An Official Good-Bye to Australia

Yes, I have arrived in the States!!!  Thanks for the overwhelming amount of welcomes.  I know everyone is eager to know how I’m feeling back in my native country, however, before I disclose that, I can’t move on without saying a proper “good-bye” or “see you soon!” to Australia.

Northwest Tasmania, filled with lots of climbs and temperate rainforests 

Tasman Peninsula, Southeast Tasmania

I couldn’t have panned a better way to end my route down under.  Tasmania was all that I expected and more! I had pretty much moved Tasmania (and Australia for that matter) to the top of my list before I even hit the East Coast of the island.  After my visit to Maria Island, there was no question that Tasmania was #1 on the list.  What list is this you might ask? Well, I actually have quite few different lists on this trip,….an ongoing list of things to do, a list of livable places to settle down, a list of places I want to come back and explore more, a list of my favorite food/meals, a list of my favorite roads,….. But Tasmania actually moves to the top of my list for overall favorite places I’ve visited on this trip. Australia actually crept to the top of the list of places where I could see myself living and working after this trip! 

I ohh and ahhh an incredible amount on the road.  WOW!, is the most frequent word out of my mouth! Therefore it becomes quite difficult to choose a “favorite” place I’ve been.  The most popular question kids ask me during a school visit is just this, “Which country is your favorite?”  I hate to label some thing or some place as my favorite, because I’m able to see neat and unique qualities in all the country I’ve been to, and I can’t admit to have been treated poorly or been appalled by the food in any particular country.  In order to substantiate a subjective label like this, I have a strict criteria for evaluating a destination based on three key elements in the world of tour cycling: people/culture, food, and scenery.  Some places like Cambodia have delicious food and a fascinating culture, but the scenery isn’t as spectacular as New Zealand let’s say!  However, New Zealand didn’t score very high in the food category.  In Tasmania (although I found this to be true all over mainland Australia) the people were incredibly kind and hospitable, the food was high class and varied, and the scenery was diverse and constantly impressive.

A more arid region of Tasmania north of Hobart

Hells Gate, West Coast, Tasmania

Nothing is flat in Tasmania, rolling hills in the north

Tasmania is like a miniature New Zealand.  In both places, I spent almost the entire day pedaling next to uninterrupted natural beauty. It made me wonder…… What were the Brits were thinking sending convicts to such a beautiful place?!?!  If I lived back in the day, I would have stolen a loaf of bread in England just to get on the boat to go to Tasmania and experience it’s impressive surroundings!  There is one real big city in Tasmania of considerable size, and two or three other decent size towns.  The majority of the other land in untouched, undeveloped, and many well preserved national and state parks.    In  fact, if you look at a map of Tasmania, there aren’t even any roads that traverse the southwest part of the island because nature is so wild and dense.  Tasmania has almost every type of landscape imaginable except for snow capped mountains for downhill skiing, although Mt. Wellington and Cradle Mountain do get snow during the winter! There is beautiful farmland, dry plains and parched rolling hills.  There is temperate rainforest and rocky ocean shores, sandy beaches, and picturesque river valleys and gorges.  The advantage of this small island is that you never have to pedal very far to get from one place to another. 

Just behind Hobart is Mt. Wellington, a great ride or place to hike!

Kangaroos grazing on Maria Island, Tasmania

Beaches in Australia also deserve special attention, and this is coming from someone who prefers mountainous landscapes to beaches. Everyone seems to equate Asia with beautiful beaches and heads there for their beach holidays.  Asia is a great inexpensive beach destination, but Australia’s beaches are the best I’ve seen in the world and incredibly diverse!  At many of the beaches I saw, there were surfers and swimmers, but there were also plenty of beaches with kangaroos and cows grazing, and rocky cliffs that invited for people to do all sorts of activities like hiking and mountain biking and many beaches where the temperate forests grows right up next to the coastline. 

