Bay of Fires

Craig drove us to Highfield House, our base in Launceston. Ros and Lee Lawry, the owners, showed us hospitality above and beyond the call of duty. (Ros even washed a load of laundry for us as we struggled to get everything done on our tight schedule.)

Highfield House has a great location on one of the hills within walking distance of the center of Launceston. Over the course of our visit to Tasmania we stayed at Highfield on three separate nights. From it we were able to explore a bit of the city and enjoy meals at two outstanding restaurants (Stillwater and Fee and Me).

From Highfield we could walk to the hotel that served as the Launceston rendezvous point for hikers on the Bay of Fires Walk. The Lodge at Bay of Fires is a showpiece of ecology-friendly design and construction, and seeing it was one of the two main reasons for our visit to Tasmania. But to stay there you need to complete a modest two-day guided walk along the shore of the Tasman Sea.

A bus took us from Launceston to Pleasant Banks, the home of Ken Latona (architect of the Lodge and owner of Cradle Mountain Huts and the Bay of Fires companies). There we met our guides, Hana and Graeme, and the other hikers headed to the Bay of Fires. After organizing gear, we boarded a bus for Mt. William National Park, the starting point of the walk.

The Bay of Fires operation is carefully optimized. The bus carries fresh food as well as hikers; after the hikers have been dropped off, the bus shuttles the food to within walking distance of the Lodge, where guides or the semi-permanent staff at the Lodge pick it up. Meanwhile the hikers walk from Mt. William to Forester Beach Camp, where a small building tucked away in the dunes provides basic individual rooms and a large common dining area. The guides take care of cooking and cleaning as well as leading the walk. On the second day the hikers walk from Forester Beach to the Lodge. On the third day some people choose to stay at the Lodge to enjoy the beach or surrounding forest, but most kayak on Anson Bay. (We went kayaking, but I left my camera behind for fear it would get soaked. Carrying a small point-and-shoot would have been worthwhile.) On the final day everyone walks out to the nearest gravel road to meet a bus back to Pleasant Banks. All this is pipelined, with a new group starting every day, so each group shares dinner at the Lodge with two other groups (for one night each).

Although the Lodge was our original motivation for this part of the trip, it turns out that the guides made the biggest contribution to the experience. Hana and Graeme helped us see the things that we otherwise wouldn't have seen, and made the trip smooth and easy.

Not coincidentally, Michelle's birthday fell on our first day at the Lodge. Thanks to guides and guests, it was a memorable celebration.

To see a larger version of one of the photos below, just click the small version. At the bottom of each large photo you'll find links you can click to take you back to the previous photo, forward to the next, back to this index page, or back to the arden.org home page. (So if you start with the first large photo, you can step through them all by clicking the "Next Photo" links. The link on the last large photo page returns you to this index page.) At the bottom of this page there's a link you can click to take you back to the 2005 Australia Trip index page.

Our room on the first of our three visits to Highfield House in Launceston Tasmania		Lake in a reclaimed tin-mining area on the way to the Bay of Fires walk Northeast Tasmania		Forester kangaroos in Mt. William National Park Northeast Tasmania
Departing for the Bay of Fires: Michelle, Pamela, Graeme, Dawn, Richard, Hana, and Joan. (Not pictured: Lynn and Allen) Northeast Tasmania		Walking along Stumpys Bay Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Looking out to sea Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Turban shells Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Graeme and Allen go for a swim Northeast Tasmanian Coast		On the rocks Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Forester Beach Camp, our stop for the first night Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Hana barbequeing as hungry hikers circle Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Moon over the Tasman Sea at sunset Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Jewel spider Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Bay of Fires Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Eddystone Lighthouse Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Plaque at Eddystone Lighthouse Northeast Tasmanian Coast		A by-the-wind sailor -- a colony of polyps, related to the Portuguese Man-of-War. They come in left-handed and right-handed varieties which diverge in the wind Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Remains of a jellyfish Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Graeme and Michelle on the Bay of Fires Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Michelle, Hana, and Dawn on a shell bed Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Bay of Fires Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Our first view of the lodge, an eco-friendly architectural showpiece designed by Ken Latona Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Breezeway between the rooms and the common areas Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Common areas on the left, open area with kitchen on the right, at the Bay of Fires Lodge Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Hand pump for filling the shower tanks -- used here and in the Overland Track huts Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Ocean-view deck at right, library at left Northeast Tasmanian Coast		The dining area and kitchen facilities Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Michelle taking a nap in our room Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Living area at the Bay of Fires Lodge Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Michelle's birthday cake! Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Michelle tries to blow out the sparklers on her cake. (Lynn and Richard take photos while Dawn and Serena deal with the smoke detector) Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Sunrise over the Tasman Sea Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Rainbow over the Bay of Fires Northeast Tasmanian Coast
Rainbow over the Bay of Fires. Eddystone Point Lighthouse in the distance Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Sunset over Tasmania Northeast Tasmanian Coast		Packing up for the return trip to Pleasant Banks Northeast Tasmanian Coast
End-of-the trip Tasmanian champagne, and meeting the folks who just finished the Overland Track, at Pleasant Banks. (Don't miss the parmesan crackers and venison spring rolls.) Evandale (Tasmania)