8/2/2020: Bicheno, East Coast, Tasmania

We've arrived in rental heaven here on the coast in Bicheno. Sea views, contemporary styling and oodles of room. A good job really as it's raining so we're enjoying a bottle of wine in front of the fire watching Fleabag. The verdict on that is out at the moment .....

The sun was shining as we left our lovely B&B in Longford to head for the Bay of Fires in the remote north-eastern corner of Tasmania.  We decided to take the scenic route through the Ben Lomond national park and soon found ourselves on gravel roads, climbing steeply through the mountains. Very scenic but not a place to break down with no signal and miles between homesteads. Thankfully our trusty rental car kept going!

We lost the sunshine climbing over the mountain range and as we descended to the east coast we seemed to enter a sea fret.  Typical! The Bay of Fires is famed for its pristine white sand beaches and rocky headlands covered in orange and red lichen. On a clear, sunny day it would no doubt look spectacular but on a cool, wet, cloudy day the magic was somewhat dimmed. Still we managed to dodge the rain showers and at least get a few photos.

Surprisingly it's not the orange lichen that gives the Bay of Fires its name, instead being named for all the aboriginal fires seen burning on the shore as the first Europeans sailed by.

Abandoning any idea of a coastal hike in the rain we continued south to our next rental property in Bicheno. This is the most expensive place we've booked in Tasmania and it is fabulous: on a rocky headland overlooking the sea, with all mod cons we could wish for, lots of space and quality fittings. A perfect base for a damp, cool afternoon. It's sited on the 3km long foreshore walk which takes in a famous blowhole and so we decided to head out for some fresh air.

Unfortunately for us the rain arrived again before we reached the blowhole and so we retreated to our luxury pad for a glass of wine and movie!