Freycinet National Park, Tasmania

Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania

Painted Cliffs, Maria Island, Tasmania

If I had to choose between the food in Australia and a country in SE Asia, I would probably choose an Asian country.  However, what I enjoyed about the food in Australia is that it is so diverse.  Because of their large international population, you can find authentic delicious laksa and Indian curry anywhere in Australia or be more than satisfied with a native kangaroo burger or the catch of the day straight from a fishing boat at the pier.  There is a variety of fruits in this country and since there is a tropical region up north, Australia seasonal fruit all year round!  Cold coffee drinks can’t be beat in SE Asia, but Australia has a unique coffee culture. In Australia, it all comes down to what kind of coffee machine you have, and believe me, I tried them all!  With a cup of coffee, it is hard to pass up a pastry and Australia’s baked goods are top notch!  I never considered myself a wine drinker until I arrived in Australia, and the wine in Tasmania superb!  I passed vineyard after vineyard all over the island.  But if you don't like wine, there are plenty of microbrews and ciders as well-What a reward at the end of a long day of riding!

The buffet lunch on the Gordon River cruise, unbeatable!

Ciders are the new trend here in Tasmania

Finally, Australia wouldn’t be Australia without its culture!  Coming from Asia where it was harder to find English language speakers, I found it quite easy to really get to know people in Australia, share ideas, compare perspectives, and enjoy their company.  The amount of hospitality that I received in Australia was unheard of.  In fact, despite what you might think, I actually spent less money in Australia than Asia! How is this possible? People’s generosity!  I had an incredible network of hosts from Thomson Bike Tour clients, friends of theirs, friends of friends, and other teachers I met previously on the trip.  Not to mention, I received gracious amounts of random acts of kindness all throughout mainland Australia and Tasmania. 

Stu, myself, and Kersti, great hosts on the mainland

Future TBT clients hosted me at their beach shack in Port Arthur, Tasmania

My host, Georgie Brown, and I, enjoying local Tasmanian wine.

Australians have a wonderful quality of life.  The way of life here reminds me a lot of Europe, and this might very well be because of all of the European ancestory and more recent immigration.  It seems they embrace a multi-culture society, and value diversity.  At Melbourne’s night market with food booths from around the world, if you don’t speak English with a foreign accent you are a minority, and in Sydney’s Chinatown, you feel as though you’ve traveled to Malaysia and Vietnam when you enter some of the local restaurants. Here’s another simple example to get insight into the Australian culture.  I always find it interesting to observe the cafes in different countries.  In Europe, just like Australia,….most cafes don’t serve coffees to go! Paper cups don’t really exist.  Why? -Because people value a 10 to 15 minute break in their day to stop, relax, rest, disconnect, and feel refreshed before they go back to work.  Maybe this is where the saying “Stop and smell the coffee comes from?” It sure didn’t originate from the United States where it is almost virtually impossible to find a café that doesn’t serve their coffee out of a to go cup.  Why? – Because why would you stop to have a coffee if you can bring it with you while you do something else!

With all this goodness inside Australia, funny enough, the Aussies are a very modest culture. They are reserve yet content and quite clever to keep their country a secret, especially Tasmania.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Tasmania has to be one of the best kept travel destinations.  I surely do hope it’s a “see you soon!” rather than a good-bye to Australia……

*To view my complete Tasmania photo albums, click here!
*To view my video of Tasmania, click here! 

Maria Island Magic

Darlington, Maria Island

I don’t have to say much in this blog post, I think the picture do most of the talking.  However, I do need to introduce Maria Island.  For those of you who don’t know, Maria Island is located on the East Coast of Tasmania, closer to the south than the north.  It is a tiny little island, about 40 minutes by ferry from the town of Triabunna.  There are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island.  The only cars there are a few of the park ranger vehicles that drive around to survey the area.  Most people bring bikes, although  they also be hired. A lot of people just bring good old hiking boots as there are plenty of gravel paths and trails to explore.  Time on Tasmania for me is running out so I could only spend a day and night on the island, although I could have easily spent a week or more.  There is so much to see and explore but you definitely get a great taste for the island in a day. 

I expected to see a big ferry boat with a proper ticket sales office and a long cue when I rolled up to the Triabunna waterfront.  I thought I should probably arrive a good hour in advance.  The ferry left at 3:30pm, and at 2:45, there was no one to be seen, not even a boat big enough I’d call a ferry!  I popped my head in the visitor information center and sure enough I was in the right place and in fact, the boat was just 100 meters from me.  The lady there told me I could buy my ticket from the skipper directly, and that he’d show up closer to 3 or 3:15.  I went to the super market in town to pick up some groceries as there is also no store, café, or restaurant on the island.  Everyone has to bring in their own food and carry out all their waste.

