TEDE'S ALPS & TASMANIA RIDE 2024
Introduction To The Ride
The last big ride I had done with Daddy Ken was to the Lismore AGM in May 2023. The Ulysses Rally that was held this year was in Mandurah, Western Australia, the state where we live. It was not a long ride!
What did happen thought, Pa and his mates went to Vietnam in April and rode through the highlands around Hanoi for 16 days. They had a great time but I had to stay home. I think it was for the best as I heard someone say that they like to eat doggies over there.
Sometime last year, Pa and his mate Colin had talked about a ride to Tasmania, something daddy had done with Chloe back in 2016. It did not happen in 2023 but, why not 2024, and the planning was started. Colin also wanted to ride the Alps as well, and since Pa and little Chloe had done that a few times, the old man and I were excited to start the planning for –
TEDE’S BUDGET ALPS and TAZZI ADVENTURE TOURS
The team brave enough to take on the adventure were our palls Ross and Fran, Jeff, Colin, Chris, Mark Paul, Dave, Busa, Jim and of course my Pa and me. Fran, of course, going pillion with Ross. Dave was only doing the Alps before heading home from Geelong and though Jeff’s partner Tania was originally coming, a new baby due for their daughter at the same time, won out.
The planning was to truck our bikes to Melbourn and fly over to save wasting a lot of riding time. Spend four days riding through the Alps of Victoria and New South Wales, one day riding back to Geelong to the Sprit of Tasmania, overnight to Devenport and then twenty days riding through Tasmania keeping up with Ken and me, something not very hard to do.
The start date for the ride was Wednesday 23rd October. Dave actually rode all the way over from Perth, joining the others who flew over on Tuesday morning, before picking up the bikes in the afternoon. Dad and I actually flew over on Monday to suit my travel requirements. We stayed 2 nights at a nice Airbnb, while the others stayed at the Ibis Fawkner, the place where we stated the ride around 9:00am on Day 1.
The Alpine Ride through Victoria and New South Wales
Day 1. Melbourne to Dargo
In planning for the ride Colin had mentioned a chap he had heard about called Dargo Dan, a bit of a legend that lived in a town call Dargo, of course. Dargo is a small village about 90km in the alps above Bairnsdale on the Dargo Road. It was also a nice 400km ride from Melbourne with nice cabins for us all to stay over so Pa, who had not gone there before, planned that as our first day. Actually, no one that we were to speak to knew of Dargp Dan, perhaps he had been there some time back.
After leaving the Ibis, we spent a bit of time tyre to bumper on the M80, Western Ring Road, until getting out onto the Wattle Glen area and finally on great windy roads towards Kings Lake and looping back to Healesville and the famous Beechworth Bakery for a morning tea pie! Here we caught up with the last member of the group, Busa, who had also ridden over to catch up with family before the great adventure.
From Healesville our next stop was for lunch in Moe, passing through the Yarra Ranges. Now, it must be stated that not all the team were riding adventure bikes like Ross, Mark, Colin, Jeff and Pa. The others on very nice road touring bikes. With that in mind, dad had planned for the trip to be on all easy bitumen roads. Well, about 10km out of Healesville, we were suddenly on a stoney road with dad hoping the team weren’t cursing him too much. The rough only went on about 4km before turning good. The others thinking it was quite good fun, especially riding through the lush green landscape.
We had a nice lunch in Moe and topped the bikes up with fuel. Next stop was at Sale which we reached mid afternoon after passing through Yallourn and other small Gippsland towns away from the main A1 highway. After Sale we again left the A1 at Stratford and carried on through Stockdale to the Bairnsdale-Dargo Road on a lovely sweeping and undulating road through farmland and forest.
The Dargo Road gave us our first real sense of riding the alps, climbing up through forests and farmland, reaching the Dargo Hotel and cosy cabins for the night stay late afternoon. Pa brought me back a nice piece of steak after the team’s hotel dinner. They all seemed quite happy with the way the first day went! A nice easy 400km covered on our first day.
