Ride the Wilds of Tasmania

Paradise on Earth.
Could such a perfect place actually exist?
Where the air is the cleanest in the world, the water is completely pure, food and wine are beyond superb, the scenery is breathtaking and the people are gentle and helpful. Well this is the island state of Tasmania, sometimes referred to as "The South Island of Australia" and some years ago, chosen by National Geographic Magazine, as one of only seven places rated as "Paradise on Earth"!

Or possibly you have heard the other side - filthy weather, constant rain, deadly snakes, wild tigers, in-bred residents, appalling mobile phone coverage, gravel roads, horizontal scrub, limited accommodation and a rough trip to get there?

Well all of those are true. At least in part. And this is what makes the island state of Tasmania so attractive to visitors. Its diversity is simply incredible. Add the amazing twisted roads for motorcyclists, and well - it is perfect for a riding holiday!

Our trip was to take 10 days (Plus an additional  2 for me), and so I went a couple earlier to spend time sampling the wonderful restaurants of Tasmania with Sheryle.  Planning started with a first class HEMA Map, obtained from their excellent website, https://shop.hemamaps.com/
So here is the story in brief;

DAY 1: On Thursday 22 November 2018, I rode my Harley Davidson Street Glide from Canberra to Melbourne to catch the ferry, "Spirit of Tasmania" to Devonport, a ride and boat trip that I had done twice before. The distance is 677km and takes 7 ride hours. I left at 7.30am leaving plenty of time to dawdle and coffee-up at the submarine town of Holbrook and other places. At Station Pier in Melbourne (nearest GPS Street is Waterfront Place), I sat on the grass, in the sun with a bunch of other riders from across Australia, talked motorcycles and drank more coffee from the local stores.

After 5.30pm we then uploaded the bikes to Deck 5 (of ten in total for the ship) but the highest one for vehicles, allowing us to exit first at the other end. We were preceded by the heavy trucks on the lower decks (earlier in the day), and we had to ride up a long ramp, to our allotted parking spots. There is a short 20m of steel at the top, but it is covered by non-slip paint and is to easy transverse. Loading is painless and efficient. You leave your FOB on the bike, and the deckies strap the handlebars or crash bars to tie-down points on the deck. Easy. The car decks are locked while the boat sails.

Upstairs there are booked seats to sit in on Deck 8, and restaurants on Deck 7, also 10. Cabins are either two or four berth with windows or not, and shared. Less beds and more windows cost proportionally more! We took one bag on, and my share-buddy turned out to be a fly-fisherman, so we talked rivers and lakes.  I purchased the $27 all-you-can-eat meal from the buffet and explored the info desk for the all-Parks National Park Pass for motorcyclists at about $25 for a fortnight. Then slept through a very calm sailing.

DAY 2: There are two ferries, one that sails at night, and another during the day when the Summer season commences. I take the night ship so that I get more ride time, and it arrives in East Devonport and births at the Mersey River terminal at 6 am. They unload very efficiently, and I was off the boat in 20 minutes, after the call at 5.45am. I rode straight out to the main road, and SE to Deloraine and then the short cut via Longford. I had decided originally to take the road due south from Deloraine to Miena, but am told that some of this is still gravel, so chose the alternative via Cressy and the Poatina hydro-power station. Ride time to Hobart is about two and a half hours over the 255 kms, but includes a terrific route up the Western Tiers to Great Lake, around some incredibly tight curves. Avoiding the log trucks coming the other way, on hair pin bends was one challenge (which involved stopping the bike on one occasion), but the sheer cold at altitude was another. Still, I revelled in a few flakes of snow blowing around me as the Harley charged through the alpine countryside. I actually stopped for a few minutes to take in  the scenery around here, as it is simply breathtaking. I followed the road south Bothwell and via Bridgewater to Hobart. We stayed at the Maq01 Hotel on Sullivans Island, expensive but truly amazing, then dined at Dier Makr, a very unusual but well recommended "alternative" restaurant. We will return to Maq01 but not the restaurant.

DAY 3:  found us in the rain, but we visited Salamanca Market, then with Sheryle driving a hire car to Launceston, we took the back road via Richmond and Colebrook, to avoid the road works on the main Midland Highway around Bagdad.

