We were woken by some bitch at 4:30 AM, telling us we had arrived in Tasmania.  We stumbled out of our respective cots and proceeded to get dressed (in the confines of a very small cabin), re-pack our bags and make our way to the departure area.  We waited like lemmings for our deck to be called, then it was out to the bikes to re-secure our bags and prepare to disembark. 

We rode out into a cold, dark but thankfully dry morning.  The plan was to head straight to Elizabeth Town (south of Devonport) for breakfast, before doing a loop and ending up in our overnight stop.  So we rode around Deloraine and up to Low Head, to check out the lighthouse and historic Pilot station.













We had lunch somewhere I can't recall, then made our way back to Deloraine and through Mole Creek to Sheffield and back up to the coast, through Penguin to our accommodation at Burnie.  Here we had 2 x 2 room cabins, so plenty of space to spread out and relax.  An electrical gremlin had st in on Onion's bike, so while Ken and he set to work fixing it, Geoff and I went shopping for sustenance.  I decided to cook up a feed of pasta, and this was washed down with copious amounts of beer and wine.  That done (and after a VERY early start to the day), it was time for a smooth, flat, stationary bed.

We'd already knocked up 480ks, with a bit of gravel and sandy road thrown into the mix.

Oh, I meant to ad that I had called Pete around 6:30, to check that he had checked-in and was happily aboard the boat.  He hadn't, and was grumpy!

"We've been here since 5:00 and they haven't even opened the gates!" he complained.  "At this rate, it'll be lunchtime before we see you tomorrow!"

Geoff checked the ticket info and reported that the Friday night crossing departs 2 hours later than our trip, this is standard!  Dopey just didn't read his ticket!  So we advised him of this, and he reported that they had just opened the gates, so he was a bit happier.

He called an hour later to tell us that they were now on board and all was good!

Day 2:

We woke this morning and had a slow get-up, knowing that at any moment, Cyclone Pete would arrive!  Full of vigour, vim, vitality and punch he and Tony arrived around 9:00, seeking breakfast and sustenance.  We obliged, swapped travel stories and planned our days ride.  We intended to do a loop out to the most North West tip today.  Pete had already said that there wasn't much to look at out there, and as it turned out...he was correct!  Still, an adventure was to be had, so we saddled up and took off.

Onion's gremlin from yesterday was not beaten, so we put him in the middle of the pack.  It was a bit disconcerting at times though, as we hammered into a nice sweeping corner and there was no indication of braking from him and his bike.  then you'd remember that his lights weren't working and suddenly realize that you were coming in too hot!

We took the coastal road out of Burnie and onto Stanley, where we stopped for lunch.  There were bike(r)s everywhere.  seems like a popular spot for the latte sipping set to stop and re-fuel.



Some blokes seem to carry way too much gear, including passengers!



We stopped and checked out some beaches along the way, which were all quite pretty.







Not really sure what was going on here!



We continued on after lunch, heading out to the Woolnorth Windfarm, which was as far as the road would let us go.  We could have had a guided tour, but decided against it.





A cross section of tar and gravel roads was taken and this would prove to be the 'normal' thing for a days ride.  We headed back to Burnie for a second night's accommodation, having stopped in at the store to collect burger making ingredients (and booze) to see us through the night.  We covered around 370ks in today travels and given that Pete and Tony had enjoyed the early start this morning, they were ready to pack it in.  reality was, that we were all knackered!

Day 3:

Today, we were ultimately heading towards Strahan.  We loaded up the bikes and rolled out after a breakfast of hot cross buns and coffee.  Thus far, the weather had been kind to us and although a bit overcast and cool, there was no rain on the horizon.

We made our way down to the Helleyer Gorge and Geoff took us along some amazing roads.  OMG!  This area was just a hoot to ride through and Kenny was making the most of hooning around the tight, twisting terrain.  We stopped at a mid-way point (along with several other bikers), to catch our breath, look at some scenery and try to wipe the smiles off our collective faces.