By the time I returned to the harbor, things had picked up.  There was a couple, trekkers, and some women and children loading up boxes, suitcases, and backpacks of goods.  It looked like they were headed over for an entire month with the amount of stuff they had.  I bought my ticket from the skipper, John, and he helped my lift my bike onto the boat (no…there wasn’t even a proper ramp, the boat was that small).  There were 11 passengers total, maybe space for 50 passengers.  I was pleasantly surprised that with the Easter holiday there weren’t more people headed over. 

Maria Island bound......

The boast ride was the worst part of my experience.  I don’t do well on small boats; I get motion sickness.  John was so thoughtful and full of information for where to camp and cycle, but I could hardly listen as I was trying not to loose my lunch. Luckily the ride only lasted 40 minutes.  We arrived to what is called Darlington, a small establishment, once the center of convict life, that was well preserved and maybe a total of ten buildings, including what was once a coffee palace, mesh hall, penitentiary, and barn (next to which I camped).  There was also a visitor center and ranger office where I was supposed to sign in, but never saw the sign.  I was too busy strategically planning my early evening plan to make the most of the few hours of sunlight. John had told me where to go see the sunset, so I quickly ditched my bike, changed into less obvious cycling gear, and headed off to walk up to the fossil cliffs. Another thing I should mention, you don’t have to worry about anyone stealing your stuff On Maria Island.  I just left bike and all under the silos and nothing was touched.  Oh, and yes, I do appreciate time off the bike, so when there is a great path that can be hiked or biked, I choose to hike!  You have to change things up a bit, or at least I do!

Fossil Cliffs at sunset

At first I didn't recognize a live wombat, they look so different than the roadkill version

Surely there would be other walkers out, who wanted to see the sunset from the cliffs but to my surprise I found more kangaroos and wallabies than people.  In fact, I didn’t run into one other person!  I also saw my first wombat, which I didn’t recognize alive.  I’ve only seen them dead and they look much different as road kill. Alive, they still look a bit swollen and inflated, but I’d say they seem to be more of a ground koala bear than I imagined.  They are cute little fellows, and everywhere on Maria.

Sunset with mainland tasmania in the distance

My only company on my walk, heaps of wallabies

Sunset from the skipping ridge was incredible!  The cliffs were impressive, like horizontal corrugate cardboard, all different shades of bronze, that went vertically down into the waters below.  It was windy from high above, and someone with vertigo would have had their challenges, but I took it all in, jaw dropped the entire time.  Off in the distance over mainland Tasmania, the sunset and illuminated the sky with all sorts of vivid pinks, greys, and blues and I was all by myself, expect for the groups of kangaroos feasting on the grass down below. 

See that little house off in the distance,.....that is where I camped

On my way back to my bike, I spotted the perfect campsite off in the bush, above Darlington, as to not be bothered by the others, although at this point, I wasn’t convinced there were many “others” even on the island.  I collected my bike and wheeled it up the hill next to the barn, which would block my wind for the evening.  There was still enough sunlight and now moonlight to set up my tent, eat dinner without using my head torch. Again, I was in complete solitude except for the exception of some wombats and kangaroos grazing and the sound of the howling wind. Luckily the wind kept the sky free of clouds so I had the most impressive view of the stars in the southern sky before going to sleep and the temperature was just right for sleeping.

Can you remember the last time you went to sleep at 7:30pm,…and slept until 7:30 the next morning.  Well, I seem to be in this routine as I find myself free camping more and more here in Tasmania.  I seem to be catching up on a lot of missed sleep over the years.  You’d think one night of sleeping 12 hours would impede on the following night,….NOT TRUE, I can sleep and sleep, and sleep, and even have to set an alarm to make sure I’m up before I get “caught”.  Should I also admit that I wake up in a puddle of drool, from my sound sound sleep?!?!

Heading south on my walk, the storm has yet to blow in......