This central highway goes almost straight to Launceston in quick time, and we stayed near to our favourite restaurant there, called Stillwater at 2 Bridge Road, Launceston to be found at https://www.stillwater.com.au/. This was our third visit, and we will return. Service and food was exceptional, in fact excellent on a global scale, as were the wine and cocktails.  (Try the Tasmanian Pinot's). The outstanding foodie feature of Tasmania, is the quality and freshness of the produce, particularly the lamb and seafood. You can see the photographs of each dish on Facebook!

DAY 4: I had agreed to meet up with Carl "Rebore" and David "Chainsaw" at Sheffield, more than an hour away. Sheryle and I agreed to do breakfast back at Stillwater which was another good decision. The weather had fined up, but looked very doubtful over the coming week, to the North East, so I planned to go to the west on our first few days ride. Sheryle headed to the airport at Evandale, to find that Jetstar had once AGAIN cancelled her flights, and so she booked (only) on QANTAS with their help.

I rode south to Prospect and the Harley Dealer. I know Richardson's well, and love their store and museum. I knew it would be closed on this day (Sunday) but took that all-important ABC's of Touring photograph! Then I headed on the dual-carriageway to Sheffield via Railton. Dave and Carl had been on their own tour for the morning to Barrington Dam, as they had arrived on the day-boat on Saturday and stayed overnight at the Edgewater motel near the dock, which they recommend for price and convenience.

Sheffield is know for its murals on the buildings in the main streets, and for a particularly good coffee shop, but they were keen to get onto Paradise, a small town nearby. Alas, the town no longer has a town-sign that I could find, so I chose to ride towards Deloraine, with the aim of getting to Cradle Mountain during the day. The back road west of Mole Creek was one of the very best we have ridden, with a perfect hot-mix surface, and rates in my top three rides for the trip.

Everyone really got into it, counter-steering and dragging running boards around many corners until Carl wandered off a 15km/hour corner into the gravel and gave the approaching cliff a "close geological inspection"! Luckily he hit nothing but was heard to say "I learn something new every corner"! 

Eventually, we took the turnoff to Cradle Mountain NP, and stopped at the Visitors Centre. Frustratingly, during the day it is not possible to drive all the way to Dove Lake and the Cradle view, as it used to be in my youth. You must take a bus, so we paid our fee and took the ride with a wide variety of international tourists. For the 35 days a year when Cradle Mountain is visible, it is one superb and classic view - which we were lucky enough to see. On our return we gassed up and remounted to ride to Wynyard, north on the Murchison highway and stayed at the Waterfront Hotel, right on the beach in the CBD. It was simple, with plenty of rooms and safe parking, plus a restaurant next door.

DAY 5 had us excited to get to the west coast, but we had a real issue - Chainsaw's rear tyre was worn through to the canvas. This was not an un-expected discovery as we had been pushing the traction limits around hundreds of delightful corners, and Tasmania's seal is rather harsher than we are used to, so tyres wear fast. The two options were to a) ride to Richardsons or b) stay here and find another motorcycle store that had tyres. We chose b) and headed for Honda, who laughed but were very helpful and called their wholesaler who arrived in a leisurely Tasmanian-hour, with a new Avon tyre which was fitted professionally - and more importantly for a much more reasonable cost than a Harley dealer may have done it for!

The plan had been to ride to Stanley then to Marrawah and south on the 92 km gravel "West Coaster" to Zeehan, but that now needed some modification. As it happened we headed for Mawbanna, and Dip Falls plus the Big Tree, places I had never visited before (52km return). The two kilometres of gravel were super-easy and well worth the tradeoff to see the unique falls and a truly huge Eucalyptus obliqua. 

We also did make it comfortably to Stanley for a late lunch and took the cable car up "The Nut" to a wonderful view over Bass Strait. Chainsaw even walked to the lookout. On our return we found a ubiquitous fish and chips shop, and proceeded to buy bulk flake (shark) and a ton of chips and eat them in the local park. The seagulls found us too, and shared at least 3 kg of the chips amongst squawking mayhem!

We headed west into the Tarkine Wilderness and Marrawah, and I took them down to the beach that looks to Cape Grim, where the CSIRO collects the purest air in the world and on-sells it to other countries to test beside their Beijing or Tokyo pollution! We then rode south on superb new roads to Arthur River, where accomodation was available but no gas, so we continued around the Tarkine loop (with its very good sealed roads, but annoying ripple strips at intervals) and back to Smithton and a country resort, where we ate, then slept very soundly. Hotel Tall Timbers is well recommended has a pool and heaps of rooms!