Day 2. Dargo to Mitta Mitta
It was up early and bikes packed for a nice run back down to the lowlands for breakfast and fuel up at Bairnsdale. Next stop was Omeo, and we were riding on the Great Alpine Road. I think I’m a lucky dog to be doing what Chloe did with our daddy. After a shortish stop for morning tea and bit of a look around Omeo it was now that we were getting into real alpine country as we passed through the Dinner Plain and Hotham Heights. You know you’re in Alpine Country when the roads have orange posts each side so you can see where you are going in the snow, there are places to stop and put chains on your wheels, there are lots of resort hotels and lots of trees along the road and valleys are dead by being covered by snow in the winter.
The Great Alpine Road has lots of tight bends as it climbs higher and higher with spectacular views across valleys and distance mountains. Mount Hotham is the highest part along the road at 1840 metres AMSL. What goes up must come down so after a couple of quick stops to take photos we continued on tight a bendy road to Bright for lunch at Gum Trees Pies, a total of 110km from Omeo.
After lunch, bikes headed to the fuel station to be filled for the afternoon ride to Mitta Mitta. The ride was planned to take us up through Mount Beauty, Bogong, Falls Creek and across to the Omeo Highway and down to the Mitta Mitta Hotel, our stop for the night. Things went good until just after Mount Beauty, when Pa and I saw a road sign that advised ‘Road Closed Above Falls Creek’. We stopped and Ken contacted Yic Roads to check and was told due to a land slip over the road, there was no way through to the Omeo Highway. Mark, with the help of his GPS, took over as ride leader and took us on a lot longer ride back past Mount Beauty, Upper Gundowring, Gundowring, Tallandoon and Eskdale before reaching Mitta Mitta.
The hotel was very nice and Ross and Fran and some of the others slept in the hotel rooms, while daddy and me shared a five-bedroom cabin. Pa got me a nice extra piece of steak with his steak sandwich for dinner. With the extra kilometres needed today, we travelled 575 kms, so I was a bit tired and had a nice sleep.
Day 3. Mitta Mitta to Cooma
Once again, we were up early and packed ready for the days ride to Cooma. I had been to Cooma before when we went to Lismore. Today we were going on different roads that Pa had done a few times but new for me. We travelled down the Omeo Highway, the road we had climbed up yesterday passing through Esdale and Tallandoon again and then onto the Murry Valley Highway at the region of Tallangatta. This interesting flowing road took us through a few towns towards Corryong where we stopped for a coffee and something nice to eat. Daddy took a photo of me with the Man from Snowy River.
After morning tea, we were off again, this time to conquer the Alpine Way to Jindabyne, our stop for lunch today. The Alpin Way starts at where the Bringenbrong Bridge crosses over the Murry River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales. It winds its way, excitingly, for 121 kilometres from the bridge at 300metre elevation through the alps reaching an elevation of nearly 1600 metres before reaching Jindabyne at an elevation of 1000 metres. We stopped to take in the views at the Murray 1 Power Station Lookout at 700 metres and Scammells Ridge Lookout at 1000 metres.
Just for a bit of information, you can ride from the Jindabyne, Kosciuszko Road intersection for another 40km, then walk to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko at a height of 2200 metres. Did you know that the start or source of the Snowy River is very close to the Summit, then drops down through the Alps, firstly to Lake Jindabyne and then Byadbo Wilderness, NSW, and then into Victoria, reaching the sea after 352km, at a town called Marlo.
Following a quick look around after lunch, it was on to the township of Cooma over fairly flat farming areas, still very high up and where it is very cold in winter. We stayed at the Cooma Snowy Mountains Tourist Park, same place as when we went to Lismore. We had a nice BBQ dinner, but unfortunately the camp kitchen was run down and dirty, so we had to cook in the cabin. Although we had only travelled 350km, I was very tired from riding up and down all the mountains. Tomorrow, daddy had a nice surprise for the team, the Goat Ridge Road.
Day 4. Cooma to Wodonga
As usual, the team was up very early to check and pack the bikes, tyres given a bit of an inflation, a few photos, good byes to a nice family we had meet the night before and off to breakfast in the town at our favourite café, The Lott.
