washed the bedding, scrubbed layers of sand and dirt off me and, finally, took Maggie to the dog wash!  We were SO clean!  Unfortunately it didn't last long but we felt pretty damn good for a short while!

The path east from St Helens goes through Pyengana, home to two lovely walks to Hall Waterfall and St Columbos Waterfall, a cheese factory/dairy and the Pub in the Paddock ... which is a pub in a paddock.  I stayed at the recreation ground - I'm rather fond of these free camps since there is a lot of space and there are usually good facilities (got to keep the footballers happy!).

Halls Waterfall

Maggie at the base of an enormous (hence ancient) myrtle tree.

A myrtle tree wrapping itself around a tree fern

St Colombos Falls

This area (the north-east of Tasmania) is full of old mining sites but many of the communities seem to be stagnating ... except around Derby.  Derby has become the Mecca for mountain bike riding with a plethora of trails of varying difficulty.  Staying at the free camp at Derby was impossible because it was full of two-wheeling, lycra-clad, ultra-fit people toting bikes.  Walking a dog didn't cut it at all.  I went up to Gladstone to escape the scent of lubricant and sweat, only to find that I'd left my duelling banjo at home ... cue music ... so didn't stay at that free camp either.  I must be getting fussy!

The little blue lake was formed when an alluvial tin mine stopped production and the mine was flooded.  Visitors are warned about swimming in the lake because the water is highly contaminated with toxic heavy metals.  Mind you, this didn't stop a family from having a refreshing dip while I was there.  I hope they're ok.

 Low Head Lighthouse

I ended up at one of the caravan parks at Low Head that had converted their dead cypress trees into some sort of carved homage to Pirates of the Caribbean.  The park itself was quite tastefully organised so one shouldn't judge a park by its appalling sculptures at the entrance.

And now I'm off again.  I'm not quite sure where I'm off to but perhaps somewhere with mountains.  Watch this space ...