So many little beaches to be found here

From John’s advice, I could cycle most of the northern island in a day and see some of the main natural attractions.  However, my legs were itching for a change and I decided to try walking the same route.  I had enough time to give it a go and explore on foot.  I set off after a quick breakfast and headed towards the southern portion of the north part of the island.  I was a bit chilly when I set off, but in the matter of a half hour, I was so warm, I had stripped all my layers and wishing I had brought a bigger backpack.  I ran into a few hikers, three, to be precise, who were all headed back to Darlington.  I arrived to the southern campground on the island where there was a small house.  I didn’t think of stopping, as I felt great and didn’t need a rest.  Up above in the sky, grey clouds had rolled in.  I didn’t think anything of them, here in a Tasmania, there is a saying about the weather.  If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.  I was quite content with the clouds, but sure enough 5 minutes later the heavens opened and down it poured.  Along with the buckets of rain came huge gusts of wind.  I tried to hide behind a tree, but it must have been the skinniest tree in the entire forest and hardly covered me.  This rain seemed to be around for more than 5 minutes so I decided to take my chances and run back to the shelter at the campsite.  By the time I reached the house, I was dripping wet.  The house was luckily open, so I went in.  There was nothing inside except for a guest registration booklet and a fireplace that said fires were prohibited. 

I couldn’t complain, at least I was out of the rain, which didn’t seem like it was going to let up any time soon.  I quickly took off my wet clothes and put on a few drier items.  Then I did something I wasn’t suppose to….I lit a small candle on the fireplace and kept sticking little piece of paper in it to keep it burning and warm my hands.  I wasn’t breaking any rule really, as my fire wasn’t in the fireplace, and I had it completely under control.  The votive candle fire was the perfect flame size to keep my hands toasty.  In the meantime, I kept my positive thoughts flowing that the rain would shortly stop.  This time it was longer than 5 minutes, but eventually the weather did change, the rain stopped, and I was able to set off walking again.  With the storm, temperatures had dropped about 7 or 8 degrees Celsius and I was chilled, to say the least.  I had a good incentive to keep a fast pace….the faster I walked, the warmer I’d be, and the quicker I’d dry.

The smallest of fire made the biggest difference.....

On the way back from my loop walk, I saw the island’s famous painted cliffs.  Again, to my surprise, I was there alone.  There was no one around and these cliffs were just about the prettiest sight I’d seen in all of Australia.  How could it be?  Where was everyone?  This is what I love about Tasmania, it is one of the best kept secrets in the world and the Australians aren’t ones to boast about themselves, their culture, or their country, so by no means are they going to spoil the natural beauty of their surroundings any time soon.  You just don’t have the mass tourism like New Zealand, but the beauty is equally astounding if not more impacting. 

The Painted Cliffs, Wow, wow, and wow!!!!

From the other side

The painted cliffs were like something out of a magazine.  The erosion from the waves makes for a symmetrical pattern of variegated shades of orange, from light to dark and back again.  The tide has to be low to see the cliffs at their prime, and luckily it was on its way out when I visited.  I must have spent a good hour sitting there in awe taking in this magical sight.

Layers of colors

With mainland Tasmania off in the distance and the sun slipping down over the mountains, I headed back to Darlington, collected my bike and belongings, again, untouched, and boarded the boat back to mainland as happy as could be. By the time I hit Darlington I had completely dried out, one more thing to be grateful for.  Maria Island had just done it for me,…….it put Tasmania at the top of my list.  What list is that?......That’s a whole other blog post, just wait and see!

In a Tiny Corner of the World.....

Lake Roseberry, Tullah Lake Lodge

Once upon a time, in a tiny corner of the world, there was a cyclist who pedaled 100 kilometers in a day.  Now this was not anything unusual for the strong and mighty young lady, but what was so peculiar were the vastly different regions and beautiful landscapes she passed as she pedaled.  There were tall rugged mountains towering over a still, peaceful lake, brisk cold highlands, barren with low growing shrubbery and temperate rainforests with ferns as tall as humans and moss covering trees like wallpaper.  Last but now least, as is commonly found throughout Australia, there was rolling green farmland spotted with black and white cows, This farmland was different than other farmland in Australia because in the horizon you could see the mighty ocean, which is where this young lady was headed on her bike!

