Week 3 in Tassie 2012

After a very pleasant 4 days at Greens Beach riding out a storm or two we headed across the Batman Bridge to travel towards Launceston on the East Tamar Highway. Our plan was to follow the Tasman Highway to St Helens via Scottsdale. After missing a turn in Lonnie we finally found the correct road.



Myrtle Park

We had conflicting reports on the difficulty of travelling this highway as there was a particularly narrow, winding section between Myrtle Bank and Scottsdale called The Sideling. After receiving a report on the wonderful park at Myrtle Bank we decided to chance it. So glad we did as Myrtle Bank Park (# 2) was a real gem and only 102km from Greens Beach.



Myrtle Park

 The park was an old farming property that was bequeathed to the Launceston Shire on the proviso that it would always be maintained for camping and that there should never be any more charges other than to keep it open to the public. Six dollars a night per site, dog friendly, beautifully grassed, and showers toilets and a boundary marked by the St Patricks River. By far the nicest place we had seen for years. The river had small trout rising to the insects hovering above, what a sight.

Whilst there we decided to check out the horror road plus visit Scottsdale and Bridport on the nth coast. Nothing better than being prepared for road difficulties but after driving it without the van I was comfortable to give it a go.



Near Scottsdale carved out of tree stump

After two extremely pleasant nights we tackled The Sideling and only encountered one truck, fortunately at a wider part on the 20 km bad section.  A second brief stop at Scottsdale to refill the water tanks from a roadside tap specifically put there for travellers and we were off for another short day of 85km to Wellsborough. This quaint old tin mining town was all but deserted but the historical hotel offered camping out back for $5 a head (#20), and was great with showers and toilets and a beautiful old hospitable country pub. No one there when we arrived as the pub only operates on reduced hours so we set up camp and waited until the owner arrived.

We decided to dine in the pub that night and so did most of the other travellers. We joined a couple with a motor home and had a very pleasant evening.



We had been advised by locals along the way that the East Coast gets very busy during the holiday season and that the free camps are usually chocker so were not sure how to approach the problem. We ultimately decided that we would find a caravan park and book in for a couple of weeks to ride out the busy festive period. St Helens only had a Big 4 ( not our cup of tea) so we headed further down to Scamander and found a dog friendly place a short walk from the ocean. (Another short 61km day….love it!)



Bay of Fires

We were able to book one site for 10 days so here we are. A bit dearer than we would have liked at $30 pn (pensioner rate) but central enough for us to be easily able to see the Bay of Fires and other great attractions. The only other downside is next to no phone or internet coverage, but a short drive to the top of the hill behind sorts this out.



Bay of Fires

Our first day here and we couldn’t wait to see the Bay Of Fires. The sun was out the sand is white and the sea is aqua marine, truly magical. We checked out the free camping and there were some spots available as it turned out so we will do that next time. Some of the sites were not for big rigs and checking them out without a van would be less stressful. This whole coast strip is just magnificent and hardly a sole lives there.

The point as St Helens

Today we did a trip south to St Marys and back along the coast. The free camp at St Mary’s was good but the road from there down to the coast on the south side was very narrow and winding (Elephant's Pass) so we were glad we didn’t head that way with the van. 

I am sure we will enjoy our time here at Scamander and plan to look for a pub that does Christmas dinner as it looks like just being the two of us and Trixie on the 25^th.