Day 17 (Launceston to Devonport)

Day: 117km
Total: 1204 km

This morning was very relaxed. I had a good brekky, it was made even better as it was leftover cereal in the free section of the hostel. I didn't want to buy new cereal or bring to much food with me on the final leg today as I knew I'd be loading back up in Melbourne.

I left the hostel around 9:15am and had to arrive in Devonport before 6:30pm to get on board the Spirit of Tas. This gave me a little bit of pressure as I had the time limit, and I had to cycle roughly 110km. I had completed 110km in previous days in around 7 hours ride time, which included an extra hour or so stoppage time. I felt ok as I knew in a worst case scenario I could push a bit harder knowing I have a few rest days ahead of me.

When I left the hostel I said goodbye to my short lived friends. They were all very supportive of my trip and waved me goodbye. My Japanese friend gave me a pair of chop sticks as a goodby gift. I was stunned, I wasn't expecting a gift. This means a lot to me, especially as I've been to Japan and appreciate the Japanese culture. I'll be sure to hold on to these chop sticks.

I managed to make it to the ferry on time in the end. I got in around 5:30pm which allowed me to get some cheap food from the grocers so I didn't have to spend all my money on the ships food.


The ride back was good. I shared a cabin with 3 strangers, middle age to old men. They were alright, didn't talk to much really. I was absolutely buggered so slept like a baby, very different to my ride over to Tassy.

Day 16 (Rest day - Launceston)

Today was a ripper day. I met some other great people and managed to fill a lot of great things into the whole day.

I went to the Gorge with the Aussie bloke I met yesterday, a Japanese guy I made friends with and an Italian bloke I met in the morning. These were all nice guys and I really had a great time. We jumped off a few big rocks into the river and watched a few crazy locals do some backflips into the water. The Aussie bloke had to be back by 3:30 so he could get a flight back to Melbourne. The other two, plus a guy from Hong Kong in the hostel came along with me to the local James Boags brewery. This was a really fun afternoon. We all got to try the local beers, got up to a bit of mischief and watch the Hong Kong fella pass out after having 1 and a half beers. This was even funnier when the Japanese guy and I left, as we saw the bloke from Hong Kong walking in the wrong direction and nearly get hit by a truck, as he was so drunk he couldn't remember where he was going. We got a hold of him and made sure he was safe.

We walked to a local park and met a few local boys. This was nice, as we kicked a footy around, well an American gridiron ball, and spoke about some of the things happening around Launceston. They were wrapped to meet some people from Japan and Hong Kong, although I think they thought they were from the same country. They were also wrapped to meet someone from Melbourne.

After this we cooked up a big pasta back at the hostel. We all cooked together and mixed whatever food we could scrounge up. This was a really nice way to wrap up a perfect day.

Not long after dinner someone smoked out the kitchen and caused the fire alarms to go off. I was amazed by how fast the fire fighters came and the fact the hostel didn't tell them not to bother coming in as it was only smoke from burnt dinner. It was very obvious to see, and very clear that nothing caught fire. I thought that fire fighter were perhaps required to come in due to government regulation, or insurance reasons. It gets on my nerves when I see things done in a systematically flawed manner, as a result of regulation requirements. Something similar to watching 6 lazy people earn 30$ an hour to watch a construction crew work, as they are "supervising there safety". Although I've earned good money doing something similar to this on the railways I still hold no quarrels in objecting to these regulating requirements. Something has to change with this in our already nanny state controlled society.

Tomorrow will be my last day in Tasmania, as I head up to Devonport to board the ferry around 6:30pm.

Day 15 (Scottsdale to Launceston)

This morning was nice, I had a descent brekky with a few guys at the campaign grounds. A family I was chatting with made me bacon and eggs in toast which was very filling. I haven't had bacon for over a year. It was hard for me to accept this, but the last thing I will ever do is display ingratitude to a free meal. The man approached me, in a very strong Aussie accent, said he already put one on for me cause he thought I'd be starving and it's the Aussie way to help out. Out of respect I accepted and sat with the family while we all had brekky together.

Following brekky I shot off for Launceston. This was a descent ride but made a lot easier by the fact I hit it hard yesterday and reduced my km's for today. I must admit I was absolutely buggered about 15km in, after I got hit with a 13km climb that made me work hard. In total I was on the bike just over 4 and a half hours today.

During the ride I stopped a few times. First was at an Eco-House where they explained local flora and some of the history in the area. Half way to Launceston I stopped at a little kiosk in a camping ground. This was in the middle of nowhere and from what I gathered was the last chance to get a feed. They didn't have much on offer so I bought a whole pack of tim tams and ate it within a few minutes. It was disgusting but really hit the sweet spot.

After this a random guy saw my bike and was having a good look at it. He asked if he could join me for the rest of my ride to Launceston, which was roughly 40km. He was a bit strange so I wasn't to warming to his suggestion. I had no option really and after a little while it turned out he wasn't so bad.

