Monday night as we climbed into our beds in the next caravan park, in the beautiful town of St. Helen’s, Jo asked, “Alright guys, what was the highlight of your day today?”. Theresa and I fell silent. Both of us obviously sorting through everything we did that day to see if we could pick out any one thing that was better than the next. There was no response. Simply put, I can’t imagine a better way to spend a day.
Up fairly early and out the door we started our day by driving straight to a chocolate factory for breakfast. After sampling everything from chocolate, vanilla, and butterscotch fudge, to milk, light, and dark chocolate we ordered breakfast. We sat in the garden as we waited for what we thought was going to be a chocolate croissant and a latte. When our plates arrived our eyes quickly became just as large as the plates in front of us.
A freshly made croissant, chocolate filled pastry, and a muffin all served with a generous portion of chocolate and hazelnut spread. After slowly enjoying our decadent breakfast and packing up that which we couldn’t finish we were off for a bit of a drive that would eventually take us to the wine route. As we pulled around a slow curve in the road I heard Jo yell out for Theresa and I to get our cameras. In the middle of the road directly in front of us was a massive heard of sheep. Getting out of the car to take some pictures of this I was quickly surrounded by what had to be over one hundred sheep.
Absolutely amazing. Continuing on we soon reached our first stop on the wine route, Tamar Valley Winery.
The wonderful lady working that day was so excited to hear about our chocolate breakfast that we gave her some of our extras as she poured us taste after taste of wonderful Tasmanian wine. Agreeing that the three of us enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc the best, we bought a bottle and sat in the garden next to the vineyards to soak up the sun for an hour as we sipped this beautiful wine on the very grounds it was grown and produced on.
It was hard, but somehow we managed to get through it. Leaving Tamar Valley we headed for Pipers Brook and Ninth Island Vineyard.
Passing through the front doors we all made a quick toilet stop before heading to the tasting room. I only mention the toilet stop because the signs indicating which sex the bathrooms were for had a picture of a man, woman, or handicapped holding a glass of wine. Classic.
Once in the tasting room we were again greeted by the most friendly staff who pleasantly guided us through each of the wines they had to offer. After the tasting was done we decided to stay for lunch.
Sitting outside in a beautiful courtyard we made our selections and paired it with one of the delicious wines we had just tasted. For me, Ocean Trout, seasoned with dill on toasted olive bread with tomatoes, kalamata olives, onion, feta, and a marvelous sauce.
Finished lunch with a beautiful espresso and we were on the road again. First stop was a beach just on the other side of a golf course in Bridport. Walking through the clubhouse we set out on a short walk through tall grass till we reached the top of small dunes. Reaching the top of the dunes the beach suddenly appeared in front of us. Absolutely stunning.
Without a word the three of us set out in opposite directions to explore the beach and find whatever it was we individually were looking for. Theresa taking off up the beach in search of shells, Jo heading down the beach, and me walking straight out to the water. As they collected shells I found a stick and began writing in the sand and getting my feet wet.
After sometime, probably thirty to forty minutes, we met back at the dunes, took a group photo, and continued on our way. We stopped in the town proper for a beer at the pub and again were on the road to St. Helens. Arriving at our destination we checked in and headed out for some dinner, ate, and headed back to the cabin. Talked for a bit and then climbed into our beds. Hopefully you now understand how futile it would be to say what the highlight of the day was. Didn’t matter though. Had to get some sleep for another beautiful day to come. Next day, Bay of Fires, Binalong Bay, Friendly Beaches, Bicheno Beach, and eventually Coles Bay to stay the night before the big hike to Wineglass bay.
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