The ruins of the Johnstone family home at Half Moon Bay, near Bicheno.
THE Johnstone family camera holds the last photo of their Half Moon Bay home.
The picture, taken from the back verandah, looks over the dunes and across the Tasman Sea.
The next shot is of the family picking through the charred remains.
A shell of twisted steel, blackened rock and gnarled tin is all that is left of Peter and Jaana Johnstone's piece of paradise eight kilometres south of Bicheno.
The home they built 12 years ago was one of the five houses wiped off the map during the 4900-hectare bushfire that tore through the region last Friday night.
The couple's adult children, Nick and Lauren, were visiting from Melbourne on the day of the evacuation.
Eldest daughter Chelsea and grand- daughter Jazzara were also in Tasmania, but were away from the East Coast at the time of the fire.
All are staying at a friend's holiday home in Bicheno while they figure out their next move.
Mr Johnstone said that the generosity of the Bicheno community had carried them through the past five days.
"We have not wanted for anything," he said.
"They have given us food, clothes, a tab at the hotel - everything we have needed.
"To be honest, the community has been brilliant with everyone who lost their house."
There were five houses at Half Moon Bay, four belonging to full-time residents and one holiday shack, which could only be accessed by Harveys Farm Road or by boat from Bicheno.
The Johnstones travel between their homes in Tasmania and Melbourne throughout the year, spending about half the time in each state.
Mr Johnstone said the community was small and tight-knit.
"There are generations of kids who have spent time in Half Moon together. It's that kind of place," he said.
The Johnstones are no strangers to fire.
Their home at Half Moon Bay avoided destruction during a bushfire in 2004, while their home in Whittlesea was also spared during the Black Saturday fires in Victoria in 2009.