OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Binalong Bay is a small coastal town in north-east Tasmania, situated at the southern end of the Bay of Fires. Originally a fishing hamlet, the town is now a village with a large proportion of holiday dwellings. It is 1 kilometres north of St Helens which is where we stayed for two nights. Binalong Bay is quite unique with turquoise-coloured ocean breaks and a beautiful white beach fringed with huge boulders draped with iconic orange lichen.

A short forty minute drive from St Helens provides easy access to two beautiful waterfalls - St Columba and Halls Falls. 

St Columba Falls is situated in St Columba Falls State Reserve and features beautiful forests and the cascading waters of the South George River that plunge over steep granite ledges. Surrounded by densely wooded hills, this reserve contains forests of tree ferns, sassafras, myrtles and beech, and provides a massive water catchment that flows year round. The area was prime habitat for Tasmanian Tigers, once Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial. A short walking track through the forest leads to a viewing platform at the base of the falls. The short walk through the forest is quite stunning with so many tree ferns before arriving at the waterfall. 

Halls Falls is only  a couple of kilometres down the road from St Columba Falls and is situated in Pyengana. The walking track, is a 90-minute return stroll through a dense forest of towering eucalyptus trees and centuries-old ferns to an historic weir built by timber workers in the late 19th century. The walk is along a well maintained track and becomes steeper closer to the waterfall. The lookout doesn't provide a particularly good view. A further five minute walk downhill to the river bank is well worth the effort as the view is quite spectacular. Although this is only a small waterfall, it is very pretty and one of the best I have seen! The region around Halls Falls pays tribute to Chinese Tin Miners that worked the area in the 1800's. 

Whilst in the area we visited the Pyengana Dairy Company farm and Holy Cow Cafe which is on St Columba Falls road. Pyengana is an Aboriginal word meaning the meeting of two rivers and the Pyengana Dairy Company sits in this lush river valley favoured by dairy farmers. The company is a working dairy farm and makes many types of cheeses which it sells to the public. Cheese tastings were being held when we were there and it was a delightful place to stop for a coffee or milkshake. On a farm just down the road, someone had left the gate open as we encountered many healthy looking cows wandering across the road!