DAY 6 found us really getting into it now, with fine weather and a few clouds, but at a wee stop just before the Murchison Highway south, Carl received a message saying that his father-in-law was gravely ill in Queensland. We discussed the options, but he had made a clear decision to return to the Dealer at Launceston and fly home to Canberra. We wished our good-byes and Dave and I continued south to Waratah. Carl organised his bike to be shipped from Richardson's to Canberra and it almost beat him home.

Waratah is a small, strange mining town, with an even more strange double-intersection just before it, that lead me astray. It was a worthy detour, as we sat enjoying a first class coffee, pie and a long chat with the locals about the quality of roads hereabouts, and down to Corinna which is now back on my "must do again" list. (I have ridden a Harley down the Westcoaster many years ago on very good white silica gravel, and recommend it, for those who want the adventure and the ride across the Pieman on a barge!). The highway then goes through Tullah often recognised as Australia's wettest town, then onto Rosebery and Zeehan, the archetypal roaring mining town of yesteryear with 36 pubs, but now almost a ghost town. The highlight was the road from Zeehan to Queenstown, smooth, no vehicles and worth a strong ride! We did not ride along 90 mile beach, but you can and it was SO tempting. Maybe for next time.

In Queenstown we tried to negotiate a private trip out to Sarah Island Penal settlement for the next day, but both boats were out of action so with rain looming we decided to press on. Many motorcyclists rate the road to Queenstown and beyond to Derwent Bridge as the best in the State with hundreds of tight corners, but as the rain had become more insistent, we had other things on our mind - like finding accommodation.

There was nix in Derwent Bridge available, but a helpful pub lady suggested we take a cabin at Tarraleah or Bushy Park, so we pressed on and took the exit to the high country. I was concerned about hypothermia, as Dave was wet to the skin, (and I not much better) but when we found a fishing cabin with two rooms, a great view and a full fire, we had a delightful evening drying out gear, eating lamb knuckles and bullshitting about the world. We could not have been in a better place, despite me incinerating one pair of gloves on the very-hot chip heater!

DAY 7: I had three things I really wanted to achieve on this trip and one was to ride to Strathgordon and the huge arch dam there in the South West. We headed south from Bushy Park and took the back-way (again) via Ellendale to Westerway, where Dave demanded we stop for fresh berries for breakfast. It was a great call because they had been picked the day before. A breakfast of champions. We then proceeded on to Maydena, and some of the best roads we had ridden on, with few truck marks and great corners, so this made it to the second place on my "Great Rides of Tassie" list.  But to distract us further, the weather was perfect - warm and incredibly still. So the scenery was jus idillic and we stopped often to take photographs. When I can get those off my good camera I am sure we will have some perfect photos.

I had been to the Gordon Dam soon after it was finished in 1974 after a huge controversy over the flooding of the original Lake Pedder. For me, this was a travesty, and I was one of the original walkers to Lake Pedder and campaigners to save it. While the new lake is beautiful, the original was definitely my preference. My first visit to the dam was in 1977 and this was my second, so it was quite an emotional pilgrimage. The concrete arch dam is the largest in the southern hemisphere and is more than impressive. If you wish, you can abseil down it on a tour!

We returned to the Strathgordon village and had lunch in the Wilderness Lodge with a perfect view - and more of the rain storm that came down on us as we ate.  I had booked a hotel room in Hobart at the Ibis Styles, and Dave was none too sure of my sanity as I dragged him out into the storm again! Nonetheless we soon out-rode the squall, and arrived in Hobart where Dave enjoyed his first Constitutional Dock seafood bonanza for dinner.

DAY 8: We had decided to stay in Hobart for three nights, and circle out from there, but Ibis (Accor) did not want to find us a room (Note to self - Accor Plus membership is a waste of money) and so after breakfast, we walked into the Grand Chancellor (previously Sheraton) and asked if they had any rooms - even facing the mountain which are cheaper - and they offered us a better rate for a large room! (plus undercover secure parking) so we took it, and then rode south. We had made a decision not to go to Port Arthur or Do Town, as we had both been to the former before, and did not want to wrestle with the increasing numbers of Asian tourist crowds (following the successful visit of the Chinese Premier a few years ago).