Rugged mountains hovering in the background leaving Tullah

Enough with the story telling, but you get the picture; Tasmania's geography is like something out of a children's storybook!  It's incredibly diverse and the reality is Tasmania is Australia's smallest state.  To give you an idea of Tasmania's size, it is about eight times smaller than Spain and four times smaller than Oregon.  If you were to combine Belgium and The Netherlands, it is roughly the same area as Tasmania. The main road that travels the periphery of Tasmania is about 1,200 kilometers.  Yesterday, in the 100 kilometers that I covered on the west coast, I cycled through 5 distinct landscapes and microclimates, yet I only passed through one town, and shared the road with no more than about two dozen vehicles in all of the 7 hours I was riding.  In the 100 kilometers I pedaled, I went from gorgeous rugged mountains on a calm still lake, rode past barren highlands, down into a lush gorge with a temperate rain forests, then out of the gorge to rolling farmlands, and ended up at the mouth of a river that flows into the ocean.  It was a long and challenging day, mostly because I had a lot of “flase flats” and I was so isolated from the rest of the world with no services to speak of.

Lake Roseberry, Tullah

My campsite....really I should have parked a caravan here

I had spent the night in Tullah, a town that hardly shows up on the map.  I wasn’t sure if there were proper camping facilities, but I had computed my days so that I would arrive on the north coast in time for a few school visits during the week.  Therefore, Tullah was a strategic stopover that didn’t let me down.  Settled on the side of Lake Roseberry, the Tullah Lake Lodge was the only accommodation in town.  I explored the shoreline of the lake before heading up to the reception to see if they’d let me camp in the caravan parking lot.  It was the only accommodation in town and doesn’t cater to tents because they want budget travelers to use their backpacker’s facilities.  Luckily they made an exception for me and I pitched my tent next to a small amenities hut and got a nice warm shower. My neighbors were a young couple who laughed at the fact I had my tent where a camper van would normally park, but they immediately recognized me as “the girl with the yellow bags” they had seen on the road earlier that day and were quite friendly.  I probably should have treated myself to a proper meal at the lodge pub, but I needed to get rid of some of my food weight as I was in for a lot of climbing the following day.  Therefore, a can of Aussie baked beans in tomato sauce, was my dinner followed by dark chocolate with almonds, my chocolate bar flavor of the week.  As gross as it may sound, it hit the spot!

Baked beans, a delicious dinner

The next morning, thanks to day light savings, I was up remarkably early,….so early, in fact, the two cafes in town weren’t open for breakfast. I had some granola bars and fruit and started my ride.  For the first 25 kilometers I climbed up from the lake and over mountains, pedaling upwards consistently through rugged peaks until I was finally rewarded with a downhill to barren highlands.  The temperature was frigid, but nothing colder than I had experienced a few days before when I found myself bundled up in almost all the warm gear I owned.  I’ve hit some cold weather on Tassie’s west coast, a first really since I was in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina back in October.  From the highlands, I came across an intersection the road, where I could pedal down the road 7 kilometers, out of the way, to have a coffee and meal, or I could continue on route to my destination.  I started to pedal down the road, motivated by the sounds of a warm coffee, but then turned around.  Seven kilometers was too much of an effort for coffee, I settled for a few more granola bars and my chocolate coffee milk concoction.  It isn’t as good as an Aussie Cappucino or a flat white, but powdered milk, instant coffee, and a bit of chocolate powder is the perfect combination of caffeine, sweetness, and energy to keep me nourished and pedaling.

Hellyer Gorge, Northwest Tasmania (very similar to Oregon rain forests)

In front of me I was facing the tougher part of my ride, a descent to the Hellyer Gorge, and then the climb back up.  I was told it was hard, but nothing “I couldn’t manage”.  It’s remarkable how other cyclists who give me route information always tell me “You’ll be fine, it’s nothing harder than you’ve already done!”  They assume I have such a high level of fitness that nothing will faze me out on the roads.  I guess they are right, I can do the climbing, but it is still challenging and difficult!  Going down to the Hellyer Gorge was a breeze.  It was like I had been transported to the temperate rain forests of Oregon.  There was something familiar about my surroundings: lush greenery, moss padding all the trees and pathways, and heaps of ferns shooting out all over the ground.  After a quick walk up the river, I hopped back on my bike, motivated by the road signs that told me there was a town called “Yolla,” up the road, about 24 kilometers.  If this town was big enough to be on the road signs, it meant that it would at least have a service station with some sort of cafe, or so I hoped. 

