Saint Helens, Australia + Add a trip

Automobiles

Driving to the Bay of Fires under your own steam is the best option: from Hobart it's around 250 kilometres, passing the turquoise bays, holiday hamlets and granite peaks of the east coast. From Launceston it's 160 kilometres, but just as wiggly, the road tracking through forests, undulating dairy country and over mountain passes, with scenic former tin-mining towns en route. Hire a car at either Hobart or Launceston Airport - the big-name operators have desks at both.

Planes

Hobart has a recently upgraded domestic airport with international aspirations (www.hobartairpt.com.au); Launceston Airport (www.launcestonairport.com.au) is smaller but functional, and handier for the Bay of Fires. Domestic flights from other Australian state capitals (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide) fly into both cities.

Trains

Dialing

Country code: +61; Tasmania: (0)3 (drop the zero if dialling from overseas).

Reads

From Petal Point to Cockle Creek: A Beach Explorer's Guide to the East Coast of Tasmania, by local sand-seeker Marianne Robertson, delivers the detail on the sublime Bay of Fires. Thylacine by David Owen tells the story of the ill-fated Tasmanian tiger, extinct since 1933 but once common throughout the island's north east (its last refuge, perhaps?). For a social history of Tasmania, zooming in on the indigenous tribes of the east coast, pick up a copy of In Tasmania by Nicholas Shakespeare.

Do go / Don't Go

If you're here to sun weary city bones and splash around in the surf, visit during the Tasmanian summer (December to February), when the ocean is warm(ish) and the weather at its most predictable. Springtime is also lovely (September to November), when an unruly bloom of native wildflowers blankets the hillsides, heathlands and dunes. If you're looking for end-of-world atmosphere and have a chunky book to get through (isn't it about time you read War and Peace?), visit in winter (June to August) when storms whip whitecaps across the chilly bay and driftwood piles high on the beach.

Cuisine

North-east Tasmania is an isolated corner of the globe, but it still manages to drum up some exceptional eating experiences, courtesy of a crop of worldly and ambitious locals. The delightful Angasi restaurant in Binalong Bay is the prime example, plating up palette-pleasing seasonal produce. Seafood is the area's lifeblood, with fishing fleets in towns such as St Helens and Bicheno delivering super-fresh oysters, tuna, perch, marlin, whiting, crayfish and abalone to regional tables. On the booze front, beer is the drink of choice - Launceston's James Boags brewery (www.boags.com.au) produces pub standards, while microbrewer Wineglass Bay Brewing (www.wineglassbaybrewing.com.au) further south bottles the spicy, malty Hazards Ale. Inland is the cool-climate Pipers River wine belt, home to vineyards Bay of Fires Wines (www.bayoffireswines.com.au), Jansz Estate (www.jansz.com.au) and Pipers Brook (www.kreglingerwineestates.com). Expect some fine chardonnays, pinots and sparking whites.

Taxis

From Launceston or Hobart to the Bay of Fires is quite a trek - it's unlikely any local taxis will be willing to make the trip (but you could try Taxi Combined Services; 132 227). Within the region, East Coast Taxis (+61 (0)3 6376 2999) operates out of St Helens.

Tipping

Like elsewhere in Australia, tipping here isn't mandatory, but add 10 per cent to your bill in restaurants and cafés if your service came with a smile. If a taxi is willing to bring you here from Launceston, the driver will have earned a substantial tip!

Currency

Australian dollar (AU$).

Packing

Bring your swimmers - the gentle ocean swell rolling into the Bay of Fires is the cleanest and crispest you're ever likely to hurl yourself into. Take eco-smart solar-powered phone and camera chargers if you're trekking.

Arts

For some insight into local culture, sneak a peek at the St Helens History & Visitor Information Centre (61 Cecilia Street; +61 (0)3 6376 1744), which catalogues salty memorabilia and the social development of the north east. Expect plenty of old photographs and nautical knickknacks.

And...

As well as made-you-look wildflowers (we like the Wedding and Pigface blooms), and quirky trees, north-east Tassie is known for its lavender farms. Visit one of the largest near Nabowla, west of Scottsdale. Bridestowe Estate Lavender Farm (www.bridestowelavender.com.au) serves up tours, as well as lavender-flavoured tea, cakes and ice-cream.

Shopping

If you've come here with a shopping agenda, you'll find yourself with a lot of free time on your hands - this is fishing and farming country, and the locals go to the big smoke (Hobart or Launceston) for retail thrills. But there are a few souvenir-worthy goodies to keep an eye out for. Cloth-wrapped vintage cheddar from the Pyengana Dairy Company (St Columba Falls Road; +61 (0)3 6373 6157), midway between Weldborough and St Helens, has been made here since 1895. Offshore, the abalone industry lines the wallets of divers, who pay big money for the right to fish for them. The discarded shells - Technicolor scoops commonly known as mother of pearl - make beautiful jewellery. Look for handmade pendants, earrings, letter openers and the like in local shops.

Viewpoint

For gorgeous vistas of the aqua Bay of Fires coastline, the wild surrounding heathlands and the Furneaux Islands to the north, trudge up Mt William (216 metres), or Bill's Hill as cheeky locals dub it, a modest hillock named after an aboriginal tracker in Mt William National Park (www.parks.tas.gov.au). It's about a two-hour walk to the summit and back, but allow yourself a little downtime at the top - there's something beautifully energising about the place, especially if you're the only ones there. This remote park is about 60 kilometres north of St Helens.

Something

Inland from St Helens, take the turn-off to Pyengana and follow the signs for 12 kilometres to the impressive St Columba Falls (www.netasmania.com.au), the highest waterfall in Tasmania at about 90 metres. You can check it out from the roadside, or park your car and walk 20 minutes through rainforest to the bottom of the big drop.