Mayfield Bay Coastal Reserve is a conservation area south of Swansea on Tasmania’s east coast and a great spot to break your journey along the coast, unpack a picnic and get out your camera.

Mayfield Bay’s sandy beach and coastal area offers camping, fishing, swimming, surfing and diving, as well as wonderful views across Great Oyster Bay to Freycinet Peninsula. The reserve has shady trees and toilet facilities but you’ll need to bring your own drinking water and camping gear.

A little further north from Mayfield Bay is the convict-built Spiky Bridge. This unusual looking bridge was built in the 1840s by a convict road gang. The bridge was built from local fieldstone with stones placed vertically along the parapet, giving the bridge its spiky appearance. It’s been claimed that the spikes were designed to prevent cattle falling over the sides.

There are also interpretation signs with information about the nearby Rocky Hills Probation Outstation convict ruins. The reserve is a 15-minute drive from Swansea and one-and-a-half-hour drive from Hobart.