First we headed south via Howrah (where Princess Mary of Denmark was born and grew up) and stopped at the 1850's Shot Tower for a shot! Then we wended our way south to Huonville and onto Franklin a tiny village famous for its wooden boat building. Dave is a wood fanatic with all the tools and so we took the guided tour. When you enter, the smells of Huon Pine, shellac and glues assail your nostrils and Harry enthusiastically told us all about the place. You can do short courses (eg to build a kayak) or longer ones (to build a clinker skiff) or simply restore your Couta boat - all of which were underway in their cavernous sheds. I love this place and the hours passed very quickly. The photos were also fantastic on a still and stunning morning by the river.

Further south, we passed through the timber town of Geeveston, devastated by the 1966 bushfires, but now a nice hamlet and then took another very good road out to the Tahune Air-walk, once owned by the Tasmanian Forestry Commission, but now privately run. For $27 you can hang on the walking platforms over 180 feet above the forest, in the Celery Top Pine (and other) tree tops. There is also another short walk amongst some Huon Pine trees.  Thereafter we returned, via another big tree, and headed south to Dover, but the weather was about to close in, so we returned to Hobart and an enjoyable fish and oyster meal at the Drunken Admiral, a hearty bar of ill-repute that has been there for - decades!

DAY 9: after our third night in Hobart we decided on a short-ride day and headed out to Richmond, once the key staging post on the highway to the East Coast, and visited the Richmond Bridge, built by convicts and by far the oldest bridge in Australia. We then had a scallop pie ($8.40) and worth every penny and connived to return to the Gaol, where $15 allowed us to be chained and flogged around the yard (well that is the story anyway). The history was quite fascinating and we took time to absorb, as life must have been very tough for the first convicts and even for their gaolers. We returned via Sorell and settled on Hogs Breath for dinner, Dave's favourite. I am still trying to determine if the attraction is the price, the waitresses or the burgers - or all three!

DAY 10: found us about to escape the big city, but first we had to visit the Salamanca Market again, where Dave purchased a bunch of gifts, and proceeded to fill his carry-bag on the bike (which started about a third full and ended up VERY full for the ride home). We walked the full length of Salamanca Place and back again, then headed up Mount Wellington amongst some truly crazy drivers, to enjoy a perfect view all the way down the river to the Iron Pot and beyond. I am sure that other bike riders glanced at our white ACT plates and thought we were locals!

We then proceeded to ride the East Coast via Sorell and stopped first in Buckland to visit the Church (as I had promised to take Dave "outside his comfort zone - OHCZ" at least three times on this trip). The Buckland Church was built about 1827 and contains some of the finest stain glass windows I have ever seen. They are Cromwellian and made about 1350 and brought out to Australia from England around 1835. They are simply stunning and well worth the visit. We then stopped at the coastal town of Orford and were assailed by the summer "scenery". Another scallop pie was good too.

We rode onto Bicheno and visited the Motorcycle Museum, about to have its 10th birthday, but this was not of such interest to Chainsaw, however the crayfish shack and the Blowhole were more to his liking. Once we had checked into the Bicheno Cabins we rode back, were sprayed by the sea at the Blowhole and walked up the lookout rock (OHCZ 2). Dinner that night on the edge of the Gulch was sensational, with very fresh oysters, even fresher fish, and my "last meal before I die choice" - crayfish.

DAY 11: we rode south again, just to take the magic road, and my favourite "blatt" route in Tasmania from near Swansea to Campbelltown, via Lake Leake. The surface used to be very good and is not quite so now, but still fine for a fast run, where there are no villages and fewer drivers. I then took Dave to OHCZ#3, an Art Gallery! It is run by the father of a girl who is married to my wife's sisters son, and Dave was particularly interested in the wood framing, all hand made by Luke. It is called "Gallery 81" and features a set of paintings from the 81 instructions of the Tao.

We then proceeded along superb roads NE to Fingal, where we made friends with Keith Hereford, local junkman and historical expert, while we explored his delightful emporium full of old videos and other useful, or not so useful, junk! Dave was in heaven. I also perused the huge and ancient Council Chambers opposite, now for sale for a snip at $250k and a "renovators delight" - commence with bulldozers!