Then it was off the 'main' road and on towards Savage River, which is a local mining town.  From here the road turned to dirt and we traveled around 25ks on a gorgeous dirt road into the settlement of Corinna, where we had lunch.  Just as we arrived, we encountered a sprinkling of rain.  It didn't last long and was basically the only precipitation we encountered, untill...!











Out of Corinna, we continued on towards Zeehan, taking a side road down to the 'holiday hot spot' of Granville Harbour.  The road in was a course, sandy gravel and despite it's look, was surprisingly grippy.





Through Zeehan, we turned and took the spectacular road through Mount Dundas Region Reserve en route to Queenstown.  This added 70 odd ks to our trip into Strahan, but was worth every bit of the detour, the descent was awesome and we knew we had the same run (but up-hill) first thing tomorrow!

We rolled into our accommodation around 5:00, everyone looking forward to a been and some dinner.  we got some take-aways (booze) from the local shop and decided to walk (well some of us) into town for a pub feed.  It was very rowdy there, with a bike group of around 24 making a heck of a racket!  Anyway, we had a feed and a short stroll around the harbour before heading home and bed.   Another 350ks on the clock.

Serge C wrote:
Those guys are doing a 12 month around Australia trip. All camping.

Day 4:

Today's trek saw us travel from Strahan to Ellendale (Franklin Dam).

We started early and headed straight to Queenstown (again) on that glorious up-hill run.  In Queenstown we had breakfast at a couple of local spots, before re-fueling before heading out of town on the Lyell Hwy.  Once again, a stunning bit of road with magical scenery.  Not far along, we stopped at the Iron Blow Lookout just out of Gormanston.  The area was heavily mined for copper in the late 1800s, leaving the landscape bare and barren, but spectacular nonetheless.







We traveled on through the Cradle Mountain National Park , turning off at Bronte to head toward the Great Lake.  Cresting the hill, we spied the pub, but more importantly, a rally of AJS, Brough and HRD motorcycles.  According to Kenneth, many were worth some serious money and we're talking $750,000!  We stopped and drooled and dribbled for a bit, before firing up our un-impressive modern bikes and slunk off.







Down off the hill and we made our way to our overnighter at Sassafrass Springs (Ellendale).  This spot had an eclectic selection of units (of which we had two), that were very comfortable and more suited to the couple wanting to "get away from it all"  Needless to say, we fit right in.  Our hosts offered to cater for our dinner and when the bell rang, we were confronted with pork and mushroom scallopini, baked chicken with olives and chorizo, local broccollini and beans, scalloped potatoes and fresh baked bread.  Dessert was fresh made apple and rhubarb crumble with cream AND ice cream!  What a feed!  The property hosted goats, chickens and sheep, along with an extensive veggie garden.  There was also nature walks to be had, so a few of us took advantage of this.

Coffee and complimentary port later and we were stuffed!  Another 330ks.

Day 5:

After a comfortable night's sleep, we mosied down the the dining room for a breakfast of egg and bacon rolls (with freshly cooked rolls) and coffee/tea.  We were so full from dinner last night that it was a struggle to finish the rolls.  Once they were, no one felt like riding...but we did.

First destination of the day was Lake Pedder and the Gordon Dam.  The road to the dam was there simply to service the dam, so it was a 70k run in and then the same 70 run back out.  Scenery was very pretty with a mixture of tar and gravel roads as we went through the hamlets of National Park, Maydena  and Strath Gordon









The dam itself is quite an impressive structure.  Those with a bit of bottle vintage will remember the hulla-baloo raised by Bob Brown and the Greens when the dam was built, but it seems that all that noise has died down and the landscape has re-generated into a very nice part of Tasmania.















We walked down the long stairway to the top of the and walked along the part that runs along the length of the dam, yelling obscenities at each other so they'd echo back at us...children!  We weren't able to take the staircase that went to the bottom of the wall, but some adventurous abseilers were coming back up on it!