Today was Saturday, our last day in the Alps and we were heading down the mountains to Wodonga, staying the night there, before the final day heading towards the Tassi Ferry at Geelong.The ride to Wodonga was down the Snowy Mountains Highway. We had come up this way on the Lismore trip. This highway is, however, not as exciting as the Alpine Way or the Great Alpine Road. Sneaky Pa had planned a special detour to explore parts of the alps not a lot of people do. At Kiandra, we turned off the Snowy Mountain Highway and on to the Link Road. This road takes you across open high land plains and hills which become snow fields in winter, and joins the Goat Ridge Road, or as it is called now, Eiliot Way, not at least sounding exciting at all. Pa had found this road with Chloe on one of their adventures, she was a brave little dog.
The Goat Ridge Road tightly winds its way down to the Tumut 2 Underground Power Station Entrance, dropping 600 metres in about 10kms. It then follows the Tumut River Vally before climbing, again tightly, 600 metres again towards the Paddy River highland plains and towards Tooma. This area is renowned for its wild horses, (Remember, The Man from Snowy River), and we were lucky enough to see some, although, I think daddy was a bit worried they may run at us on the road. They just looked and then got a bit frightened and run away. I hope it wasn’t me that they were scared of. There is a lot of horse poop along the roads to be careful of, especially in the wet.
On reaching Tooma Road at Padys River, Pa headed the group towards the Tooma Inn, stopping on the way at the Southern Cloud Crash Memorial to read about Australia’s first big civil airline disaster, the Southern Cloud, that crashed on March 21, 1931, in the Snowy Mountains, and not to be found until October 26, 1958. The Tooma Inn was very busy and after a drink, everyone decided to push on to Albury Wodonga.Daddy had travelled this route in 2015 with Chloe, and from Tooma we crossed the Murry River at Tintaldra and back into Victoria and travelled along the Murray River Road, that follow along the southern side of the Murray River, passing through Walwa and by some small farms. After a great windy ride on the Granya Road, Pa stopped in Tallangatta, and got Ross and Fran to take over and lead us into Wodonga, as they have a GPS on their bike, and made it a lot easier, after a 350km ride, to find our accommodation at the Wodonga Caravan and Cabin Park. Dad and the others had a nice tavern meal and drinks while I slept. With the alps over, tomorrow the Spirit of Tasmania. Wasn’t it great that all the cabins we have stayed in were dog friendly!!
Day 5. Wodonga to Geelong
Today was a fairly boring 380km ride down the Hume Highway (M31) to Melbourne and Geelong, even passing close by the Ibis Fawkner, the place we had started the Alpine Ride 5 days ago. We spent the afternoon at a café on the Geelong foreshore, waiting to line up for the Tassi Ferry at 4:00pm. Next stop Davenport in the morning. It was exciting until I realised, I had to spend all night in a cage by myself, down below and not with daddy in his cabin. “Not happy Ken!”
The Adventure Continues
The Ride Through Tasmania
Day 1. Devonport to Stanley
The boat trip to Tasmania is on a ship called the Sprit of Tasmania. There are two of them in service and go each way at night. A new one has been built but there is a delay on the construction of the wharf in Devonport for it to be used. Daddy told me doggies will be able to sleep in special cabins.
It was a nice calm trip and I slept a lot. A few of the other dogs were a bit scared but I was brave because I knew pa would come in the morning, which he did at 6:00pm. Boy what a rush, As soon as the ship docked it was a mad rush to get everyone off the boat. Lucky dad new what to do and quickly had me strapped in and waiting for the crew to tell us when to move. Dad had also let the others where to meet once we were off on dry land. Dave had left us to return home from Geelong so now the team was Ross and Fran, Jeff, Colin, Chris, Mark Paul, Busa, Jim and Pa and me. Ross and Fran were planning to leave us at Launceston.
A quick stop at a port café to get the team together and then to follow pa to the Devonport City centre for our first breakfast in Tasmania, a nice bakery called Banjo’s. We were to call on them several times on the tour. The distance to Stanley was only around 130km, but we had lots to see and a few detours to make on the way, so it would be most of the day on the road. Tazzie, here we come!
