11th Light - Bay of Fires to Coles Bay

The east coast weather conditions if nothing else were persistent. Despite attempting some astrophotography last night and sunrise snaps this morning, Mother Nature refused to abide. So after a relatively quick breakfast we packed up shop and headed south on our journey back to Hobart.

The short drive around Georges Bay to St Helens saw us soon rejoining the Tasman Highway and winding our way down the eastern coast. Here the highway hugged the shore and we passed endless seaside villages, stopping at a few to take in the views, and a coffee at Scamander. The roads here again are narrower than we are used to, but Anthony meandered his way through each bend comfortably. Outside of Four Mile Creek we popped into Iron House Brewery which luckily for us was closed on a Monday. We saved an hour there easily.

Notwithstanding already buying unplanned lunches on the road, todays stop was always part of our itinerary. On the southside of Bicheno stands the fabled Lobster Shack nestled on the waters of Waubs Gulch in the shadows of Governor Island. With possibly the best dining location in Tasmania, this little gem provides a truly authentic “ocean to plate” experience. The boats are launched daily from the adjoining harbour to land fresh seafood for the eager patrons. We restrained ourselves a little for once, and only ordered a lobster, “while you wait” shucked oysters, fresh prawns, salad, chips and 2 beers. Propped on the wrap around balcony seating, we gluttonously devoured every morsel.

Waddling back to our van, we then visited the Bicheno Blow Hole on the same esplanade. As far as blowholes go, Bicheno’s is a cracker. Unlike many we have seen, visitors can walk unrestrained among the rocks, and stand virtually over the gap formed by eons of waves allowing the ocean to spray upward in its spectacular metronomic water show. Suffice to say, Fatpap strayed too close at times coming away worse for wear.

Leaving Bicheno, we continued briefly down the Tasman Highway before making the turn onto Coles Bay Road leading to the Freychinet peninsula. About halfway along we fell upon the Friendly Beaches, a protected strip of land as pristine as coastal wilderness can get. Stretching 11km, this unspoilt paradise forms part of Tasmania’s first declared National Park and simply has the most beautiful sand and water we have ever seen. Free camping is available at various locations and is certainly something to consider when travelling here again.

A further 30 minutes saw us arrive into Coles Bay for a 2 night stay at Richardsons Beach. As part of the National Park, the campsites were cosier than normal, however with the sands of the bay and gentle lapping of waves only metres from our door, we quickly let that one slide learning all campers were more than respectful of each other’s serenity.

A few quick gins saw the sun unexpectedly break the cloud dominance, so we grabbed our cameras and tripods and parked ourselves on the shore line trying to capture a sensational golden hour.

Shadowing the bay to the south stood the five peaked mountain range collectively known as The Hazards. Largely consisting of granite boulders with a distinctive hue from a high level of pink feldspar, the rock walls shone brightly as the setting sun crawled its way up their steep faces. It was a brief opportunity we took full advantage of, for right on nautical twilight, the clouds and winds returned to the bay.

We retreated to our gins and enjoyed our dinner to the sound of increasing waves and nocturnal movement around our campsite.