St Helens, Bay of Fires, Pyengana & Surrounds

On Monday the 19^th March we left the Chain of Lagoons campsite and drove only the 35km or so to St Helens. We booked in to the Big 4 there just for the one night as we were ready to go on 240 volt for washing and charging up the computer which we do not have a 12 volt charger for. We will be in the area for a few days as there are some nice places to have a look at here I believe.

After a bit of shopping and lunch we took a drive out to St Helens Point. The wind was still blowing a gale and we had occasional showers but we got a bit of a feel of how nice this place is.

 

On the ocean side of the point is Beerbarrel Beach and some other beaches. The map I have only refers to Beerbarrel Beach so I am not sure which is which. This lovely little beach is protected and the water in sunshine is an azure colour.

Then there is this long beach. You can see the Peron sand dunes to the right of the beach and the bay at St Helens to the right of the dunes and St Helens in the background.

The next day was a beautiful sunny day and we were leaving the caravan park to go to a little way up the coast to a free camp. But first we slipped down to the marina to see St Helens in a better light.

So we left and drove into Binalong Bay (by mistake). The water in the bay was a beautiful blue colour. We then went on to where we were going to camp and we found a spot at Cosy Corner South. It wasn’t a bad spot but I had seen some vans from a distance with amazing beach frontages and had totally forgot about trying to get one of those spots. Maybe there was no vacant spots there anyway but I was kicking myself for not trying. I am dim sometimes and don’t think but rush in.

Anyway we were only the shortest of walks to the beach, speaking of which was pretty damn good. This stretch of coast is all what is called Bay of Fires. It got that name by an explorer due to the orange coloured lichen on the rocks and possibly aboriginal fires.

We drove around the beaches up to The Gardens. These azure waters are beautiful.

Went back to camp and made the most of the rest of the sunshine and took our chairs down to the beach. If we could not sit watching the water from our van, taking our chairs to the beach was the next big thing. It was not like it was a long walk. Amazingly the novelty wore off pretty quick.

The next day we headed off for a big loop drive. Firstly we drove north to Policeman’s Point which is mainly campsites at the beach. Then to Ansons Bay which is a settlement of shanties and holiday huts. Then on to Eddystone Point in the Mount William National Park and had a look at the Lighthouse there.

There are some lovely old buildings there that have been restored.

Then drove out to Gladstone and down to Weldborough. At the top of Weldborough Pass there were some beautiful views.

Then on the way down the Pass to Pyengana had to stop for the view.

Pyengana is just so green and beautiful. There are a large number of families in the area whose ancestors were the original settlers in the area. No wonder. Why leave?

As it was getting late for lunch we went straight to the Pub In The Paddock which was where we planned to go for lunch. This old pub used to be a farm house owned by some early settlers. As the story goes there were a few sons in the family who only wanted to drink and not farm so they got a licence for the property and turned the farm house into a pub. They used the barn for dances and it was the hub of the community.

It was a good lunch and the pub had a lot of character. There were old photos of the pub with the community out front. There was also a story of a local lady from 1908 who got lost in the bush for a week in freezing temperatures but amazingly survived. She was stalked by two Tasmanian tigers whilst she was lost.

Next stop was the Pyengana Cheese Factory. Linda loved it. Very expensive to buy the cheese. You can buy it in Sydney for cheaper I think.

Then on to St Columba Falls. The falls are 90 metres high. Very nice.

From there we headed back to camp. The lady at the St Helens Information Centre had her head screwed on right. We had dropped in there before the big loop drive for something else and talked to her about our drive for the day. She told us about the Weldborough Pass and I asked her about taking my van up it and going that way to Launceston. She advised against it and as we were going that way we would get a chance to see it. Having driven it I decided I did not want to put the Landcruiser through the drive up that hill towing my 3100 kilo van. I am sure the Landcruiser could do it but I want to keep that vehicle till I go into a nursing home. So we decided that we would backtrack and take the road to the midlands via Campbell Town which was the suggestion of the lady at the Information Centre. The other alternative was St Mary’s Pass but that was bad as well. That way we would only lose about 1 hour and we will do day drives from Launceston to Scottsdale, Derby  and Bridport so we don’t miss anything. Much happier with that arrangement.

By the time we had got back to camp the weather had turned lousy. Tell you what, I appreciate having a caravan when touring Tazzie as it is cold in the late afternoon and night pretty often and so it is great to have the comfort of the indoors. It was also good to be able to get tele here and most other locations. Have been able to watch MKR, yeehaa!