From here I made a call to my favourite hermit, Richard and his wife Heather. They live in "the hills" just south of St Mary's and truly off the grid. They grow their own vegetables, produce their own power and heating and manage their own waste. But that is not the reason to visit them - both have a neat small collection of particularly collectable motorcycles including MZ's and Laverda's. Richard has not one, but two VERY large "mens sheds" - each cost more than $80k just to build the shells! While there, they offered us a farmer's lunch prepared and served by Freya, one of their daughters.

We then rode north to St Helens and found a great motel on the way into town (Queezy's), but walked to a resort for, you guessed it, yet another glorious seafood dinner!

DAY 12: was intended to end at "The Pub in the Paddock" but as it was Sunday and closed, we visited them at Pyengana after riding up the Elephant Pass, and then rode on, into an increasing gale. For some reason we stopped at the Weld Pass and took the short rainforest walk, laced with dripping moss and massive myrtle trees.

I then thought it was time to take Dave to OHCZ#4, a cemetery, at Branxholm, while we decided which way we would ride given the wind and possible rain. We spent a good hour exploring the headstones, and wondered how people had managed when their children died young, or father was killed in an accident at 33. Dave took one particularly good photo of our bikes behind the headstones, my favourite shot of the trip.

We headed north via Pioneer and Gladstone, knowing that there would be a few kilometres of gravel before we reached Bridport, but were un-prepared for the torrential downpour that fell upon us just as we arrived at the gravel section. Dave was materially un-impressed, and the road maintenance workers just chided me by saying "picked a good day for it"! Rotters. Anyway we did make it to Bridport despite the rain and a full gale blowing horizontally, and so decided to retire to a good view for lunch. As you do.

I owed him, so we rode into Launceston, and I checked into a Suite at Peppers Hotel on the Tamar River. To say it was palacious would be an understatement. The main bedroom was so large, the king-sized bed appeared small, and the main room (where I had a bed made up for me) had a full size dining table and a kitchen. We washed our clothes, used everything from the robes to the tea service, stole the chocolates and used all the coffee pods. When in Rome, enjoy.  Oh, and to truly slum it, we went out for very large pizzas at dinner. Carl would have approved.

DAY 13: I had a dream. It was to return to a place of my childhood, Ben Lomond and Legge's Tor, both mountains to the east of Launceston. The problem was, that this would include riding up 18 km or gravel - really gnarly and steep gravel, into the National Park. But the view would be worth it. Dave was on it, as he is a pretty good rider in the dirt, so once we had reached the base of "Jacob's Ladder" the zig zag road to the top, we stopped and he muttered "holy sheet" or words to that effect.

I asked him to lead, which he took to like a duck to water. Little did he know that he was the "test bunny" for me on my heavier bike. With rear wheel fish-tailing up the gravel, and deep counter steers in the very tight corners, he made it look easy. So we stopped at the top lookout, and the resort and took photos. He was later to tell me this was the absolute highlight of the trip for him, but frankly I was too breathless to listen at the time. The ride down was even more dramatic but overall it was a fantastic experience. We dare you!

We then returned through Launceston and travelled up the east side of the Tamar River to George Town, where we finally had a huge killer breakfast, then onto the light house at Low Head. Here I could have a holiday cottage! We rode across the Batman Bridge to the town of Beaconsfield famous for a mine disaster a few years ago, then took the back road through Hellyer and south to Railton (so I could get another ABC's of Touring Photo! )

We just made the ferry at East Devonport, and rode on, exhausted but exalted to our own cabin and a very quiet trip across Bass Strait at night.

DAY 14: But it was not over yet. In the morning I was supposed to have a job interview but instead that was cancelled and I took Dave to meet my great-aunt Doreen and her husband Tim, who live in Port Melbourne, so close by to the ferry terminal. She made us breakfast, while we talked of family history, illegitimate children and English spies. I have not idea what Dave made of all that!

We then rode home via the Hume Highway. As I expected, Dave struggled at times to keep all his purchased gear on his bike, and so we made some extra straps and other arrangements, but we stopped often and did make it to Canberra over time.

At a traffic light in Canberra we knocked knuckles, great companions after a truly super holiday.