Back on the bikes and we stopped for coffee at a nearby resort which afforded some more lovely views.



Then it was on through Bridgewater where we stopped for lunch and into historic Richmond, with it's iconic convict built bridge.







Time was getting on, so I took over the lead and brought the crew in through the outskirts of Hobart and int Lauderdale, where we would spend the next two nights.  This resort/motel/pub venue had everything we needed on the one site, so we were able to walk everywhere, which was good after a few bevvies.  Around 440ks today

Day 6:

I must admit, I stuffed up a bit here!  In my mind, I figured that 2 night in Hobart meant 2 days worth of sightseeing...WRONG! 

The original plan was to do a loop south of Hobart one day and a loop out around Port Arthur the next day.  Well, that didn't happen.  Instead, over a breakfast discussion Ken said that he'd like to visit the MONA Museum.  I was cool with that as was Onion and Geoff.  Pete had plans to go visit an old girlfriend and Tony was quite happy having a sleep in and a leisurely morning.  So we all went our separate ways.

On arrival at MONA, we bought our tickets and collected out iPod thingies and entered the museum.  Well, let me tell you there's some messed up sh!t in that joint!  The famed vagina wall wasn't on display, but there was a machine that made poo, along with some other disturbing exhibits.  There was some interesting stuff too, but definitely not a venue for the feint hearted or easily upset person.  After several hours walking through the (largely) subterranean exhibit, we emerged into the sunshine and took in the breath taking views for the museum grounds.









We had lunch here, then it was back on the bikes for the ride up to Mt Wellington.





A controlled burn-off made the sky a little smokey, but otherwise it was very clear and we were provided more stunning views over the whole of Hobart and surrounds.  It was then time to head back 'home' to find the others.  Pete had returned from his visit and collected Tony, then went for a ride out to somewhere else.  He re-returned, left Tony with us and went for another squirt, saying something about ADHD!

When he finally got back, we showered and got ready for dinner.  It was at this point I turned the TV on in our room (for the first time during this trip) and we got the first glimpse of what had been going on around the world WRT the Covid-19 business.  I wish I hadn't looked!

Day 7:

So, because I stuffed up, we had a meeting over breakfast at our new favorite eatery, as to what our plan would be.  Quite simply, we'd taken 6 days to get to Hobart and we now had 2 days to head North and get to Devonport to catch the boat home.  Our next over-nighter was at Bicheno in the Freycinet National Park, so that was set.

We headed inland, along the now familiar mix of tar and 'other' roads that Geoff had picked out and made our way to Ross.  Although this is another one of those historic towns, famous for its Wool Centre and 'Female Factory', it bore significance to Pete because he decided this is where his clan is from!





We stopped outside a house that was right on the street, that had a chair on the verandah and I decided it was a good place to sit.



We pushed on and went into Coles Bay, to enjoy the scenery and get an ice cream (big, tough, bikie refreshment).







From here it was a relatively short squirt along the coast into Bicheno. 



We found our cabins, showered and prepared for a dinner at the pub.  The ambiance at the pub was very 70's, but that matched how we were all feeling after another long day in the saddle.  Needless to say that it was another early night for the crew, but not before checking the weather satellite for our next day and feeling a wee bit of trepidation for what was coming!  328 ks, but it seemed longer! 

Day 8:

The final push.

We were up early and breakfasted on instant coffee and muesli bars.  Today was gonna be a big push and we didn't really have the time for a big, leisurely brekky.  We'd also checked the weather again and it was looking like it was gonna get wet...REAL wet!  Having spent the last week bathed in glorious sun shine, this morning looked ominous.  It was dark and overcast, but the sun was still shining.  Odd!

We saddled up and pulled out for a couple of last pics by the seaside.