We pulled into Launceston and I had a great feeling of joy. It was a mixture of reasons as to why, but I think mostly that I felt I accomplished another achievement. I gave the random guy a high 5 and headed off to my hostel. Actually I stopped at a museum so this guy didn't know where I was staying, but after this I went over to the hostel.

The hostel has a good vibe, it's the cheapest in town at $21 a night. I'm in a 8 bed dorm, with mostly Chinese and Taiwanese people. It's amazing how many of them are down here looking for farm work, due to the visa requirements.

I met a Melbourne bloke from eastern suburbs in the same area where I'm from. Really nice laid back guy, seems to have similar interests to mine. Made me think about how much our surroundings may have influenced who we are as people.

Tomorrow rest day!! Perfect

Day 14 (Bay of Fires to Scottsdale)

Day: 120km
Total: 1010km
Weather: Sunny high 20's

I woke up a little earlier than normal this morning so I could experience the sunrise of Tassies east coast before I leave. I also had a pretty disrupted sleep which played its part in waking up early. The sunrise was amazing as expected . Following this I packed all my gear up and enjoyed a bowl of oats, water and some lemon juice leftover from yesterday.

After this Briggite woke up and had some brekky too. I wasn't sure what her plans were but I think they're similar to mine - take it as it comes. I would have toured with her for a bit more as she was great company, the only problem is that she has a longer time frame and is moving at a slower pace.

I got out of the camp site around 8:45 and got into the main town of St Helen's just after 9. Here I stocked up some bread and lollies then took off for what I was expecting to be 100km with undulating surface, including a consistent band of steep hills throughout. I stopped after 40 odd km and had a chochlate bar. I decided to take it pretty easy even though I felt strong enough to keep pushing it out. After this short stop the wind hit me a lot harder. It didn't help with a straight 13km climb to get to the other side of the mountain either. This was hard going past this point. It felt like the road kept going, especially when I realised that I was still 60 odd km away from my destination. I persisted and then made it to Derby, a small cosy feel country town. I went to a home made food cafe, which I had a delicious homemade berry muffin. After this I kept going for a further 33km. In total I was on the bike 7hours and 30 minutes exactly.

During this I also passed the 1000km mark on the odometer. This was a great feeling as I realised a big chunk of the trip is completed. It made me realise that Melbourne to Adelaide, in a direct route, is just under a thousand km. If I've done 1000 in undulating terrain here in Tassy, then I can do it on the mainland. The only thing I am slightly worried about is heavy winds on mainland, this is something that concerns me a little.

When I eventually pulled into Scottsdale I found a perfect little free camp site 2 km before main town. Because I arrived at 17:45 I had to move quick, as I know in most of Tassys smaller towns the local IGA closes at 6 or 6:30.

I couldn't believe how fast I set my tent up. This was the quickest I've done it all trip. At the same time I had an old fella close by keep talking to me. I kept saying I was buggered and I would catch up with him later but he kept asking me questions. I had to drop all my gear off and head up to shops.

The ride up to the shops was a killer. only 2km away but the hill up was perhaps the steepest I had to face all day. Thank god I took my gear off at the camp ground. Luckily the shops were open till 7. I managed to get my phone charged for 40 minutes and also load up on some wholesome food.

I came back washed up and had dinner with a French couple who are touring around Aus in a van. I couldn't believe how polite they were. I asked if I could borrow a fork and they invited me to sit with them for dinner. Not what you would call typical French behaviour..

Now I'm off for some sleep as I am absolutely buggered!

Day 13 - Rest Day (Bay of Fires)

This morning was great. The sun came out and made everything a lot easier. I was worried last night that it would continue raining into the morning, but it must have stopped around 6 this morning. It really made a lot of difference. I was able to get all my gear together and keep it dry, whilst sitting my tent in the sun to dry off all the dampness.

After packing up the site Briggite and I made pancakes at the public bbq. These were great, mixed with oats, cinnamon and some pepita seeds. After brekky we shot off in search of proper camp site. We asked a few locals and headed off in the direction of Bay of Fires. After about 10km and a few steep hills we made it to a perfect location.

At our camp site is a French family (on bikes as well) and an Aussie lady, her daughter and her mother. It's great to see the three generations out here on the country together.

I had a good speak with the Aussie family. I'm always pleased to learn more about other Australian people, although most Australians I've met all share a similar nature and persona. It made me realise that many Australians lack many basic world knowledge skills, many that are required in the modern world. This had built further off a discussion with a man from Taiwan the other day in Hobart, when he put it politely "Australian people are innocent, but dumb". At start I wasn't sure how to react to him, but with further thought I can understand his reasoning from a foreigners perspective.

