St Helens sits at the head of Georges Bay on the north-east coast of Tasmania, and it is the biggest town on this stretch, though that still means about two thousand people. The bay is a wide, calm inlet where fishing boats come and go, and the town is built around it, with a long waterfront, a few pubs, a bakery or two and the quiet hum of a place that survives on fish, tourists and a bit of timber. The coast here has a reputation for game fishing, and in summer the harbour fills with boats chasing tuna and marlin further out.
The history is mining and sea. Tin was found in the hills inland in the 1870s, and the Blue Tier plateau behind the town still holds the traces of old diggings and tramways, now buried under regrowing forest. For years the little port shipped tin and timber. Today the main attraction is the Bay of Fires, a string of white beaches north of town, famous for the orange lichen on the granite boulders that makes the rocks glow in the evening light. Despite the name, the bay was not named for the lichen but for fires seen on the shore by early European sailors, the cooking fires of Aboriginal people.
The Great Eastern Drive, the A3, brings you here from Swansea along the coast, past the Freycinet peninsula, Bicheno and the sweep of the Douglas-Apsley country. It is a satisfying road with moderate curves, forest, farmland and sudden views of blue water. Surface quality is generally good, though it narrows in places and logging trucks use it, so patient overtaking is the rule. At dusk, wallabies, pademelons and wombats come to the verges, and hitting one at speed is a very bad evening, so plan to be at your bed before dark.
St Helens has fuel and supermarkets, along with seafood cafes where the catch is local; scallops, crayfish, and oysters from the bay are worth the detour. The wind off Bass Strait can be sharp even in summer, and nights are cool, so pack a warm layer. Late spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear skies and fewer visitors, and the road north to the beaches is an easy evening ride if the light is good.