Coles Bay to Launceston

I headed up the coast from Coles Bay.

Bicheno

I stopped in  Bicheno.  This a bit of a sorry place.

It is one of the Tasmanian towns that has signs up saying “Free Wi Fi”.  I decided to definitely find the service in this town as I had not been able to find such services in other towns.  As it turns out the WiFi ‘Hot Spot’ in Bichino is an open space opposite the shops.  There is no place to sit.  In the middle of the day, unless you are in a car, you can’t see your computer screen very well because of the glare.  Also, you can’t download or upload files using the service.  All it is good for is reading emails and simple web sites.  It is free and close to useless.

Iron House Brewery

I was pleased to leave Bicheno and continued north.  I had brief stop at Iron House Brewery.  This part of the Whites Sands Resort – example of a ‘high end’ tourist development.

http://www.white-sands.com.au/

St Helens

I continued on to St Helens and checked into the local Backpackers.  It was packed.  There were a group of cyclists on an organised tour.  One of the recognised me – he still works for the Dept of Finance and Services.

The owner of the hostel was keen to chat.  He told me that he had been in the town for over ten years, but was still seen as an outsider.  He confirmed the issue of which  I had become acutely aware – the dual nature of tourism and other industries  in Tasmania.  There are those that want to move head providing high value, high margin products and services such as quality wine and cheese, craft beers etc. and ‘eco’ experiences.  On the over side there a lot of Tasmanians that want to return to 196o’s and see only way a head is to cut down trees and dig up mineral.  These people don’t want tourists in their state.

One very telling point the bloke made was that he had given up on employing locals. He said that “anyone with any brains  had left the place”.  Those that were left simply did not have ability to perform task he required e.g. operate a computer, handle money and speak with his quests.  He only employs itinerant backpackers, preferably from Europe.

Bay of fires and Over the Hill to Weldborough

In the morning I took a brief detour to the Bay of Fires.  The sand is white, the water blue and rocks red.  All very nice, but I must say by this stage all the beaches had started to look the same.

I headed west towards Weldborough.

I took a back road which provides a bit of a short cut compared to the main road.  The country was beautiful, but the ride was rough – dirt and steep.

Ales and Triumphs

It was late when I finally made it into Weldborough.  This place essentially only consists of the pub and about 20 houses.

The owner of the pub has decided to specialise in craft beers.  The place has also become a favourite  stopover for ‘sophisticated’ bikers.  There was group of Truimph riders the night I was there.

I pitched my tent in the paddock behind that pub.  The showers were basic but clean

Bridport

The ride to Bridport the next was nothing to write about.

I stayed in the camping ground at the water’s edge.  Not a bad spot.

Awful ride to Georgetown

Next day I head to Georgetown which close to mouth of the Tamar River.

It turned out to be a horrible stretch of road, with lots of trucks travelling both directions a narrow, if any verge. Several times I was forced off the road.

I decided that when I got to Georgetown, I take the bus to Launceston.

Launceston

I ended up having to stay the night in Georgetown.  In the morning I rode out to Low Head before heading back to catch the bus.

Launceston

I took the opportunity to check out the Carraract Gorge the afternoon I arrive in Launceston.  I was a pity it was so smokey

The next day I flew to Canberra via Melbourne.

 

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjUxQ6XK

Garmin Links

Coles Bay to Bicheno

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510351

 

Bicheno to St Helens

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510371

St Helens to Weldborough

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510390

Weldborough to Bridport

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510416

Bridport to Georgetown

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510433

 

Port Arthur to Coles Bay Tasmania

I decided to take the bus south from Hobart to Port Arthur.  This because there is essentially only one road and I hate riding over the same roads twice.

I checked into the camping ground and headed off for a meal in a mock English Pub.  I had mu laptop set up on the table.  After the main course I left the restaurant to get a charger that I had left in the pannier on my bike.  One of the staff came running after me and said “you can’t leave without paying”.  I asked him to follow me back to my table.  My laptop and camera were on the table. I asked him did he “really think I was trying to leave without paying?”.  He simply walked off.