First stop was to be a sea side village called Penguin, a nice little town, (the rubbish bins are all penguins) reached after passing through Ulverstone, a town we would be back too in a couple of days. A nice walk around and photos by the Big Penguin, and Dr Who’s Tardis, it was time to head towards Burnie, a large industrial town in North Tasmania. After Burnie it was time to eat, and daddy had planed something special that he had discovered on his last trip. In the town of Wynyard, is an excellent display of vintage cars and (a few) motorcycles at the information centre. I was not allowed in so sat with the very nice lady who was the centre manager while she worked. The boys and Fran spent a lot of time looking around and were very impressed. The vehicles on display all belong to a private collector who allows them to be exhibited as a gift to the town.
The next surprise daddy had was lunch, in an Old Bank called the Vault. The toilet is actually inside the old vault.
After lunch we progressed towards Stanley taking in Table Cape and the Lighthouse there. The area is important for Tulip Farms. Some fields still had colour but most had been harvested. We had met some locals here who said we must visit Boat Harbour Beach, which, of course we did. It was a little townsite overlooking a beautiful sandy crescent shaped beach and clear blue bay. There are just too many things to see in one day in Tasmania.
Leaving the Boat Harbour Beach, it was time to travel to the town of Stanley, our home for tonight and tomorrow. A special photo of the group without Pa and me, because we took it, in front of the Nut, a local geological feature, before riding into Stanley. Only 175kms but a long day. Our accommodation was very nice doggy cabin, the grown-ups going to dinner at a town hotel.
Day 2. Tour of the Stanley Area
Daddy had only been to Stanley for a couple of hours last time with Cloe, this time we had a day to explore the area of Smithton and Athur River. That involved doing a nice long day ride with lunch a Smithton followed by a tour along back country timber roads through Arthur River, Couta Rocks, Kanunnah Bridge, Edith Creek and back to Smithton. We visited a country farm in Montagu of friends of Colins. We covered 230kms today and I was very tired by the end of the day. We would be going to Ulverstone tomorrow.
Day 3. Stanley to Ulverstone via Waratah
Today Ross and Fran had the fun of leading us through spectacular wooded winding roads through mountain scape country from the coast near Wynyard to a town called Waratah, passing through the Hellyer Gorge area. We stopped for a morning tea drink at the hotel, the only place that seemed open but the people inside acted a bit strange!
After the stop, Ross led us back through more highland areas, but now open timber and farming country, on the way to Ulverstone. We reached Ulverstone early afternoon after a lovely 250km ride and Dad took us to Olivers Bakery, one of the best pie shops around, before heading to the caravan park for the rest of the afternoon.
Day 4. Ulverstone to Launceston via the Great Lake
Dad had planned this ride to take in some really adventurous roads on our way to the city of Launceston. From Ulverstone we passed through Forth and then on a mix of farm land and forest roads to the town of Sheffield where we stopped for morning tea at a nice bakery. From the town you look towards the mountains we would soon be riding. Daddy had been there before but I think he was still a bit nervous. Sheffield has lots of houses, buildings and shops painted with lovely mural paintings on their walls.
After a yummy pies and coffee, everyone was on the bikes again for the next part of the ride. We headed towards the mountains to exciting roads called Olivers, Mersey Forest, Liena, and Mole Creek Road. Each roads winds up and down tightly around mountain bends through areas of the same names. There are lots of caves and waterfalls to see but that will have to be left for next time and maybe in a car! After the mountains we stopped in a farming area and the town of Deloraine for lunch. We were only 40km from our Launceston accommodation, but we were not going the short way today.
After lunch we crossed the river and rode the Highlands Lakes Road towards the mountains again. This road took us up to the Great Lake. We stopped a couple of times along the way to take some photos. It was a sunny day but it can snow up here. Jeff rode this road the next day and said he had encountered fine snow that melted on contact. We travelled around 85 km to the top of the lake and turn off back to Launceston on Poatina Road, another road with lots of tight twisty section along it. This took us 90km down to the farming areas of Cressy, Longford and Hadspen, where our caravan park was with a nice doggy friendly cabin. Hadspen is about 12km from Launceston and today we rode a total of 300km of great mountain roads. Paul was in charge of cooking tonight and we all had a lovely meal in the camp kitchen. We were to spend the next two days in Launceston.