Then we were off.  We kept checking the radar, lulled into a false sense of security as the sky cleared and it got sunny again.  "Maybe we'll miss it", we thought!  We followed the coast to St Helens and then turned West.  I lost track of exactly what we did and where we went, because at this stage it had become a fuel burn.  we just had to get to the boat on-time.  We by-passed 'points-of-interest' and small townships as we sped along, but at some point I noticed my bike was sounding loud.  Luckily, Pete's old-man bladder got the better of him and he pulled over for a piss.  I did too and checked the back end of my bike to see that the end cap of my muffler had rattled loose and was hanging on by one bolt.  Much of the packing had also worked its way out and was not looking healthy.  I took a wizz while it was cooling down, then set about finding some bolts to replace.  I had some, but most of the threads in the muffler were rooted, so things weren't looking good.

Pete and I took off in hot pursuit of the rest of the crew, who had all stopped some ks up the road waiting for us.  We filled them in with the details and I checked the cap, only to find 2 bolts had already rattled out again and I had no more.  A quick tighten and we were off again, the sky looking grim!

We soon arrived in Scottsdale, where we decided to have lunch.  While we were eating, the rain started.  I went off in search of some extra bolts (had to be 6mm cap head allen bolts) which I eventually found at the local Suzuki dealer.  We checked the radar again and thought that if we waited 30 mins or so, the rain might pass.  Pete wasn't having any of that, so he grabbed Tony and they took off.  The rest of us waited, but to no avail, it just got heavier!

So, off we went in pouring rain and low visibility.  My hair had gotten wet while searching for bolts, so my visor fogged up and wouldn't clear.  Coupled with the treacherously wet roads and my paranoia over my increasingly noisy exhaust, I was not enjoying this ride!

We had 90 ks to travel between Scotsdale and Launceston, and as we approached the later, it was peak hour!  Stop/start, wet/wet and noise was too much to bear, so I headed for a dis-used petrol station to collect myself.  I tightened the cap as best I could and we continued on.  A few ks up the road, I spied a Bursons and pulled in, hoping to get some supplies to fix my muffle.  "Sorry, no bolts", he advised.  "High temp tape?" I asked. "$50 a roll", he replied.  "Locktight?"  "Yep!" So I glued the bastard in place.  It lasted about 5 ks!

Launceston to Devonport was a further 100ks, and at 110kph on the freeway.  More rain, more noise, more stress!  I'm not ashamed to tell yo I was very happy to see the ferry signs as we were getting closer.  Eventually, we could count the distance down from 10 ks, and when we finally pulled into the check-in bay, I breathed a huge sigh of relief!  The staff sent us to the front of the queue, so we could get out of the rain and we boarder that boat with a squeal of glee!  As they ushered us to our parking spot, I noticed that Pete was directly in front of me.  Turns out that they were following Tony's GPS and he had it set to avoid highways, so they'd taken all the backroads and got there at the same time, despite buggering off an hour earlier.  Dickheads!  He parked the bikes, grabbed our gear and headed up stairs.



Geoff, Onion, Ken and I were sharing a cabin again so once again, 4 blokes tried to get out of soaking wet riding gear and into dry clothes in a cabin with floorspace the size of a bath-tub!  I ended up lying on the floor with my feet in the hallway and Onion pulling my pants off out there!  It was amusing.  Once changed, we headed back to the top deck for several of those de-stressing adult refreshments.  We caught up with Pete and Tony and all had a good laugh.







Plans were made to head off to the 'all-you-can-eat' buffet (for some of us anyway), then when the boat started rocking and rolling, we all headed off to bed, before being woken again at 4:30 as we pulled into Port Melbourne and prepared to say our goodbyes and head home.

The up-shot of it all was that we had a great trip.  Just over 2500ks over 9 days of riding, in some of the most beautiful areas and on some of the most exhilarating roads you're likely to come across.  6 blokes worked out to be a good number.  Accommodation would have been very tricky for a larger group.

Special thanks to Geoff for planning the bulk (if not all) of the route.  If I was doing it again, I'd allow more time to head back North and build in a little fudge factor to allow for rotten weather!

Thanks guys, I had a hoot!