BAY OF BEAUTY

The beautiful colours of the land and sea glow brightly in the corner of Tassie

WORDS BY KARYN FANOUS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARYN AND JOSEPH FANOUS

Tassie holds a special place in my heart. My paternal grandfather was born and bred there, so the Apple Isle is part of my heritage. While travelling in the north-eastern region, we were surprised to find not only more of my family history, but beautiful beaches, farms, waterfalls and gorges. Their vibrant colours are a highlight of this corner of beautiful Tasmania.

Our travel tale begins at St Helens, located beside Georges Bay in the Break O’Day Municipality, so named because this part of the state is the first to experience sunrise each day.

THE EARLY DAYS

Back in 1773, while on an expedition from England to Tahiti, Captain Tobias Furneaux travelled up the west coast of Tassie aboard the ‘Adventure’. He named Georges Bay and called its southern headland St Helens Point, in honour of St Helens on the Isle of Wight. Along the coast to the north he could see the fires of the Aboriginal people, and so gave it the name ‘Bay of Fires’.

Initially, in the early 1800’s, Georges Bay was a port for whalers and sealers. The township was given the name St Helens in 1835. In the 1870s, the discovery of tin nearby made St Helens an important shipping port. Later, timber was a primary industry. Fishing and tourism are now the region’s main industries.

AROUND TOWN

These days, the harbour is full of fishing boats that supply St Helens’ famous fresh seafood, and locally farmed oysters and mussels are also available in town. Fishing here is reputed to be great all year, both in the bay and offshore, and there are numerous fishing charters available for keen anglers.

The St Helens History and Visitor Information Centre is a great first stop. It houses the History Room (Museum and Archives) with its extensive genealogy library for the use of family researchers. I was fortunate to find some leads here in my family history search.

The museum presents fascinating displays of Aboriginal history and European settlement, including the story of the timber and fishing industries, tales of the tin mines, and ‘The Chinese Experience’ with its large mural and fire-breathing dragon. This display is part of the “Trail of the Tin Dragon”, a self-drive tour between St Helens and Launceston that celebrates the involvement of the Chinese in the northeast region’s history.

BAY OF FIRES

A major attraction for us was The Bay of Fires Conservation Area, 10km to the northeast. We had seen stunning photos of the bright orange rocks and were intrigued by its name. The bay stretches 35km from Binalong Bay in the south to Eddystone Lighthouse in the north.

Luminous orange rocks, dazzling sand made of tiny white pebbles, and turquoise water set the coastline here alight. The striking colour of the rocks comes from orange lichen that covers them, making them seem to glow. An appropriate feature of the Bay of Fires!

We found Swimcart Beach to be a beautiful spot to ride our inflatable surf mats on a bright, sunny day. These are great for travelling in our caravan, as they deflate and roll up to a reasonably small size. The water was refreshingly crisp!

At the southern end of the larger Bay of Fires, we were welcomed to beautiful Binalong Bay by a bikini-clad statue! Curiously, another life size statue, this one of King Neptune, stands boldly in a resident’s front yard. The beach here is another beauty of the region and a lovely place to sit and take in the scenery.

EUREKA!

To the south of St Helens at Scamander is another beaut spot. Meaning “I have found (it)” in ancient Greek, Eureka Farm is worth getting excited about! Lovely berries, stone fruit, preserves, creamy fruit ice cream, decadent homemade desserts, fruit smoothies and coffee are all on offer. The farm’s slogan, “for all things fruity”, is accurately enticing.

Denis and Ann Buchanan are Eureka’s passionate farmers. The farm has been producing fruit and berries since 1993 and makes exceptional award-winning jams, chutneys and sauces using traditional country recipes as a base. One of our favourites is their Worcestershire Sauce. It’s made with lots of blood plums and is absolutely scrumptious. The farm has plenty of parking and a large turning circle suitable for caravans.

LUSCIOUS LANDSCAPES

Leaving the coast behind, we journeyed into the mountainous hinterland via the Tasman Highway on our way to Launceston, enjoying the beautiful winding forest drive. Not long after leaving St Helens we took a slight detour southwest down St Columba Falls Road to Pyengana, an Aboriginal word translated as “the meeting of two rivers”. The Pyengana Dairy Company has been run by the Healey family for four generations – over 100 years – producing fresh unhomogenised milk and awardwinning, traditional English-style cheddar cheeses.

At the dairy, you can see cheese being made and taste some of their fabulous cheeses. We couldn’t resist purchasing some cheese for our onward journey before enjoying delicious milkshakes in the dairy’s Holy Cow Café with its stunning vista across vivid green fields.

Not far down the road is the heritage-listed St Columba Falls Hotel. Built in 1880, it’s commonly known as the Pub in the Paddock. Stop in here for some country hospitality, a cold drink and a wholesome meal.

Travelling further down the same road brings you to St Columba State Reserve and the 90-metre-high St Columba Falls. A walking trail (1.2km; 20 min return) through lush rainforest takes you to the base of the falls for a spectacular view.

Back onto the Tasman Highway and continuing westward, we took another detour south off the beaten track. We passed lots of gleaming white poppy fields on our way to the little town of Ringarooma in search of more of my family history. Here we found a gorgeous old church with genealogical records of the town on display.

Turning the rig towards Launceston, we followed a road that took us through tiny Legerwood, with its unique avenue of memorial tree carvings. Back in 1918, nine trees were planted to honour seven fallen World War I soldiers from the area, as well as one for Gallipoli and one for the Anzacs. The trees eventually became dangerously tall and had to be lopped. In order to preserve the memorial, chainsaw sculptor Eddie Freeman was asked to carve each of the trunks to represent those they honoured. And what an amazing job he did!

GORGE -OUS !

On to Launceston and Cataract Gorge Reserve, just outside town. Here the South Esk River has carved a gorge through dramatic dolerite cliffs and formed a large natural basin, known as First Basin.

A highlight for us was riding the chairlift across the gorge. Built in 1972, the chairlift has a quaint ‘retro’ feel. Its centre span of 308 metres is said to be southern hemisphere’s longest single chairlift span. You can disembark from the chairlift on the northern side of the gorge and explore the pretty Victorian gardens, walking trails, suspension bridge, and lookouts before returning on the chairlift. The views up and down the gorge are splendid!

This is a wildlife sanctuary, so you’re likely to see some animals along the way. There’s a restaurant and café for refreshments and surprisingly, a swimming pool right next to the gorge! It was 35 degrees Celsius during our visit, so we appreciated a cooling swim in the basin. There were numerous floating logs in the gorge, presumably washed down in times of heavy rain. These were popular with swimmers who would ‘catch’ one and then enjoy a scenic floating tour of the basin. We decided to join in, and had great fun trying to balance atop the unsteady log.

There is so much more to see and do in this corner of our southernmost state. One day we would love to return, but this leg of our trip ended with a dinner of fish and chips at the Launceston Marina. As the sun sank behind the hills, the sky was awash with burnt orange hues, much like the orange splashed rocks of the Bay of Fires. The palette of colours in this corner of Tassie is stunning. Their beauty will leave you glowing with delight!