Camping at Chain of Lagoons (East Coast of Tasmania)

Australia Day weekend is the perfect time in Tasmania to go camping. The only problem is everyone who lives in Tasmania agrees! Note to self: Don’t head away camping Saturday morning, always go Friday!! 

Saturday morning arrived and my partner and I set off to go camping on the East Coast of Tasmania. With my new Wiki Camps app in hand, I had all the ingredients for finding the perfect location to spend the weekend. We headed for Rocky Hills to try and get a spot next to Mayfield Bay. It took a good three and a half hours to get to this spot and as we pulled up we were blown away by the way people were packed in like sardines pretty much camping on top of each other. 

So plan B was put in place and we headed up the coastline. We drove to Coles Bay and checked out Friendly Beaches. I had never been to this location before and it was absolutely stunning, but also absolutely chockers. I definitely will be heading back here though when it’s not so busy.

We continued on our journey and tried another two places in Coles Bay with no luck. We headed onwards to Bicheno and as we were driving through Bicheno I felt like it was rush hour in the middle of Melbourne CBD. So many people. By this stage my heart was beginning to sink. After trying one or two more places we arrived at Chain of Lagoons and after driving for six hours, to our surprise, we found our camping destination for the long weekend. 

After setting up shop to the tune of a thousand cicadas we went for a walk up the beach and dropped a fishing line in. Within two minutes Mick had caught a little fish which would have been sufficient for bait, but it escaped. 

After tea we went for a drive to Four Mile Creek in search of a good spot for Mick to go spearfishing the next day. This little spot was full of sunburnt orange coloured rocks layered with turquoise water and green foliage. This seemed to be an ideal location for a dive the next day. 

Day two arrived and Mick was hitting the water for the first time, although visibility was not at it’s best. I dropped him off and went to Falmouth for an explore. I came across this gorgeous little track on the opposite side to the beach and went for a walk. It took me along the coastline of Falmouth just in front of people’s houses.

What a cute little entry way to paradise. This was the beginning of the track. 

 

After spending a good hour and a half I headed back to pick up Mick. The weather was really starting to heat up. The water was still quite stirred up and not the best for spearfishing, although Mick did spear a couple of fish, we decided to go chase a waterfall. I had Meadstone Falls on my to-do-list. This waterfall was located inland near Fingal. To read about this day adventure to Meadstone Falls in detail click here.

We went swimming in the rock pool at Meadstone Falls and it was so refreshing. We were the only two people there, so we were in solitude amongst nature. Perfect way to spend my afternoon.

We returned to our camp site after our 10km walk and cooked up a fish curry with the fish Mick had speared that morning. It was delicious. Camp food is often the best type of food. 

Day three involved going for a drive down around Coles Bay for an explore. We headed to Bluestone Bay, which is accessible with a 4WD. There was a lovely little camp site just before heading down to the bay. I loved the vertical rock art we found on the rocky beach at Bluestone Bay.

We then headed to the Cape Tourville Lighthouse to take in the magnificent scenery. It was spectacular looking at Wineglass Bay from a different angle, surrounded by impressive cliff faces with caves scattered amongst them.

We spotted this lizard 🦎 

With the water looking so inviting, Mick decided it was time to head back to a location we had found earlier to go spearfishing. So off we went to Sleepy Bay day area. This was such a peaceful spot full of interesting geographical objects to look at. Mick went diving, while I went exploring. The temperature had hit 41degrees in the car, something that I have never seen on my temperature gauge before, so a swim for me was definitely on the cards. 

I went for a dip, but wasn’t overly keen on the cray grass touching me. I am known to freak out when something touches me in the water and I can’t see what it is. So I stayed vertical in a section of the ocean that had limited cray grass, and cooled off. 

Mick managed to get a crayfish and another fish when he went out spearfishing. So he was happy with his efforts. After a few hours we headed back to our campsite. We did stop off, on the way, to Seymour, and walk down to the bustling beach. The sand was so hot to walk on, I could feel my feet burning through my reef shoes. 

We went fishing off some rocks at Four Mile Creek that night and caught some fish. The rain started to fall from the sky cooling the air down to a manageable temperature. 

That night the rain got heavier and by morning my 6 year old tent had given up on me and leaked. Luckily not in the section we were sleeping, but the other section. 

The next morning we packed up in the rain and headed home. Our trip wasn’t over yet though. We stopped off at Gray Mares Tail Waterfall and Mathinna Waterfall. To read up on our walk at Mathinna Falls click here.

Mathinna Falls was my favourite.

Gray Mares Tail was a short 10 minute walk.

After exploring the two waterfalls, we jumped back in the car and continued along the gravel road, past the back of Ben Lomond and into Launceston. We had some lunch and then headed home. 

When I got home, I said good bye to my old tent and jumped online to purchase a new tent to take on our next camping adventure to Finders Island. We are heading over on the boat with the car and going camping in a few weeks. I am so excited.  

The East Coast has always been a favourite destination of mine since a young child. It’s a lovely place to visit and I highly recommend any of the camping spots along the coastal road. I love exploring places I haven’t been to before and so we made the most of this opportunity and discovered more of what is in Tasmania’s backyard.