Day 5 and Day 6. Launceston
Yesterday, Jeff and Paul had ridden directly to Launceston from Ulverstone, Paul needing to get a new tyre and Jeff was a tag for safety. As our first day in Launceston was a rest day, they decided to travel the route from Sheffield that we had taken so Jeff could get some video and photos of Sheffield and the mountain roads. The others just did their own thing around Launceston.
On day 6 the plan was to ride Greens Beach at the mouth of the Tamar River. Along the way the group would stop at the town of Beaconsfield and visit the Mine and Heritage Centre and Memorial. Because of this, I had to stay at the caravan Park. It was a nice day’s ride for them as I lazed in the cabin being really quiet so I would not get into trouble. First Pa took them to a Harley Daverson Dealer that was fairly close by to check out their well renowned store and then north along West Tamar Highway to Beaconsfield. Daddy said it was very interesting and they spent a lot more time there than they thought they would. Check out the photos that Pa took.
After lunch they continued north to Greens Beach and returned back to Launceston on the East Tamar Highway after crossing over the river on the Batman Bridge. Before reaching the park, the group all went to the Cataract Gorge which is right near the city. Daddy didn’t see it last time he was here so he was very happy to explore the wonderful park, especially on the chairlift ride. I have lots of photos of the Cataract Gorge and animals posted a well. Tomorrow we would be on our way to Saint Helens.
Day 7. Launceston to Saint Helens
Today was a Sunday, Ross and Fran were to leave the ride group and travel to Hobart for a couple of days before returning to Melbourne and then flying home to Perth. They have been to Tasmania a few times and seen most of where we were going. I really like Ross and Fran and was sorry to see them leave.
Before we left Launceston, our team of now eight plus me went to the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania. It has lots of lovely cars and motorbikes on display but of course I had to sit by the doorway and wait. It was OK because the Museum people came a played with me and said I was a very good dog! (I actually think I’m a person) Our route to Saint Helens took us East along the Tasman Highway, passing through Farmlands as well as winding forest mountain roads with the highlight of the day being The Sideling Lookout, which gives a fantastic view to the east over Springfield and Scottsdale, the place where we stopped for lunch. From here the Tasman Highway passes through green farming landscapes and rising again through tight winding mountain forest roads. We were seeing beautiful scenery all the way. Being Sunday, lots of people were out on their Mountain bikes having lots of fun, just like us on our motorbikes. Mid afternoon we arrived at our caravan park, just south of the Saint Helens townsite after a 200km ride . Our cabin was a lovely doggy friendly one, but a bit noisy because it was right next door to the kids play ground and jumpy pillow.
Day 8 and Day 9. Saint Helens
Our first day in Saint Helens was spent exploring the coastal area of Beerbarrel Beach and going out to the Binalong Bay, an area known as the Bay of Fires as the granite boulders along the coast are covered in a unique orange lichen. The bays are spectacular with their white sands and clear waters. That night we had fish and chips for tea. The town is important for its fishing industry.
The next day daddy led the group out to the St. Columba Falls, one of the highest falls in Tasmania at 90 metres high. When we got there, the track leading to the base of the falls had a sign that it was closed due to storm damage. It did not deter us, and we all walked down to the platform at the bottom of the water fall. Dad and Jeff took some nice photos. Chloe had come here with daddy as well. After the falls, we rode to a place called the Pub in the Paddock. It was built by a farmer so his sons would have somewhere to go because the farm was very remote. They have a BIG FAT pig that drinks beer if you buy it for him. You can stay at the pub, but it was a bit early for lunch so we carried on to the Pyengana Dairy Company and café for a nice lunch. After lunch it was a ride to Gladstone, an historic mining town in northeast Tasmania. Somewhere to come if you want to do hiking in a large national park.
A nice long day riding and pizza for tea, tomorrow we are off to stay at the Swansea Backpackers.
Day 10. Saint Helens to Coles Bay and Swansea
We were up early today. The ride was going to be fairly short for the day at just 180km. Jeff went early to get us on video as we rode past leaving Saint Helens towards the south on the Tasman Highway. We all agreed this area is a lovely part of Tasmania. Make sure you look at al Jeff’s “Where too 2 Day” videos, they are really good. Our first stop today would be Bicheno. On the way there, Pa detoured up the Esk Highway, once again a windy mountain road to a town called Saint Marys, a typical farming and forest area for Tasmania. From here we turned back down to the coast on the Elephant Pass Road, again a winding forest lined road that joined us back onto the Tasman Highway.
