Bay of Fires. July 14, 2013.

First day of Australian rain today.  We are still recovering from jet lag, so we were up early again.  Did not burn the toast in the toaster but still managed to set off the smoke alarm and woke up our neighbors at 7:00am (ooops).  We stayed at the Anchor Wheel Motel which is a little quirky.  The guy (not Peter mentioned on the website) who checked us in was so drunk he could hardly hold a sentence together, but you had to hand it to him for trying; was quite funny. We had a great stay and would stay again.

We headed North to the famed Bay of Fires, named after the red rock which in the right light conditions makes a brilliant red contrast against the amazingly white beach sands.  It was wild, wet and overcast morning so spending time on the beach was not on the agenda today.  Maybe we will come back one day in summer to see the true Bay of Fire.  The winter conditions we experienced reminded my a lot of New Zealand.  Then we headed inland to St Columba falls, one of the highest falls (90mts) in Tasmania.  They were nice, and because of the rain, we had the site entirely to ourselves.

On the way back to St Helens we stopped at the Holy Cow Cafe and Dairy Company for a quick latte and cheese tasting.  We walked out with a yummy block of 12 month cheddar.
In the afternoon we headed south to Coles Bay along the eastern coast.  Most delightful drive.  And the towns are getting smaller and smaller.  Coles Bay has a population of 150.

Bay of Fires.  No signs of the red lichem..

The trail to St Columbia Falls.  Very beautiful.

Windsweep bay on the way to Coles Bay..