2 0 TO U R IN G H O T S PO TS
WORDS ALI MILLAR
A D VE N T U R E S
FASTFACTS
GETTING THERE
The turn-off to The Gardens at the southern
end of the Bay of Fires is around 8km from St
Helens. From Hobart, it’s around 250km north to
St Helens and from Launceston, it’s around 165km
east.
ACTIVITIES
Beachside camping, fishing, swimming and
beachcombing.
STAY
The Bay of Fires Conservation Area is managed
by Parks and Wildlife Tasmania and offers a
number of different camping grounds.
MORE INFORMATION
www.parks.tas.gov.au
18
ADVENTURES
Bay of Fires, Tas
With its whiter-than-white sand and crystal-clear water,
this famed coastline is a free-campers’ paradise.
E
ven if you haven’t spent a lot of time
in Tassie, you may well have heard
of this place – Lonely Planet named
it one of the world’s ‘hottest’ travel
destinations back in 2009. I reckon they
were right on the money, but despite the
accolades this is still a sleepy place where
you can get away from it all.
Stretching from Binalong Bay to
Eddystone Point, the Bay of Fires
encompasses arcs of some of the whitest
sand around, lapped by crystal-clear azure
water and dotted with orange lichenencrusted granite boulders. The area was
given its name back in 1773 by Captain
Tobias Furneaux who supposedly saw the
fires of local Aboriginal people dotted along
the coastline, and middens still remain from
the original inhabitants of the area.
Stock up on supplies in nearby St Helens
then head to the Bay of Fires Conservation
Area, where numerous options for camping
can be found along the ensuing 13km
stretch, including RV-friendly campsites
at Grants Lagoon, Jeanneret Beach,
Swimcart Beach and Cosy Corner.
Camping is free and operates on a first-
come, first-served basis.
The campsites range from open and
grassy to secluded nooks tucked in among
the sheoaks. One of the best things about
this place is you can camp right behind
the dunes and wake up to the sound of
the waves pounding the beach, with just a
short stroll down to the water’s edge.
This is the kind of place where you can
just kick back at camp and relax.
When you’ve tired of that, take a rod
down to the beach and try your luck off the
rocks or straight off the steep, sandy banks.
Some of the beaches can be rough, with
strong currents and dumping waves, but
protected swimming spots can be found at
Cosy Corner or at nearby Binalong Bay.
Further afield, check out the northern
part of the bay where Eddystone Point
Lighthouse stands watch atop the tall
cliffs of Mt William NP. If you’re lucky, you
might even catch sight of whales on their
annual migration.
At the end of the day, sit back around
the campfire and watch the stars come
out over the ocean – you really do feel like
you’re a million miles from anywhere.