OTR: Bay of Fires

A good night’s rest at the hotel in Bicheno. Breakfast at a bakery walking distance to the hotel. By 8:30a we were ready to head to St Helens, the next stop on our road trip.

Once we arrived in town, we stopped at a bakery to fuel up. And then onto the Bay of Fires, which is between Binalong Bay and Eddystone Point.

While one might think that the orange-lichen covered boulders are the reason for the name of the bay — especially at sunrise and sunset — that is not so. Rather, Bay of Fires was named as such by Captain Furneaux in 1773 when he saw the fires lit on the beaches by the Aboriginal people.

Water in gradations of every hue of blue + sugar-white sand beaches + pops of color from orange and yellow lichen + green vegetation rimming the coast = incredible scenery.

We spent a couple of hours clambering over the boulders, stopping for way too many photo ops. Once we reached the beach at the far end, Mui gave into the temptation of the water … cold at first touch, but had a nice swim regardless. While he was drying in the sun, I went off for a walk along the hard-packed beach for more photo ops.

By the time we were ready to leave the Bay of Fires, it was after 2:00p. Our booked room at the hotel in St Helens was ready for check-in. But that’s not what we did!Read more