Day 7 (21 Dec 2017) : Bicheno- Binalong Bay – Sheffield
Bay of Fires @ Binalong Bay
We stayed only one night at Bicheno by the Bay. After check out this morning, we headed towards Binalong Bay. The drive from Bicheno to Bay of Fires in Binalong Bay was about 1hr 40mins.
Famous for its crystal-clear waters, white sandy beaches and orange lichen-covered granite boulders, the Bay of Fires is one of Tasmania’s most popular conservation reserves. The area contains rocky gullies, with many small secluded beaches and inlets to explore. Binalong Bay is the area’s main beach – a beautiful stretch of white sand and clear water for swimming, snorkelling, surfing or simply relaxing. We were not there to snorkel or surf, just for photos and to appreciate the beauty of the area. The colour of the sea was amazing!
The GPS is not exactly accurate for this site and depending on whether you input Bay of Fires or Bay of Fires Conservation Area, may lead you to different points along the coast. At one stage we ended at a dead end with nothing in sight. If you input the Gardens, there is an option to take you to the middle of the road. All these are not exactly ideal. So here is what I can advise:
The southern section of The Bay of Fires is in the Conservation Area, situated along a 13 km stretch of coast between Binalong Bay and The Gardens. Access to the southern section of the Bay of Fires is via the Binalong Bay Road (C850 ) out of St Helen’s. Take the turnoff on the left into the C848 at the sign – “The Gardens – 13Kms” This is a sealed road. The road terminates at private land at “The Gardens”.
DSis’s car and ours ended in different places and we actually could see each other across the bay on different outcrops…hahaha. In the end we realized that we were at different ends and could walk to each other between the 2 points. It was an easy walk.
We spend some time hanging around the various rocks and gullies, basically fooling around.
Lunch @ Mohr & Smith, St Helens
It was about lunch time and we decided to go to St Helens. I consulted my “G” secretary and found several places. We decided on Mohr & Smith and called to check if they had a table for 10 before we headed there.
Mohr & Smith is a contemporary restaurant and setting was simple and beautiful. It was relatively quiet when we arrived.
The menu was interesting with an Asian fusion twist. I specially enjoyed with Japanese pancake with roasted pork belly that I had. I was almost missing Asian food by this time of the trip and the roasted pork belly (A$20) was excellent. It was crispy and juicy. Almost like how we do Chinese roast pork belly. DH, DS1 & 2 and DD are boring and all went for the beef burger (A$16). But they were all praises for their burgers too.
For drinks, DH & I had an ice coffee (A$7) each, DD had a caramel milkshake (A$6) and the 2 boys had a coke (A$3) each. The straws which came with the cokes were made of steel! And DD’s milkshake came in a huge metal container. Really cool! Our ice coffee was the most ordinary :(.
Overall a good meal in a very pleasant setting. But when I try to check it’s website to try to provide a link when I am writing this post, it seems that the restaurant has closed….what a pity!
Brief shopping stop @ Tasmania Honey Company
The drive from St Helens to Sheffield where we will be spending the night is about 3hours. We cannot find anything interesting to look see along the way. So we decided to do a shopping stop at the Tasmanian Honey Company in Perth which is 2 hours from St Helens and 1 hour from Sheffield. We were hoping to make this a toilet break as well, but unfortunately found out that the shop did not have a toilet for us to use. Instead we were directed to a gas station nearby.
The shop was not big, but had an interesting array of different flavoured honey. We especially like their Manuka honey drops which Dmum, and DSis and I, all bought. If you want to buy honey, this is a good place to buy it if you are nearby. We found these honey sold at Launceston airport when we were leaving flying to Melbourne and found that it was at least double the price of what we paid here.
Our 2-Bedroom Apartment @ Sheffield Motor Inn
We finally arrived at Sheffield Motor Inn. We had booked a 2 BR apartment (A$225) for my family, a double room (A$125) for my parents and a triple room (A$140) for DSis’s family. All came with kitchenette.
What I like about our apartment was that they had proper beds for 5 and 2 bathrooms! The 2 bathrooms were much welcomed after having to share 1.5 bathroom among the 10 of us the night before at Bicheno by the Bay. As for the bedding configuration, one bedroom had 2 single beds and the other had a queen and a single bed. Like most motels, they provided milk. We had 4 small packets.
There was a coin service laundry available so we used that too that evening. Wash was A$3/A$4 (sorry, can’t remember the exact amount now) per load. Dryer was A$1 for 15 mins.
Wifi here was very unstable, so don’t depend on it.
Overall a decent basic motel that has all that you want (except WiFi) at a reasonable price.
Dinner @ Basilico, Sheffield
We decided to have dinner at Basilico as it was only next to Sheffield Motor Inn. Basilico was a casual Italian restaurant that just opened a few months ago, but the few reviews I saw on TripAdvisor were positive. When I called to make my reservations, they said that for groups of 8 and more, they offer a set meal at A$25 per pax. As we were 8 adults and 2 kids (since DD and DN are both under 12) they said that they will only charge for the 8 adults and the 2 girls can share our meal. Their sets were done family style, ie we share some pizzas and pastas. We thought it was very reasonable and so accepted their suggestion. We left it to them to decide what to prepare for us as we had no dietary restrictions.
We were served the following:
1. Tomato and basil pasta
2. Beef cheek pasta (ragu)
3. Rocket and apple salad
4. Margarita pizza
5. Salami pizza
6. Rocket & parma ham pizza
After our meal, they asked if we were game for another pizza and we definitely were! So they served us a dessert pizza – Nutella Pizza. It was so good. We all loved it!
For A$200 (excluding drinks) for 10 of us, it was very reasonable. Most importantly, food was good! I’d highly recommend eating here. It’s really value for money!
Next up : Day 8 – Cradle Mountain