A father and daughter couple sitting next to me witnessed that above encounter.  They told me that they were locals.  They also said there is no limit what to expect in this part of the world.

Tasman Island

Next day I booked on a boat tour from Port Arthur to Pirates Beach via Tasman Island.

This was fantastic.  Check out the photos they tell it all.

Tour of Port Arthur

Of course being in Port Arthur I had to do a tour of the old prison.  That is a grim place place on two counts – the convict history and the massacre.

Just of the massacre, I must say that John Howard has to admired for standing up the gun lobby and strengthening gun control and  initiating the gun ‘buy back’.  It is a pity something similar can’t be done in the USA.

Ride to Dunnelly

After seeing Port Arthur, I took the short ride to Dunnelly.  That is a really small place.  The pub allows you to camp in the adjoining vacant block of land.  It is really basic with no facilties.

Tough ride from Dunalley to Triabunna

The ride north was tough.  I took the back road, which was mainly dirt.  I was quite wet and hard going.

Just before Triabunna, I stopped for a coffee in a café.  There was a GS 1200 BMW Adventure bike in the car park.

Tall Lady on BMW

After ordering my coffee I sat down near a couple who were obviously on the bike.  We had a chat about the bike and other things.  The woman was very attractive – much like Megan Gale.  Part way through the conversation she stood up and went out to the bike.

An older women sitting nearby commented: “your wife is very tall”.  The bloke responded: “yes she is 6’ 2” in old money and she is my second wife.  The first one was too short”.

The woman returned and they them both left to get on the bike.  He was a good 6”s taller than her.  When they got on the bike, they made it look like a Postman’s scouter.

Triabunna

I head up the coast to Triabunna and check into the caravan park.  I ended up sharing the ‘backpackers’ cabin with a fellow cyclist – a woman form Germany.

Day on Maria Island

The next day I joined the German Lady on a trip to Maria Island which is located about 20 klms to the east of Triabunna.

The island has an interest history.  At one stage it was settled by an Italian and his family. It tried to establish a wine growing business. It wasn’t successful.  The island is now a National Park.

Swansea

I continued up the coast stopping at Swansea, before heading across to Coles Bay.

Coles Bay

Coles Bay is famous for the Hazzards (rocky mountains) and Wineglass Bay.  The late is thought to one of the most picturesque beaches on the planet.  Check out the photos and you be the judge.

I stayed in the YHA in Coles Bay.  I will never forget the stay for two reasons.  The first was that early in the morning the place was flooded by a torrential downpour.  The water rush down the hill right through the hostel and down into the shops and tavern below.  It took hours for the staff to clear water with the assistance of local fishermen with bilge pumps.  The second reason was the presence of a young Argentine girl.  She can only be described as unnecessarily attractive.  Her and her husband want to stay in Australia.  He would have to be be one of the most privileged blokes on the planet.

Flickr Links

Tasman Island and Port Arthur

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjTXeY6A

Maria Island

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjSx7kfg

Coles Bay

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjSQnmv2

Garmin Links

Dunnalley to Triabunna

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510242

Maria Island

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510254

Triabuuna to Swansea

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510273

Swansea to Coles Bay

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510300

Wineglass Bay Walk

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/458510323

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hobart

I stayed in Montgomery’s Hotel/Hostel in Hobart’s CBD.  It is close to Constitutional Dock and Salamanca Place.

Hobart is physically quite an attractive place.  Mt Wellington towers over the city and the river/harbour is quite spectacular.   The dock and Salamanca Place area have some interesting old buildings and cafes and bars.  The rest of the place is a bit naff to say the least.

Bruny Island

On the second day I decided to take a tour to Bruny Island which is to south of the city.  It is known for its beaches, lighthouse and food – including cheese, whiskey and seafood.  The tour was on a small mini-bus.  The others on the tour were all ‘mainlanders’ .  As always you end up chatting to others on such a tour.