This made me realise that what these Australian people do and say, represents what every Australian does or says. I would like to feel pride in whenever a foreigner visits, or meets an Australian abroad. This means not only basic respect (from what I've observed it is also common for Australians to not even deliver on this when abroad) but also an understanding of foreign culture and perhaps being capable of conversing in a foreign language. In a world privileged country with all the adequate resources and learning capabilities these should really be introduced properly into our system.

In saying this the lady here at the camp site works hard and her sole mission in life is to look after her daughter. This is something to be proud of as well and by her own rights contains all the knowledge she needs to know. My observation on this is from the perspective of a globalising world, and more so for Australia being one of the culturally diverse hubs in the 21st century.

Now after a great feed and a sit around the fire I'm ready for sleep for an early wake up tomorrow and a big ride of around 120km.

Day 12 (Bicheno to Binalong)

Day- 98km
Weather- Mid 20's windy at times

Today was hard both mentally and physically. I woke up good and felt full of energy. I took off good, averaging around 20km per hour (compared to maybe 15km or less that I was doing on the west coast). The distance I needed to cover to get to my destination was roughly 75km and I assumed a little extra for finding tent site ect. It was after around 50km when I started to hit the wall a bit. It wasn't really a wall because I knew I could keep going, and mentally I knew I could keep going for hundreds of km more. It was the fact I was riding into the wind and it felt like I wasn't really going anywhere.

As I came closer to my destination I saw a female cyclist. I saw from a distance she had all her gear on the bike so instantly assumed she was a camper like my self. As I approached her we spoke about each others journeys, and pedalled out the last ten km rather easy. Her name is Briggite (pronounced in an Italian way although she is actually of Dutch origin) and she is travelling around Tassie for a month and a half on the bike. We eventually got into town and had a big feed, then followed it up with a swim in the bay. We were both thinking similar things, as we were both after budget accommodation- free tent sites. We bought some food in the IGA and then headed off in search for camp grounds. As we were in the IGA I refused to pay excessive amount for lemons to season our fish. I figured I'd find one in a garden somewhere..

We investigated in town about where we could go. We ended up riding off towards the bay of fires in the search of camp grounds. We had a dodgy map and didn't have much luck finding any spots. As we were looking for a tent site, one thing that was lucky was that I managed to find that lemon tree after all! After this it started raining lightly. We went back to a public toilet, which also had a free BBQ. As we were there the rain started getting stronger and stronger. It was pouring down. Water everywhere, all on our gear even though it was partially covered by shelter.

We decided to set the tents up there as we didn't have to many other options. After a good feed of fresh fish, capsicum and spinach we've now set the tents up and I'm ready for bed. I can hear the waves of Binalong beach crashing next to me and the heavy rain on my tent. I've left all my gear out in the sheltered area so hoping its all safe there.

Tomorrow I want to investigate the aboriginal history of the area. One thing I've already discovered is that the bay is called "Bay of fires" due to the large amounts of spot fires that the Europeans observed when they first arrived. This should be no surprise really, as many Europeans claimed to see many spot fires around all of Australia when arriving to shore.

Pros- Swam in a crystal clear pure beach
- Ate some fresh seafood.
- Managed to dodge a disaster with the rain and set my tent up ok.

Cons- Very wet (not something I can really call a con though)

Day 11 (Orford to Bicheno)

Day: 101km
Total: 787 km

This morning I woke up a bit heavy. I believe it to be probably a combination of waking up in the middle of the night from a few loud campers and also from consuming a bit of dairy yesterday. It felt like the food I had the night before had been stuck half way in my stomach. It's difficult to gauge whether its dairy in my system or because its sitting hours on end on the bike and only consuming sugary lollies.

After cycling around trying to find some public toilets I finally spotted one. This worked out well cause I then dropped my phone off to charge at the towns only cafe in Orford. I went back, had brekky, packed all my gear and then said bye to my fellow campers.

The ride was ok, tough at times as any 100+ride would be. Overall it was ok, although I was wrapped to pull into Bicheno. During the ride I stopped at a couple local farmer houses. One stop was a little wine and walnut house. This reminded me of something that Charles Darwin would have encountered during his travels around the world. In the house was a nice Italian girl. After chatting with her I learnt that she is working in the farm for her visa requirements. I think she was pleased to have someone come in to talk with her. She let me try a few walnuts for free, these were the best tasting and freshest walnuts I've ever eaten. I felt like I needed to repay the favour, so when a couple walked in looking at wine I said enthusiastically "The wines great here!!" the girl looked at me with a bit of a smile. Seconds later I was caught out when the couple asked me which was my favourite..

When I finally pulled into Bicheno I asked a local backpackers for any info in camp grounds and managed to find a site close by. Here I cooked up a few local venice sausages on the BBQ and had some tasty home made tomato sauce from a fellow camper. Good recovery meal I thought.

Pros - Met a nice Italian girl and had some free straight off the tree walnuts.

Cons - Digestive problems, potentially lactose related