Wednesday 21 February
Beaumaris.
I was awoken in the early hours by the sounds of heavy rain and thunder. Torrential rain continued well into daylight and at about 0930, soon after looking out from my door where I saw inches deep water, I noticed water running in from underneath the door.
I swiftly grabbed a bathtowel to dam the flow but not before an ingress of water and plant debris. A minute or two later and the room would have been flooded. A little later, at about 1015, there was a knock on my door and a girl asked if I was OK and if I needed anything. I asked for milk for hot drinks and she offered to bring a bacon and egg roll which I readily accepted. The milk arrived shortly afterwards followed an hour later by the roll. I had bought yoghurt and blueberries before arrival the day before so had eaten that for breakfast. 5 or 6 people spent the morning trying to drain the water outside by cutting channels in concrete with an angle grinder and using a mini JCB and a water pump. It appeared that the main block had been flooded too and the bar area was full of equipment and furniture from the owner’s accommodation – no food or drinks would be available that night. The rain stopped at about midday and there was evidence of flooding elsewhere, including on the beach opposite where a small creek had become a torrent as the rain water drained into the sea.
Later I rode to the local supermarket and bought a microwave meal for the evening. I discovered that the ‘storm’ had been very localised being confined to a strip of only about 20 kilometres and the volume of rain was the most that had ever been recorded in the area – it even featured on the national news. I spent some time planning my itinerary for the next couple of weeks.
Thursday 22 February
Beaumaris – Bicheno
Although it’s only 62kms from Beaumaris to Bicheno I travelled inland to ride a loop taking in some hills. My first encounter was St Mary’s Pass, a superb road climbing through St Mary’s State Reserve and passing St Patrick’s Head before crossing the Fingal Tier to the Midland Highway, the road that bisects the island running from Launceston in the north to Hobart in the south. After a short stretch of this road to Campbell Town, where I stopped for coffee and a bacon, egg and tomato pie, I turned to return to the coast via Lake Leake.
I reached the coast in the early afternoon and arrived in Bicheno before 1330 so I continued heading north and almost reached Beaumaris, the day’s starting point.
I rode St Mary’s Pass again, refuelled in St Mary’s and then rode the Elephant Pass Road to regain the coast. On reaching Bicheno again I investigated the area and discovered the Lobster Shack, a seafood restaurant about which I had read some complimentary reviews.
After settling into my motel room I walked the 2.2kms to the Lobster Shack situated on the waterfront opposite a little island which is a tern breeding ground. Although I enjoyed half a lobster, chips and salad and a glass of wine I was a little disappointed.
It appears to have been taken over by a Chinese firm and it has lost any ambience it may have had and is now merely a glorified fish and chip shop. It was originally owned by a brother and sister team, the brother, a fisherman, catching fish etc while the sister ran the restaurant. It is now a typical charmless eatery staffed by brusque, unsmiling people. I had a leisurely walk back to my motel against the strong wind which had been a feature of the day.
323kms travelled.
Friday 23 February
Bicheno – Triabunna
After leaving the motel I rode the short distance to East Coast Natureworld, ostensibly to get close to a Tasmanian devil.
I walked by an enclosure with a small tree in the middle which was labelled as containing snakes. I looked hard at the ground but saw no snake. As I was moving on I glanced up and in the tree moving around the branches was a fairly large Tasmanian Tiger Snake.
So now, as well as surveying the ground when walking through the bush I need to look up too!!!
I left there at about 1100 and made my way to Coles Bay which sits at the end of the peninsula in Freycinet National Park.
I pulled into the car park of a coffee shop adjacent to a pub and saw two Himalayans with South Australia registration plates. When I finished my coffee I went to the pub garden and approached a young couple who clearly had motorcycle jackets beside them. They were in their late twenties/early thirties and had bought the bikes second hand in Adelaide two months previously. It was the girl’s first bike and she had been riding only since purchasing it. Apparently she had dropped it twice on the first day of ownership but I admired her fortitude in riding a tour after such limited experience.
Having investigated the area and deciding not to buy a park permit for such a short period I retraced my route to the main road. There are about 650 national parks in Australia, the most of any country in the world. Most require a vehicle entry fee, some also require a fee from people entering on foot. I reached my accommodation in Triabunna just after 1530 and did some much needed laundry in a complimentary washing machine. Sadly there was no drier or clothes line so I rigged a line (I carry a length of paracord) on the fence at the back of the block and pegged out my laundry, much to the interest of the sheep in the adjacent field.
(I forgot to record my finishing mileage!!)
Saturday 24 February
Maria Island
I had booked a trip to Maria Island, home to the World Heritage-listed convict probation site of Darlington. It has seen convicts, an ill-fated industrial enterprise, and is today home to some of the most visible and plentiful wildlife in Australia. Wombats wander among wallabies, Forest kangaroos, cape Barren geese and Tasmanian devils. Walking and cycling are the only ways of getting around the car free island. I caught the 0830 ferry for the 30 minutes crossing of Spring Bay and on arrival I investigated the old buildings in Darlington before picking up my hire bike.