A couple from Perth were particularly interesting.  He was a South African that been in Perth for over 20 years, working in the mining industry.  He had some interesting comment to make about the opposition to the Mining Tax.  In short he thinks that the absolution of the tax is the greatest rip-off of the Australian taxpayer.  He also thinks that the WA economy will be hugely impacted when the construction work related the latest mining boom comes to an end.  Apparently the lastest mines are so mechanized that they hardly need anyone to operate them.

The scenery on the island is pretty good.  Check out the photos.

MONA

The next day I took the ferry to the Museum of Old and New Art  (MONA).  This is a must see.  Check the URL and the link to piece about its founder and owner.

https://www.mona.net.au/

http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2010/december/1360112582/amanda-lohrey/high-priest

The best exhibit was a sculpture of the digestive system.  At the end there is pile of the what comes out of humans.  It smells appropriately.

Monday was Hobart Cup Day.  I spent the day in town, including a late lunch in Salamanca Place.  Apparently the races were called off due to storm.  A lot of the patrons ended up in the restaurants in Salamanca Place.

The next day a spent some time wandering around the inner city area including a visit to the Wrest Point Casino.  This was that first legal casino in Australia.  It is a seriously depressing place.

Old Hut and Old Ship

I also checked out the replica of Douglas Mawson’s Hut.  That is well worth a visit.

I also took the opportunity to board the HMAS Trobuk which was in town.  I last saw that ship when I was working for Foreign Affairs.  I was on a trip through the South Pacific in May 1986 when Cyclone Namu hit the Solomon Islands.  HMAS Trobuk was part of the Australian disaster relief effort.  It provided supplies and actually powered Honiara until the generators of the island could be restored.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Namu

Up and Down Mt Wellington

I could not be in Hobart and not ride up Mt Wellington.  I did that on my last day.  Check out the Garmin link and the photos.

Garmin Link

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/443700983

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjRXdLtX

East to Hobart

I was pleased to leave Strahan.  This is a pity because I had high expectations of the place.

It is relatively short ride to Queenstown, albeit there is a bit of a climb. It was hot and the newly tarmac road did not make for a pleasant ride.

Queenstown

As you approach Queenstown you can see the devastation that the mining has caused. There are a number factors.  The first was the impact of the mine itself, with the resulting slag heaps.  The next issue was the felling of the trees within the vicinity.  The trees were cut down to provide fuel for the smelter that processed the ore.  The fumes of the smelter were toxic and killed most of the remaining vegetation and regrowth.  Finally, because the vegetation had disappeared, there was nothing to hold the soil and it was washed away by the torrential rainfall that is feature of the area.

The result of the above was a severely scarred landscape, of bare clay and rock.  Albeit, there has been some re-vegetation the landscape continues to be severely scared.

Once in town, I looked for the camping ground.  The route to the ground took me over the river.  It is a bright orange colour, and doubtless lifeless. What a mess. Checkout  the photos.

At the reception I asked if there grass where the tent area was, as  it appeared that the camping ground was all gravel.  I was assured that there was grass.  I made way along the path to the tent area.  There was a tiny sliver of grass along the fence.  A tent was pitched up against the tent and two bikes were nearby.

As I pitched my tent the owners of the bikes arrived.  They turned out to be a couple from Luzern in Switzerland.  They too were somewhat disappointed with the ‘grass’ or rather lack of it.  We had a quite a long chat about our experiences on the road.  They were shocked by the narrowness of the roads in Tasmania and the size of the trucks.  They told me that they thought it was “very dangerous” and would not recommend touring Tasmania by bicycle to any of their friends.

I headed into town for a meal at one of the pubs.  It wasn’t a bad meal.

Ride to Derwent  Bridge

As I rode out of Queenstown, the place looked more derelict than ever.

