Tasmania isn’t a holiday destination where you expect to encounter heatwaves, but we scored a scorcher on our trip to the Bay of Fires.

When we pulled into the carpark at a place called The Gardens, near the top of the Bay of Fires, it was around 43C.

The average temperature in Tasmania during summer is 24C. We’d been thinking we were heading south for a nice, cool change from the Sydney heat.

But parts of Tasmania during our visit had their hottest days on record. In the state’s north, a record of more than 100 years was broken.

Ironic, when we were exploring a place called The Bay of Fires. Too bloody right it was. The heat was blinding and getting to the beach involved trekking along a sizzling concrete path and across various orange-lichen-covered boulders and wild blackberry bushes. We were pretty scratched and sweaty when we finally got there.

But it was totally worth it – the water was brisk and very salty, but such a welcome respite from the white hot sand and sun. We had the most glorious dip, it was one of the highlights of our trip.

We were also blown away by how beautiful the beach was – so pristine and the water was the most gorgeous colour.

(Oh and its not named the Bay of Fires for the reason you might think – when it was first discovered Aboriginals had lit lots of fires in the bay, it had nothing to do with the orange rocks on the coastline.)

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After our swim we retreated to the nearby town of St Helen’s for oysters, fish tacos and Tasmanian cider at a lovely spot called Oyster Buoy. Perched over the river, Oyster Buoy is a little treasure that’s well worth visiting.

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Unfortunately for us, since St Helen’s isn’t used to heatwaves, there wasn’t even a ceiling fan to stir the air as we parched our way through lunch. Wow, did that icy cider taste goooooooooood.