Bay of Fires

We took the Great Eastern Drive up the coast from our beach house in Swansea towards Bay of Fires, a couple hours north. I have been looking at pictures from Bay of Fires for awhile now and hoping to make it there! We make a quick stop at The Blowhole on our drive. The kids thought it was cool looking and they explored the rocks for awhile and the water spraying had Ireland cracking up.

After more driving we stopped for lunch at a neat looking estate that had beautiful views, delicious food, a brewery, a whiskey distillery, a rooftop pool and a play room just off the 5 star restaurant! We spent almost two hours here refueling, stretching our legs and letting the kids play. Jeremy also made a new friend - Kirk The Wine Distributer, who gave us a bottle of wine and we exchanged numbers. He also gave us the local lowdown.

Bay of Fires! Named when the English first set foot on Tasmania and they could see the Aboriginals and their fires on the beaches here. These beaches have huge stretches of white sand, flanked by rocks with bright orange lichen on them and the bluest, clearest water we have ever seen.

We dug and played in the sand for hours. Jeremy went for a quick swim in the freezing cold water (we are "close" to Antarctica!) so he could say he swam in the Southern Ocean!

Ireland didn't nap at all and was a total trooper all day, even on the over two hour drive home!

Three Beaches!

The other day we set off with the goal of making it to three incredible and vastly different beaches. We made it to all and none were a disappointment. We made it to the first beach after a quick pit stop at No. 16 General Store.

Beach 16.  Rough surf and finally some beach glass!

This beach doesn't look real in the picture or when you are actually there.

Ev tempting fate.  She was under strict instructions to not go above her ankles.  The Rip was incredibly strong here.

Plenty of space for Ireland to roam.  She didn't care about the Rip either, so we had to keep a close eye on her.

I spent a lot of time looking at the water, just watching the wave break onto the shore.

"The Lizard".  The tide was coming in fast and the break was unpredictable.  I got them up there quickly and mom snapped the pictures quickly.

Although not as picturesque, Rye pier was a good spot to stop for some sandplay. There were also about 100 school kids there for their beach day. It was highly entertaining to watch them in all their matching uniforms making castles and running around.

Beach: Rock Pool at Bass Strait

                             Tidepools with Bass Strait (Southern Ocean) in the background.  This spot was clearly a locals only kind of place.  Via Instagram and Google we easily found it.  Non descript parking area, and some faith guided hiking and we found it.  15 foot tidepool, crystal clear and cold.  Simply beautiful.

The nine meter high dive.

The hike down was a bit sketchy, but mostly for mom and dad.  The kids just made their way with no help needed from us, even when they had to hope a fence, use a rope to pull themselves up a cliff edge, and stand there while we lowered a baby up and down. Good times for all!