The road leads up the mountain above the town.  From the bottom it looks like a daunting ride.  Surprisingly, the gradient is not too bad as the road zig zigs around the contours of the ridges.

As I reached the top of mountain, the air became thick with smoke.  I had heard that a major fire had been through the country between Queenstown and Derwent Bridge.  It appeared that they were still going.

As I rode on, I was passed by lots of Harley Davidsons, obviously part of the HOG ride, I had come across in Strathan.  They are seriously noisy bikes.

The weather got hotter and hotter as I progressed.  How was it that on the two toughest climbing days of the trip, the temperature was over 35 degrees????  One saving grace was that there were plenty of opportunities to get water from the pristine streams that cross the road.

At one point I came across an area of bush that had recently been burnt by the bushfire.  The trees were still smoldering and the air was thick with acrid smoke.  Again, have a lot at the photos.

Derwent Bridge

It was quite late when I finally made it into Derwent Bridge.  There is very little in Derwent Bridge apart from a hotel.  This place has some really basic accommodation.   That was all I needed.

I ordered a meal and had a long one-sided conversation with the owner who complained about tourist numbers being down, the Tasmania Government, the Carbon Tax (he was unable to explain how that had an adverse impact on his business given his electricity was hydo-power) and a litany of other issues.

In the morning, I rode the 5 or so  klms to Lake St Clair.  It is another beautiful spot.

On the way back to Derwent Bridge I noticed a snake on the side of the road.  I had seen lots of dead snake on the trip so far.  They obviously like to warn themselves on the hot road surface.  Unfortunately for them, the drivers of cars and trucks are happy to run them over.

I though the snake on side road was probably dead given there was a lot of flies about.  I also thought I would make a good photo it appear to have been only recently killed and was not quashed.  I circled back to take a photo.  As I approached, it started to slither ahead of me.  I immediately turn around and peddled as fast as I could.  I was a Tiger Snake.  As many readers would know, if you get bitten by a Tiger snake, you can kiss your arse goodbye unless you are within minutes of getting antivenin.

It would be really good to do the Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair walk.

Tarraleah

After Lake St Clair, I head on to Tarraleah.  Some friends who had travelled through Tasmania last February, put me on to this place.

It is an ex-hydroelectricity town that was built to house the construction workers.  When that dams were finished, it limped on for a awhile before, becoming derelict.  Someone bought the whole place but could not make a business of it.  They sold it to the current owner, who has made it work.  The houses have been refurnished and the old administration offices have been converted into a pub.  There is also a café and gift shop.   It also has a golf course.

The place is used primarily for conferences and weddings.   They do offer accommodation for  travelers and there a camping ground for vans and tents.  Their URL is below

http://www.tarraleah.com/

I pitched my tent behind the pub and headed in for a meal.  Given there is no competition, they can charge a bit over the odds, but the meal was very good.  One of the bar staff was girl from Finland.  She spoke the best English and was more knowledgeable about the local area than any of the other bar/restaurant I had met of the trip so far.

Downhill  to New Norfolk

The next day was big ride.

Fortunately there was lot of downhill.  The route took me through  Gretna to New Norfolk which is on the Derwent River.

I stayed in an Irish Pub.  All I can say is that they served Guinness.

Into Hobart

It was a relatively short ride into Hobart along the Derwent River.  I had expected this to be a lot better than it turned out.  The countryside and the river are actually quite bleak.  Also the northern suburbs of Hobart are very down at heel.

There is a bike path for the last 20 or so 20 klms into down town Hobart. It is also fairly bleak, passing through mainly industrial areas.

I checked into my hostel/hotel in the Hobart CBD.

Garmin Links

Queenstown to Derwent Bridge

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/439155932

Derwent Bridge to Tarraleah

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/439897763

Tarraleah to New Norfolk

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/440386094

New Norfolk to Hobart

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/443700994

 

Flickr Link

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjWrEfFr