4 - 9 March - Strahan to Wagga Wagga

 Monday 4 March
Strahan – Wynyard

I left in sunshine with a clear blue sky at 12C.  I decided to ride to Zeehan

and then back towards Queenstown before taking the B28, Anthony Road, to Tullah.  This road was highly recommended as one of Australia’s top 100 rides.  The road before this was fine, particularly the stretch of the A10 after Zeehan through the Dundas Regional Reserve heading south east.

The scent/aroma coming from the woodland was wonderful.  The undulating road twisted and turned with little traffic.  The Anthony Road was something else.  Wonderful bends passing several lakes and all with a mountain panorama in the background.  

The temperature dropped again to 12C and my hands were suffering from the cold.  I had a pair of lightly insulated waterproof gloves in addition to my light summer gloves but they are not sufficiently warm for that temperature.  I stopped at Tullah for coffee and fell into conversation with the husband and wife proprietors who had owned the café for two years.  I remarked at their opening hours of 0530 to 1500. Apparently they open at that time to serve the shift workers at the local hydro electricity generating plants and the mines.  This helps to support the business during the lean winter tourist season.  The husband is employed in a local mine working shifts of 7 days on/7 days off allowing him to help his wife on alternate weeks.  It appears that local communities are shrinking as younger people leave for the north coast and Hobart.  As a result schools have closed and their daughter has to attend a secondary school on the north coast and stays with her grandmother during the week.  (I enjoy speaking to people about their life in different areas.) I rode on towards Cable Mountain.  I stopped to walk up a stony track to a lookout, tripped on a big rock and ended up in a ditch.  There was an Asian family close by and one of the men ran over to help me up.  No injury or ill effects, just embarrassment and a bruised ego.

I entered Cradle Mountain National Park but was unable to go beyond the visitors’ centre where one had to board a shuttle bus to the mountain.  There were several hundred cars, camper vans etc in the car park so, again, because of my dislike of crowds I returned to Cable Mountain Road and headed east to gradually work my way to the north coast and on to my destination of Wynyard.  The road was very entertaining with changeable terrain – moorland, light bush, forest and downland.  At one stage it felt like riding through the New Forest at home.  I stopped at a couple of lakes. 

Many lakes in Tasmania have been formed as a result of dams built for hydro electric schemes.  Indeed, the Gordon River was threatened with flooding in the 1970s to form a lake for electricity generation but was saved following public outcry and active demonstrations.  I came across a vintage motorcycle rally and rode with several of the bikes for a while.

There were many old British bikes and when I stopped for petrol an old BSA Gold Star rider asked me to help him put it on the centre stand.  The lug on the stand had broken off.  He explained that he had only recently welded it on but that clearly his welding skills were wanting!    I followed the old coast road to Burnie

and then on to Wynyard where I was booked into the Wharf Hotel, an old traditional hotel/pub/bistro.  It had advertised secure parking for motorcycles and I was directed to a pair of white wooden doors in an alley at the back which were opened by the receptionist.  This gave me access to a fair sized theatre auditorium in which to park the bike.  It has never had such a grand parking area.

It appears that this theatre is used regularly by the community, thankfully not for the period my bike was in there.

I ate in the hotel and was again tempted by the flake but it was disappointingly not as good, or as plentiful, as in Strahan.

296kms travelled.

 

Tuesday 5 March

Wynyard

Wynyard was a nice little town with some attractions within walking distance.

Following a relaxed start I walked the short distance into the town centre and had a pretentious breakfast – poached eggs, avocado, sourdough toast, kimchi and rocket.  I walked to The Wonders of Wynyard exhibition, a very modest interactive history album, at the information centre to which was attached a hall with a display of motor vehicles from the early 20th century. 

The collection was compiled by a local electrical appliance retailer/maintainer who, when he gave up fast power boat racing (he was Australian champion a couple of times), began to restore old motorcycles and subsequently cars.  It includes the equal oldest Ford in the world.  I walked to Fossil Bay and wandered along the beach beneath the impressive Fossil Bluff with good views along the coast. 

I had bought some blueberries in town and enjoyed eating them sitting on a rock gazing at the sea.  By the time I returned to the hotel it was beer o’clock and as I was unable to get an internet connection in my room I checked emails etc over a schooner of Boag’s Draught.

 

Wednesday 6 March

Wynyard – Devonport

A glorious sunny day and 19C.  I rode immediately to the Table Cape Lookout to view and photograph the coast in the bright early daylight.

I then took a scenic backroad heading west.  I stopped to take a photograph and had a chat with an elderly couple with a caravan.

They had travelled from Strahan on the unsealed Wild West Coast Road, the one I had wanted to ride but was dissuaded from doing so by locals in Strahan who had told me that it would be muddy and unrideable following the recent rains.  Apparently it was as dry as a bone!  He pointed out the haze to the west explaining that it was smoke from a bushfire.  I joined the main highway to continue west and on spotting a sign for Lead Boomerang, a glazing company it seems, I was reminded I was intending to buy some gifts for my grandchildren in the Wynyard information centre.  I was less than 20kms away so I turned back, bought the gifts and had a good breakfast in a less pretentious café.  As I continued west on the Bass Highway, with several diversions following TomTom’s winding route, between Crayfish Creek and Port Latte east of Smithton I rode through the remnants of a bushfire with active firefighting still in progress.

There had been several bushfires in the area over previous days but this one had burned out and whilst still smouldering was being worked by the fire service.  Fortunately, there was a southerly wind which had blown the danger to the coast.  I was heading to Marrawah, the ‘town’ at the end of the Bass Highway on the west coast.  My paper map showed a fuel symbol next to the place name but my TomTom had no fuel indicator there so I topped up at Smithton.  In the event Marrawah turned out to be more of a hamlet with just a few houses but with a general store with a couple of fuel pumps outside.

I stopped at the Marrawah Inn for coffee and, surprisingly for such an isolated location, their Bull Bistro was busy with lunch being served.

I rode on to Arthur River through attractive coastal countryside, often with views of the ocean, with a combination of bush, woodland and heathland.

There were numerous signs warning to be on the lookout for Tasmanian devils on the road though I saw none.

If the vehicles don’t get them the shotgun will!

I turned east at Couta Rocks and passed the end of the aforementioned unsealed Western Explorer Road.  I turned off following a sign to the Sumac Lookout

and discovered a fantastic 40kms long winding, twisting, undulating road through the Trowutta Reserve

There was virtually no traffic and apart from having to avoid a number of fallen trees in the road the ride was sublime.  I had ridden a large circuit and I refuelled again in Smithton before heading east to Devonport and my ferry.

For my grandson, Stanley

Boarding was due to commence at 1900.  I arrived at 1830 and had a two hours wait on the jetty before boarding.  Clearly there had been a problem which caused the delay but, as usual in such situations, there was no communication from ferry staff.  I had a long conversation with an elderly guy riding a Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650.  He and his wife had arrived a week before, riding separate bikes, to tour for a fortnight.  She hadn’t realised that the ferry crew fixed a strong rubber band around the brake lever and she had a nasty fall when disembarking.  She broke several ribs and a wrist and ended up in hospital.  After a couple of days she was discharged and they hired a car for a mini tour.  I also spoke to some people who were bemoaning the fact that there was no facility for buying refreshments in the locale.  This led on to a general conversation about the early closing hours of cafes in Australia.  They seemed to think this was a modern trend and that they had remained open later in the past.   I had remarked that as an Englishman I was disappointed that most cafes were closed by 1500 thereby depriving me of my afternoon tea!   We embarked eventually

and I had a roast pork dinner and retired to my cabin where I had a fitful night’s sleep.

423kms travelled.

 

Thursday 7 March

Geelong – Portland

We disembarked at 0730 at 19C.  My original intention was to head east crossing Port Phillip Bay by ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento, as I had done in 2023, to ride the Great Alpine Road through the Alpine National Park.  However, having been told in Strahan by the guy from Apollo Bay who waxed lyrical about the great road through the Grampians I decided to head west along the Great Ocean Road.

I had ridden it from west to east on 2023 but the weather had been atrocious and I saw very little of the reputed spectacular views.  Although it was overcast it was dry.  Being very close to Melbourne the traffic was quite heavy until I reached Torquay, and it had become even lighter by Anglesea.  The sun appeared and I enjoyed a good ride along the coast.

I was able to see the twelve apostles in sunshine rather than the rainy gloom of last year.

As I rejoined the road from the car park I noticed that the bag from the right of the tank had flopped down.  I stopped to discover that it had rested against the exhaust pipe which had melted the material, and the plastic water bottle inside, to leave a gaping hole in the bag.  I refixed the bag, redistributed some of the contents and stuffed the hole with a plastic bag.  The bags had served me well for 45,000kms through some testing conditions but I was disappointed for that one to suffer such an ignominious fate!  There was quite a lot of tourist traffic until Apollo Bay, I assume because that section follows the coast quite closely, but thereafter there was little to curb enthusiastic riding until Warrnambool where I joined the Princes Highway to Portland.  

My motel was close to the Royal Hotel where I hydrated and enjoyed a good steak.

380kms travelled.

 

Friday 8 March

Portland – Maryborough

Yet again it was 19C when I departed, but for the first time with dew on the bike.  I headed north for the Grampians National Park via back country roads rather than the Henty Highway.  Gone were the hills I had been enjoying for the past 3+ weeks.  I was in flat farming country with little in the way of interesting terrain.  After several hours I spotted hills in the distance and stopped first at the southern end of the Grampians, Mount Sturgeon.  

The road north, initially through the Serra Range, was relatively straight with a few sweeping bends.

When entering the Grampians proper it became a little twistier but again with sweeping bends rather than tight hairpins.  

Note smudge on right - bug splat on GoPro lens unnoticed until helmet removal!

The scenery at either side was quite spectacular and I suppose that as the road was not that demanding I was able to admire it more.  I stopped at Lake Bellfield, another lake formed after construction of a dam

and arrived in Hall’s Gap which appeared to be centred on activities in the hills, chiefly hiking and mountain biking.   Not long after leaving the Grampians I entered the Pyrenees,

another wine growing area.  It does feel strange encountering these names which remind me so much of Europe, although clearly quite different in character.  Following refuelling I made my way to Maryborough via Stawell, established during gold rush days and still a centre of gold mining in the area.  As the day progressed so the temperature had steadily risen and it had reached 36C by journey’s end.  After the customary shower etc I walked the 2kms into town

where I found two hotels, one which had closed,

another with just a wine bar

and I ended up in the Maryborough Highland Society where there were three bars, a massive restaurant, an enormous gaming machines (pokies) room and a bowling green.

Piper made from bits of farm machinery/equipment

I enjoyed a schooner of cold beer for the very reasonable sum of $6.50, roughly 2/3 of the normal pub price.  I didn’t hear one Scottish accent though!   Despite the temptation to take advantage of the cheap beer, being ravenous, and because of the painful final moments of the final England v India test match being displayed on several screens, I left for a tasty Thai dinner.

318kms travelled.

 

Saturday 9 March

Maryborough – Wagga Wagga

Another lovely bright start at 21C.  I refuelled and headed into the countryside again travelling backroads to avoid the highways and associated traffic.  Although quite narrow the surface of these roads is generally pretty good and of course it is easier to admire the scenery.  In Victoria in particular where the maximum speed limit no matter the class of road is 100kph these roads are no slower than the highways.  I was riding in the shadow of some woodland

when a kangaroo appeared running/jumping/leaping along the verge parallel to the road.  It was prevented from getting to the woods by a wire fence.  I slowed down and fortunately passed without it running in front of me.  A short time later I saw an emu, another animal with the reputation of randomly running in front of vehicles, again close to the road but luckily on the other side of the roadside fence.    There were also a number of rabbits hopping across the road at this time.  It really reinforced the feelgood factor of riding in the countryside.  I came across a Lutheran church in Tabor with impeccably maintained grounds and graveyard, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

I rode in, parked up and had a look around.  I spotted a men’s lavatory and being of an age where one never passes an open toilet I made use of the facility.

I heard organ music coming from inside the church so entered to find an organist practicing.  

Like the exterior the interior was immaculate and clearly was used regularly.

I noticed that many of the names on the gravestones were of Germanic origin.  I joined the Midland Northern Highway at Bendigo (a very attractive town) to Rochester where I again took to the back roads for the final leg to Wagga.

It was a day of straight roads over a flat landscape. But was good to back with my daughter and her family.

487kms travelled.

 

4,521kms in total travelled on the tour.

 

Reflections:

 

I don’t believe there is a straight, or flat, road in Tasmania.(P.S. I now understand that sections of the Midland Highway running from Launceston to Hobart have reasonably straight sections.)

It is pretty green and reminded me of Europe in many respects, except for the different tree species.

It is a lot smaller than I, and many others apparently, appreciated.  For example, it is possible to drive from Devonport in the north to Hobart in the south, a distance of only 175 miles in less than 4 hours.  There is a good network of roads, except in the centre and much of the west, to occupy the visitor.

It is a particularly popular destination for motorcyclists and drivers to test their cornering skills.  (Over several days and on the return ferry I saw a large number of Porsche cars which were taking part in a week long rally of the marque.)

I have never seen a place with so many distilleries!

The Himalayan returned an average of 89mpg.  On a day riding against a very strong headwind and travelling at speed consumption rose to 74mpg.

Australian Roads

The extensive Australian road network includes both sealed and unsealed roads.  The construction of roads here appears to be quite different from the U.K., I suspect because, in the majority of cases, they do not have to contend with the range of temperatures experienced in the U.K..  The asphalt surface appears to be quite thin on top of packed earth with some form of stabiliser added.  The main threat is from water and therefore over-banding is the order of the day.  Not a problem, until it rains!

Awaiting asphalt surface.

My Riding Environment