I hadn’t appreciated how hilly is the island! I cycled to the old Oast House
and as I was cycling through some woodland towards the Painted Cliffs I spotted a wombat with her young. I had seen a couple of wombats around Darlington, and at Natureworld of course, but seeing these in a more natural environment appeared more special. I approached them very slowly and stood motionless for some time as the mother continued to graze, gradually approaching my spot. Amazing.
Whilst there a pademelon came by.
The beach and Painted Cliffs, which are accessible only two hours each side of low tide, were interesting with fascinating details of rock strata as a result of erosion. I ate lunch, which I had purchased before boarding the ferry in Triabunna as there are no shops on the island, whilst relaxing on the beach.
I visited several other locations before returning the bike and catching the last ferry back to the mainland at 1615.
I had a disappointing Waldorf salad for dinner.
Sunday 25 February
Triabunna – Hobart
I continued riding south towards the Forestier and Tasman Peninsulas. I was heading for Port Arthur, the site of Australia’s most famous convict settlement.
My intention was to spend one of the following two days visiting it. However, on arrival I saw a large number of tourist coaches and enormous car parks full of vehicles. I hate crowds and decided to forego a visit and find other things to fill my days whilst in Hobart.
Monday 26 February
Hobart
I walked the 2 miles downhill into Hobart centre via Elizabeth Street, the restaurant area of the city. I noticed that there were restaurants serving food from all over the world, but none advertising Australian cuisine. However, on the waterfront there were a number of eateries offering seafood. I called into the tourist office and booked a tour to Bruny Island the following day. It was scheduled to depart at 0720 from the tourist office so I booked a taxi for the journey down given the early hour and my aversion to waking early. I spent several hours in the Maritime Museum before walking the waterfront.
There was an large cruise ship alongside and I was interested to see an enormous screen on the top deck which appeared to be showing a movie.
I had an early dinner of Japanese curry on the walk uphill back to my accommodation.
Tuesday 27 February
Bruny Island
I was collected by taxi driven by Fred, an outspoken 79 year old born locally and a proud “Hobartian”. Following a 30 minutes minibus drive to Kettering we boarded the ferry for Bruny Island. Our driver/guide was a woman in her early thirties, Jodie from Hervey Bay in Queensland, and she provided a good commentary throughout. Bruny Island comprises two land masses connected by an isthmus, the Neck. The island is known for its oysters, cheese, honey, whisky and chocolate. It is roughly the size of Singapore but with a permanent population of 800 compared to Singapore’s 6 million. After landing the first stop was at Get Shucked where I bought 6 oysters to be consumed later (the minibus had a cool box). During the day we stopped at a honey producer, a chocolate maker and a cheese/bread/beer producer (I sampled honey and cheese but purchased none). We stopped at the Truganini Lookout (named after an indigenous woman with a tragic story from the 19th century) overlooking the Neck,
Adventure Bay beach where I ate my oysters (so fresh and the best I have eaten, bar those eaten directly after picking from the rocks), a walk through a forest, where we came across a pademelon which allowed photos,
a visit and walk up to the old lighthouse at Cape Bruny,
and a brief stop to look at the colourful waters of Oyster Lagoon.
We stopped for lunch at Hotel Bruny where I had a delicious seafood chowder (bit of a theme here). There were 13 of us on the tour and I had good conversation with several in particular a mature Dutch couple, a young German chap who worked for BMW in Munich , a Japanese girl who was returning home shortly afterwards having spent 18 months in Australia and a Vietnamese guy who had spent a year in Sydney as a student 10 years previously. A real eclectic mix. We returned to Hobart at 1730 and I walked back to my room for a supper of the leftovers from Sunday. A really good day and very good value.
Wednesday 28 February
Hobart - Strathgordon
I left Hobart in lovely sunny weather. The forecast suggested it would be raining in the west. A pleasant ride to the turnoff to Strathgordon where I refuelled. This is the only road in and out and I was lead to believe that there was no fuel available further on so I thought it wise to start with a full tank. The road through the Southwest National Park, part of the so called Tasmania Wilderness, was immense and I made numerous stops to take photographs.
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I also used the GoPro quite a lot. I rode past the Pedder Wilderness Lodge, my accommodation for the next two nights, to the Gordon Dam and worked up a sweat walking down and then back up the steps from the viewpoint to the dam walkway.
The sun continued to shine and the sky remained blue until about 1500 when clouds began to arrive. I rode back to the Lodge, the old accommodation for the dam construction workers in the early 70s which has been converted into very comfortable hotel accommodation, past some beehives (a common site on the roadside in parts of Australia).
I was given my room key but I discovered that it hadn’t been serviced after the previous occupant so whilst waiting for this to be done I had a coffee and started to unload the bike. As I did it started to drizzle. The room was very comfortable, if not overly large, with a great view of the lake.
I had dinner (pulled lamb with roasted vegetables) following a complimentary pint of beer (because of the delay in my room being ready).
183kms travelled.
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