A day on the beach - Bay of Fires

Ok, we've been warned. We knew it would get cold on Tasmania. We expected to see snow on top of the mountains. I did not expect to be freezing even in the lower parts of the island. Hence yesterday was a welcome change. Instead of driving from Derby straight to the Bay of Fires as initially planned, we had camped at a beautiful spot in a forest, next to the George river. From there, it was a mere hour and a half drive to the Bay of Fires, allowing us to reach it fairly early in the day.
I had read a fair bit about this stretch of coast and had heard a lot about the secluded beaches and quiet campspots, the beautiful landscape and above all the colourful rock formations dotting the beaches. One would think the Bay of Fires got its name from them, as a certain type of lichen paints the rocks bright red. But it actually got its name from the early white explorers that had sighted the many first nation inhabitants' fires, aboriginal families that were at home here. Sadly, it's not easy to find out a lot about Tasmania's original past as the state only slowly seems to reveal what happened. A lady we talked to mentioned that Tasmania needed to deal with its convict history first (not an easy task either).
But tours guided by aboriginal descendants are becoming more common and more and more spiritual sites are being protected, which should make it easier to ackknowledge Tasmania's original inhabitants and protect their cultural heritage. Not enough to strengthen their rights and correct the wrong they've experienced but a step towards the right direction...
Vivi and I had been very interested in learning more about this area's particular history and really wanted to find some shell middens (big hills of shells- slowly built up over time from discarded shells after meals). Turns out we were at the wrong end of the bay, so we had to marvel at the stone formations, the white sandy beaches and the clear, turquoise water instead. The colours are simply stunning!
The sun was out and during our wander we found a stretch of beach that was calm enough to swim in. Tom had parked Hans at a perfect spot on the Cosy Corner south campground, completing our beautiful day at the beach with dinner under fairylights accompanied by the sounds of rolling waves.
Larapuna (the bay's aboriginal name) has made its mark in our memories.Read more