24 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 11: Bridestowe Lavender Estate

The journey from St Helens to Bridestowe Lavender Estate took us about 2 hours.

This 265 acre site is noted for its manicured fields of lavender, beautiful gardens and sophisticated tourist facilities and attracts visitors throughout the year.

The farm is in full bloom mid December.  The harvest process begins in early January and runs for 4-5 weeks.  As such, we were here at the right time!

In the past one week, we had come across several lavender farm but they were nothing compared to Bridestowe Estate.  Look at all these photos and you'll know why.

Did you notice a black spot at the top right hand corner of below photo? Enlarge it to find out what it is.  I did not realize it until I reviewed the photos back home.

While waiting for the guided tour, we had sausages and pancake for lunch at the cafe.  Of course, we will not miss the popular Lavender Ice Cream!

The guide brought us around the farm and explain all the seeding and harvesting activities throughout the year.  Very informative!

At the end of our visit, we bought some souvenirs at the gift shop.

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23 Dec 2015 - Tasmania Day 10: Bayside Inn at St Helens

We checked in to Bayside Inn at St Helens after an enjoyable visit to Bay of Fires.

Our room had a double bed and two single beds which was perfect for us.

And below is the view from our room's balcony.

On our way to Bay of Fires earlier in the day, we passed by an Oyster Farm.

We went in to take a look and spoke briefly with the owner.  Of course before we left, Tracy bought a dozen of fresh oysters.

That's her dinner.  :-)

The seaside town of St Helens is the largest town and administrative centre of the north-east region.  We explored the town and at the same time, trying to look for a shop where we can get ice cream.

As most shops had already closed for the day, we bought ice cream from a petrol kiosk.

We then drove to a park to enjoy the peaceful surrounding.

Right in front of Bayside Inn is a playground by the sea shore.

While Jerlene and Javier were playing in the playground, Tracy and I took a stroll along the shore.  We saw many unique rocks by the shore and decided to take a closer look.

To our surprise, these rocks were actually Oysters!!!!  But they seemed to have dried up.

As the water was very calm, it was perfect for stone skipping.  Jerlene and Javier was surprised that I could make a stone skipped 8-10 times on the surface of the water.

We stayed by the shore till the sky slowly turned dark.

This place was beautiful, especially with the evening sun shining across the bay.

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23 Dc 2015 - Tasmania Day 10: Binalong Bay of Fires

From Bicheno, we drove northwards to the town of St Helens where our next accommodation was.  After checking in, we decided to drive further north to Binalong Bay, situated at the southern end of Bay of Fires.

The Bay of Fires is a region of white beaches, blue water and orange-hued granite (the color of which is actually produced by a lichen)

Many seabirds are often seen in this area.  On the rock nearby, there was a colony of Pacific gulls.

We loved the white sandy beach and calm turquoise-coloured sea water.

Jerlene and Javier were having so much fun on the beach while we just sat around and enjoyed the cool breeze.  It felt so relaxed in this wonderful place.

While playing sands, Jerlene found something slimy on the beach.  When I walked over to see, I quickly warned them not to touch it because it's a jellyfish!  We then try to use a stick to push it back into the water.

We spent more than an hour here and before leaving, we took the below family photo.  :-)

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