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| Bay of Fires, gorgeous even clouded over |
| Erin's Tasmania Journals 12-16-02 We woke up in St. Helens to an overcast day. We made breakfast and looked out at the bay while we ate, thinking what a great spot this was, and sending cosmic thank-yous to the Lords for letting us stay. We wrote them a note after cleaning and locking up, before taking off up the coast to see the Bay of Fires. We'd seen postcards of this stretch of beach, so named for the native fires seen all along the beach by the discovering sea captain. Today, it wasn't in its full glory, covered by clouds as it was. Still, the white sands and clear waters promised good photos later. Too bad we only had 10 days in Tassie! Must move on! As discussed the previous night with Marcel and Eveline, we'd be joining them at the holiday park down in Coles Bay this evening, in order to do the hike to the even more famed Wineglass Bay the following day. So we continued back south along the coast past St. Helens toward Coles Bay, with a stopover for lunch at the glorious Denison's Beach. Virtually unmarked on the highway, Glenn pulled off there on a whim, and it was so pretty in the now-sunny afternoon and blue surf/white sand, we stayed after lunch for a couple of hours, reading and napping in the sun. I didn't want to leave! But we did, arriving in Coles Bay at the caravan park before 5. We were suprised to hear that the caravan park was full (except for tent sites), but the cabin our friends were booked into could sleep 5. They hadn't arrived yet, shocking us, so we decided to wait and see if they'd agree to us splitting the cost of the place and sharing. We walked across the street to the beach and relaxed in the sun some more, watching 3 brothers toss each other into the surf, before heading back at 6 to see if they'd arrived. Sure enough, Marcel and Eveline had agreed that we could stay, and we paid up before joining them. They even cooked dinner for us all, to which we contributed wine and dishwashing, and afterwards we introduced Shanghai Rummy. The instruction part is always difficult, but we enjoyed a rousing game before bed. They'd done the tough hike up and over the Freycinet Ridge to Wineglass Bay this afternoon, so they were ready for sleep, and we wanted to prep for our hike tomorrow with a good rest. |