Bicheno is a small fishing town and beach resort on the east coast only 180km from Hobart and even closer to Launceston, so is very popular with holiday makers. Here we spent some time walking around the interesting blow holes that are close to the town. I had fun running on the rock but was a bit scarred when the water shot up in the air! After some yummy eats and a drink at the town bakery we were off again, this time to Coles Bay and the Freycinet National Park.
Being a national park, I’m not allowed to visit there of course unless I have a doggy sitter so daddy has to stay with me while the others could go and visit the park. Dad does not mind doing that and a few others didn’t worry about seeing the park. We went to the little Coles Bay townsite for a look around and lunch while the others when to see the Park for a couple of hours. A nice relaxing afternoon for me. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to fly drones in national parks so Jeff will have to take lots of still photos and hand videos. After the group reformed mid-afternoon, it was a fairly short ride to our accommodation, the Swansea Backpackers, where I met lots of nice backpackers from different countries on working holidays of Australia.
Day 11. Swansea to Port Arthur
Our plan today was a 180km ride to Port Arthur, the historic convict penal settlement from the 18th century. Doggies are allowed to the Port Arther settlement but we were staying the night at the caravan park next to site which is in a national park, so daddy had to find a place for me to stay overnight. I was very lucky as he found a nice lady to care for me. I was dropped of at her little cabin on the way to Port Arthur mid-morning and Pa promised to come and get me early the next day. My new friend was Caitlin and she had a little dog called a whippet. We had fun together.
Daddy and the others carried on to Port Arthur, stopping at Eaglehawk Neck along the way to take photos of the rugged coastline before booking in to the accommodation and spending the afternoon exploring the site of a very cruel period in the history in Australia. The entry admission to Port Arthur is for 2 days, so I would spend the morning with them after Pa picked me up.
Day 12. Port Arthur to Hobart
I was having fun with Caitlin and her puppy, but was happy when daddy came. We went back to join the others at Port Arthur and spent the morning walking around the old buildings. It is a very interesting place and somewhere you should visit. Latter in the morning, we all mounted up again and rode on towards Hobart, where we would stay for the next 3 days. I would also see my best friends Sally and Greg because they were holidaying in Tazzie as well. On the way to Hobart, we had a nice pub lunch at Richmond, an historic town north of Hobart. After lunch we travelled down Grasstree Hill Road to the caravan park in Risdon Brook, right next to the Risdon Maximum Security Prison. I had a nice dog friendly cabin with even my own play yard. The ride was only 100km today. Tasmania is quite small and easy to get places, but there is so much to see, you miss a lot along the way. Since leaving home in Peth, we had travelled 3,935 km’s to get to Hobart.
Day 13, Day 14 and Day 15. Hobart
Today was Saturday. There was going to be lots to see in Hobart, Pa had been here before so he had some places to visit to show the others. He definitely wanted to go Bruny Island and make it to the top of Mount Wellington this time. It was going to be exciting for me.
The first place to go was the Salamanca Street Markets where they sell lots of things, especially clothing, arts and crafts and food. Daddy brought me a nice Tazzie Tiger jacket and home-made doggie treats. He got a tee shirt that said, ‘Dog Is My Co-Pilot’. We met up with Sally and Greg for some nice street food and spent the afternoon with Paul and Jeff looking around the nice Derwent River mouth suburbs.
On Sunday Dad took the team the team south on Huon Road and Huon Highway through lots of towns to the Hastings Caves. Of course, I was not allowed there so daddy and Paul spent time riding around Southport, the southernmost township in Australia. The others caught up at lunch time and we had lunch at Australia’s Southern Most Pub. We took a fairly long way back to Hobart, Pa taking cashing the spectacular scenery of coastal roads most of the way. Back in Hobart there was time left to go up Mount Wellington, and although it said not dogs allowed, Daddy took me to the very top! Wow, what a view.
