BITS AND PIECES - ST HELENS - PART 5 (FINAL SNIPPETS) (8 - 15 MARCH 2018)

In an earlier St Helens missive I commented on the fact that this town is noted as Tasmania's game fishing capital, and you may recall that the main harbour area was to serve as the 'weigh in' point for a fishing competition which was taking place during our stay.

We had already seen large numbers of huge hulls trailing massive motors being dragged about town on equally impressive trailers, but could not initially work out just where these boating behemoths actually took to the water. 

A bit of sleuthing provided the answer, one, when thinking about it, was entirely logical. Georges Bay, like so many large, inlet type bodies of water, joins the sea through a comparatively narrow neck, the Barway, shown here in this excellent shot courtesy of 'St Helens Marine Rescue'.

Conditions in waterways such as this can be pretty torrid, particularly when an outgoing tide is met by an incoming ocean swell. I managed to scrounge up a photo from 'The Examiner' which more than amply demonstrates this point (and no, the poor bugger who went to sea in this ill fated craft did not survive the experience).

To avoid all this marine mayhem the obvious answer was to build a boat ramp which provided direct sea access beyond the bar, and that's exactly what has been done at St Helens Point.

As a quick aside, this Google Earth shot also shows the magnificent beaches which line the strip of land which forms the point, including an absolutely pristine stretch adjacent to the Barway itself. We've marked these in for more attention on our return visit,

So before we moved on from St Helens we did make a quick trip out through Stieglitz (virtually a St Helens suburb) along the aptly named St Helens Point Road to see what we would find at this boat ramp.





As we neared what is the end of the road, we could not believe the sight which greeted us. This place was an absolute clutter of 4WD's and very large boat trailers. The sides of the main roadway were jam packed for a simple reason.....







......there was no room in the main boat trailer park.

It looked as through most of the large boats in Tasmania had put to sea from the St Helens Point boat ramp. 













And believe it or not, this is one of the more modest trailers, a mere dual. Tri-axles were the predominant order of the day here as far as trailers went.










At the time of our visit the very well constructed and maintained ramp was virtually deserted. Those chasing the large fish of the Tasman had made an early start.










A pretty little beach lay right beside the launching facilities, where a couple of hopefuls on the small pile pier were casting a line into the pristine wasters. What a difference blue skies and bright sunlight makes to these scenes!






On the way back to town we managed to find one vantage point on the side of the road which gave us a view across the long stretch of sand which abuts the Barway channel. What an idyllic spot this would be to sit on a bucket and cast for a whiting or flathead. All I had to do was to work out how to get down there, and today was not the day for that. Next visit perhaps!


As a final 'taste of St Helens' before we go I must share another feature of the town, close to our park, which we used more than once. We have already seen the walking track into the CBD. We were pleased to discover early in the piece that this extended right around the edge of Georges Bay in the other direction.

The actual path entrance at the end of our caravan park street can present a challenge for the uninitiated. If you look closely you will see that there is a small break in the guard rail on the bay side of the highway. 





To avoid death or serious injury crossing the usually very busy and narrow main road into town we learnt quickly to stand directly opposite this break in the fence and scurry purposefully across the road at the first break in the traffic. No need for a warm up here before exercise...by the time we made the track the heart rate was invariably well above average!





Even then, the first hundred metres of so of this path seemed awfully close to the passing parade of vehicles (these last two shots happened to be the quietest we ever saw it.....this was invariably bumper to bumper!)











but soon we were led away from the highway and onto the purpose built track












just above the marine clutter of the delightfully named Possum Tom's boat yard.










From here on it was full steam ahead along the generally flat and even walking path. At this point I should make it clear that these photos were not taken on the same day (that will be pretty obvious) but they pull together in reasonable order.




On the day of our first gallop around the bay, in the early afternoon, we had noticed a number of vehicles parked in an odd spot above the track. A nearby notice proclaimed that access had been granted for a special occasion between certain defined hours. Odd we thought...what's going on here?





As we walked on further and came to a group of BBQ shelters and an obviously quite new public toilet block, the rows of white chairs and newly planted banner poles gave us the answer. Nuptials by the Bay no less...and it was just the day for it. .

In several places along this trail, short, rather flimsy looking jetties provide recognised fishing platforms. These are even listed on the town mud map we had acquired. I had planned a dash at some self caught seafood, but time and circumstances conspired against me. The rods remained where they were on the roof top rack.









But apart from anything else, jetties provide vantage points and gave me the opportunity to look back whence we had recently wandered.










Towards the end curve of the bay shore, the path did deteriorate for a short stretch, but remained eminently 'dooable'.










It soon brought us to an open space where the stalwarts of the St Helens Lions Club had done their bit for the community in the form of a very well built and maintained BBQ and public picnic shed, complete with the necessary ancillary facilities and, of course, an adjoining kiddies playground.



We did roam a little further around this track which eventually petered out some three hundred metres of so from this bend, but for some reason the camera was back in its bag.

But I did haul it out again on the return jaunt to snap a scene which for us is 'St Helens', looking west towards the Golden Fleece Bridge with Possum Tom's in the foreground and the masts of the

 vessels moored at the main town harbour in the distance.

Despite the fact they share the same coast, St Helens and Swansea could not be more different, yet both had much to offer in different ways as I hope I've been able to successfully share with you in these past few offerings. 

Now all was about to change. On the morrow we shall be heading away from the coast and back to the misty mountains. We had one more hotel to tick off our Tassie pub crawl list. The wonderful Weldborough Hotel was awaiting our arrival.