Bay of Fires Character Cottages St Helens

This day could not have been more perfect-well yes it could have, if our family and friends could have been with us to celebrate and witness our ceremony ! We woke up to a beautiful sunrise but some large dark clouds hung ominously over the B & B. We didn't worry too much because we were driving from Swansea to Binalong Bay,approximately 90kilometers. We knew the sky and the weather changed hourly here in ...

... found our key and went to our room. The room was a dump and dirty. The reviews on the internet about the place must have been placed by the owners of the place. So we decided to just pack up our stuff and head into St Helens. After a bit of digging we found a place that was recently renovated and very nicely arrange for pretty much the same money. We then went and spent some time in the town centre, got some dinner and went in our room to relax.

... It turned out to be a good choice as the forecast was correct. We based ourselves in an excellent caravan park in St Helens with huge grassy site and did day trips as weather permitted. The Bay of Fires is a beautiful area but best appreciated in warm, sunny beach weather and, if we return to this area in better weather we would definitely stay there. One day we drove up to the northern tip ...

... gorgeous blue water, white squeaky sand and again NO ONE around!! I got to St. Helens after aboot 2 hrs which is a bit inland and the 'largest' town in the area...got some provisions and headed to the nearby coast towards Binalong Bay. I decided to head to an area called Bay of Fires and i was absolutely blown away by the beauty and seclusion (and it takes a lot for me to get blown away)...again miles of white sand ...

... it! From Eddystone Point we drove inland and stopped to view Little Blue Lake. The lake is the brightest and prettiest blue to see. The lake has been formed due to early tin mining and the exposed white clay reflects the sky, giving the water it's colour. The water is also very acidic, and is fenced off so you can't go anywhere close to it. Further along the way we took a turn off the main road to grab some cheese from the Pyengana Cheese Factory, makers of award winning cloth ...

... of wattle and gum trees in the spitting rain. Our self contained cabin, one of three available, had a glorious view through to the sea at Falmouth, but more importantly at this time of year a very efficient pot bellied stove which our host Peter set alight for us. The various sized scats around the cabin promised the existence of lots of wildlife and we were thrilled to see a pair of scarlet robins just outside the window, and a wallaby grazing nearby ...

... chatting. There was a huge German shephard (and I mean HUGE) who played fetch with Bryan. He grabbed a massive LOG (not a branch) to play with, almost crushing off Bryan's toes in the process! During the day we went out to see Binalong Bay Beach. It is probably one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. The sand is powder white and the water is clear turquoise blue. The contrast is just startling ...

... all slept in sleeping bags and they were warm.  "Lets open a window then."  I think I got about three hours of sleep in that freezing cold room.  I had two blankets on and still couldn't help from shivering.  I finally got up to go to bathroom at six in the morning and noticed that they had opened the window and closed it.  From 6 am to 9 am were the three hours of sleep.  Oh well.  But the guys who opened the window were German.  Again, I will say, "*******n Germans!"

... Chris. He wasn't quite a hitchhiker since we all talked to him while he was hanging out enjoying the ocean scenery, but the guy was incredibly cool and I should've booted one of the Germans (their names are Nadine, Juliane and Judith if any of you care) in favor of him. Basically he's been wandering around Australia for a couple decades now and has had several newspaper articles written about him. On top of being a really friendly guy, the best part ...

... night because the wind was really blowing, so after a cold mushy 'pasta stew' (our fuel ran out and we had to make due) it was time for many card games and chocolate (yes Cadbury). The ground was softer but the wind was blowing the tent and so it was a mixed bag as far as sleep was concerned for the five of us. Breakfast was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then we had to wait out the rain for an hour with card games. After packing up camp and saying goodbye to the cove ...