Our last day in Hobart was Monday, and it was to be our Bruny Island trip. Not all the boys wanted to go so it was only Jeff, Jim, Mark, Colin, Ken and me. You have to take a ferry to the island but they go often. The ferry post was a 45km ride from our accommodation so we went early to spend more time on the island. North Bruny is very hilly and all the roads are gravel but in good condition and easy to ride. South Bruny roads are mostly bitumen, except for the Lighthouse Road 17km to the far south. We were advised not to do this one as it was currently very rough. We all enjoyed our trip to Bruny and another thing ticked off Pa’s bucket list. Tomorrow, we turn for home, we have been travelling a total of 21 days since leaving Melbourne.
Day 16. Hobart to Derwent Bridge via The Gordon River Dam
Today was going to be fairly long. The first part of the trip was to check out the Gordon River Dam followed by getting to the overnight accommodation at Derwent Bridge. The ride involved riding out to the dam on the Gordon River Road from the turn off at Westerway, a distance of 105kms, then returning to Westerway to continue on to the Derwent Bridge. Actually, Daddy had wanted to stay at a village called Tarraleah, a community centre built to house the workers on the Hydro Schemes in Tasmania. It is a lovely place that Pa had stayed in last time, but because of lots of construction works, all the accommodation was full, meaning the team had to travel a lot further to Derwent. Dad and I, however, would have to stay at Tarraleah in a tent, as the cabins at Derwent Bridge were not dog friendly at all.
We left Hobart early on Tuesday after a fantastic 3 days exploring the south east of Tasmania. Daddy had planned the trip to out of the city through the high country of Molesworth, not the boring Lyell Highway route, and all was going well until Pa missed a turn off and we ended up doing an extra 7km on gravel roads. The boys loved it! We stopped at Westerway for at the turnoff for a break and then continued on towards the Gordon Dam. The Gordon River Road is another great road to ride. Fast, undulating and windy through Forest Reserves and Conservation Areas. Sally and Greg had stayed a couple of days there doing trail walks and we would catch up with them later that day. On the way to the dam, we stopped a few times to take photos and to admire the scenery. One stop was to look over Lake Pedder, which together being linked with Lake Gordon, form the biggest water catchment and storage system in Australia. After time at the Gordon Dam and more photos, we had a nice lunch stop at Strathgordon, a resort and accommodation area transformed from the original dam workers construction camp. It was then a fairly fast trip back to Westerway for a fuel up and on to Derwent Bridge. The total ride that day was over 400km.
It was mid afternoon when we left Westerway, stopping to wait for Busa, who had a bike malfunction, and there was still 120km’s to ride. Dad and me only had 70km to go but the office to the caravan park was closed so he had to go to the bar and ask for accommodation. The barman said they had a cabin left and daddy forgot to tell him he had a doggie with him. We had a very comfortable night in our “tent”.
Day 17. Derwent Bridge to Strahan
Derwent Bridge is only 130km’s from Strahan. We would stop a Queenstown first, which was a distance of 85km. Busa headed of earlier to see if he could find somewhere to get his bike fixed. Dad and I had to get up early and ride 50km to meet up with the others. It was funny because when we got there the lady who looked after the accommodation thought Pa and I had been there all night and was very angry at him, accusing him of having a dog stay over. Sally and Greg had stayed there overnight as well and thought the lady was a bit weird also. Unfortunately, it had started to rain on the way from Tarraleah and it only got worse on the way to Queenstown. Daddy had to ride fairly slow in the slippery conditions. That meant we could not safely stop along the way to look at things.
In Queenstown we had a nice lunch at the railway station and spent some time looking around the town. I was allowed to go into a museum with Pa and have a look at lots of old stuff. Warly afternoon, the rain had stopped, and we all gathered for the run down fairly steep wooded and windy roads to Strahan, where we would stay for the next two days until Saturday, when we would return to Devonport. Sally and Greg were staying in Strahan as well, but at another park.
Day 18 and Day 19. Strahan
The first day in Strahan was to be a day by myself, as the team and Sally and Greg were all going on a river cruise on a big launch called the Harbour Master 2. Daddy said it is owned and operated by a local family so that why we used it. Strahan is on a big estuary, called the Macquarie Harbour, which is at the mouth of the Gordon River, the same river we had seen a couple of days before. The group had a great time on the river, seeing lots of history of the cruel convict days on Sarah Island, the Salmon Farms, Ocean Heads and walking through the forest as the boat went a fair way up the Gordon River. That night, most went to a pantomime play, about a ship that never was, part of the history of Sarah Island. Daddy says that if you are ever in Strahan, you must go on the boat cruise and to the pantomime play.
Friday the 15th November, this was our last day in Strahan, and the team had all planned individual things to do. Colin was interested in the special train that travelled between Strahan and Queenstown, some wanted to rest, but Daddy just wanted to explore Queenstown a bit more, especially the old mining operations called the Iron Blow. It is where gold was first discovered in Queenstown in 1883’ before copper. The greed of man striped the landscape bare above the town but parts are recovering. The Queen River that runs through Queenstown still is an orange yellow colour due to the mine pollution over many years. This pollution still finds it way by river systems into the Macquarie Harbour at Strahan. Daddy took lots of photos today and I enjoyed standing in positions of interest. I hope you like some of the photos we have showing you as we travel. Tomorrow, we ride to Devonport, ready to catch the ferry to Geelong on Sunday. We said our good byes to Greg and Sally, we will see them again in Perth.
Day 20. Strahan to Devonport
A 270km ride today would see us back in Devonport. The route was from Strahan to Zeehan and following the west coast to the Reece Dam where we stopped for a look and photos. From there we headed back to the Murchison Highway as we headed towards the Cradle Mountain area of Tasmania. The road had passed through both sparce and heavily forested areas, but always interesting and like all roads in Tasmania, great for daddy to ride. There did not seem to be much farming in this area. We had been told about a funny little coffee café in Tullah, so it was important we went there. It was very nice and quirky, and had an alpaca that looked over the fence at everyone. After the coffee break, daddy led the group to the Belvoir Road turn off and on towards Cradle Mountain. We made one more stop before there, the Black Bluff Lookout, the highest point on the Belvoir Road at 930 metres. We all had to walk up a big hill to the lookout to see the great views. As normal, I was not allowed to go in to Cradle Mountain, so daddy and I, Jim, Paul, Mark and Jeff went on to Devenport while the others spent the afternoon visiting the famous attraction. Mark and Jeff had organised to leave on the ferry back to Melbourn today. We where back in Devonport mid afternoon after stopping in Sheffield for lunch, the others joining us later that day. It was a nice doggy friendly park and cabin for our last night in Tasmania.
Day 21. Goodbye Tasmania
It would be a fairly long wait for the last six plus me until we would be ready to board the Spirit of Tasmania at 4:00pm in the afternoon. To pass the time we went to see the Don River Railway, a heritage railway with steam train trips along the Don River & a museum showing restored locomotives. It was fun riding in the old railway carriages along the river. Colin wanted to visit the Maritime Museum as well so after the railway we went there. Pa and I rode into town to take photos of the ferry from across the harbour. The caravan park had been very nice to allow us to keep our luggage at the cabin until it was time to get ready to line up board the boat and we had one more surprise.
There were lots of other bikers there to catch the ferry back to Melbourn today. As dad was standing with me a chap, Billy Ward, walked by. Pa had met Billy at an event at Auto Classic a few years ago with Chloe. Pa said hi, not expecting any recognition. Billy looked at daddy and said, “is that the same little dog”. Pa was a bit flabbergasted that Billy had remembered him and stuttered, “no, this is little TedE, I lost Chloe a few years ago”. Billy Ward is the manager of Charley Booman, of Long Way Round and other TV Documentaries, and they were here hosting an adventure ride for a lot of international and Australian riders. Our little group met up with Charley and had a great photo with him and Billy. A lot of their group were very impressed by me being able to ride all those kilometres on a bike, especially Sergio and Celise Pires, all the way from Bazil. They had only spent 10 days on tour; we had spent 20!
The boat trip back to the Geelong Port was very rough. I had to spend the night in a little cage but it was OK, I knew Daddy would get me first thing in the morning and we would be on our way back home. The Alps and Tazzie adventure was over!
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.