The highlands

Climbing out of the gorge wasn’t as grueling as I had imagined, but the last 5 of the 24 kilometers to Yolla were eternal.  At this point I had hit a total of 95 kilometers on my GPS, which normally doesn’t faze me.  But for some reason that day, I was completely spent.  Basically, I hadn’t had a proper rest stop all day, riding continually for almost 100 kilometers.  I had gone past my hunger and energy limit, using up all my reserves,…and my body desperately needed fuel!  You know what it is like going into a grocery store hungry? Well, imagine going into a grocery store completely famished after riding for almost 6 hours straight.  I didn’t realize how hungry I must have been until later that evening when I was looking through my pictures.  Here I’d taken about 20 pictures of recipes in a cooking magazine that was on the table where I had my soup.  Now looking at them, they aren’t that exciting of recipes, but at the time, I was drooling over the pictures.

From Yolla, I could see that I was close to my destination, but I lacked the motivation, so I looked to others to give me some.  I asked the lady working at the cafe my favorite but also most dreaded question,…. “What’s the road like from here to Somerset?” I don’t know why I always ask this question when I pretty much know that there are going to be hills.  I’m in Tasmania, nothing is flat!  However, this lady became my new best friend because to my surprise she told me I had a wee hill going out of town and then it was a smooth rolling descent to my destination. Even though I knew I had 15 kilometers downhill, my legs protested. They were done for the day! They ached, felt heavy, and just wouldn’t turn the way they usually did.   I found myself walking the first hill out of town, which lasted all of 50 meters, then I coasted most of the way down the hill, trying to keep myself distracted by the scenery so I wouldn’t obsessively count down the kilometers on my GPS. The scenery had now become coastal farmland, an unusual sight for me; green pastures right up to the rocky cliffs with cows grazing overlooking the ocean.

I could live there, a little barn on the top of a hill

I rolled into town singing along to a song at the top of my lungs.  I must have either been really off tune, or maybe it was the fact that I was singing in Spanish, but everyone starred at me.  I forgot that civilization existed after so many days of being in the remote wilderness, I turned down my volume just a tad, but continued to sing as I passed families and kids playing by the riverside, people kayaking, and walking alongside the river on a footpath. In the matter of 2 minutes, dozens of cars and trucks passed me on the main road, which is more traffic than I had come across the entire day or last two days.  There was a proper super market in town and public park, where I plopped down for a bit of a rest.  I was only half a kilometer from my host’s house, I was going to survive "happily ever after" but I needed a moment to take in my new “urban” surroundings, Somerset, a town of about 3,000 people. 

A typical Tasmanian coastline in the northwest

In the grand scheme of things, my day was relatively easy, yet mentally, it was difficult threatened by riding in such a remote area without services.  Had this been anywhere else in the world, it would have taken hundreds of kilometers to pass by so many diverse landscapes yet, in Tasmania, in this minute little corner of the world, I had seen everything from rugged mountains to highlands, farmland and the coastline all in a mere 100 kilometers.

Little did I know the following day I would see another small little corner of Tasmania.  My Warmshower host took me on a magnificent 350-kilometer tour (by car of course) of the western corner of Tasmania where there is such isolated wilderness that many of the roads have not even been paved.  I still can’t believe all the beautiful scenery I’m encountering in Tasmania, and such little tourism.  So far, I vote this place the best kept secret on my entire trip, but definitely worthy of a visit if you go to Australia, especially if you cycle!

Tasmania: A Small Town Kind of Island

Gates of Hell, Strahan River Cruise, Tasmania

The drier side of Tasmania

Small towns are delightful!  In a small town, there is always a friendly air; everyone knows everyone, for good or for bad (for good in my case!).  You walk in to the local store or cafe, they greet you, and talk to you like they’ve known you for years.  By listening to other people’s conversations you can tell that life is calm in a small town.  There is no sense of urgency and the smallest events become big news.  People are resourceful in small towns, making do with the simple pleasures in life and limited material possessions.  It’s like there is a time warp in small towns, which can feel foreign or backwards for big city people.  However, I embrace the small town feel and that is exactly why I’m in heaven in Tasmania. I cherish the change of pace in life over here compared to mainland Australia.

Everyone knows everyone in a small town and the same holds true for Tasmania. It actually feels like everyone here knows me!  Just this morning boarding the boat for the Gordon River cruise, the ticket lady told me, “You made it! I saw you yesterday on my way over from Queenstown on those hills and I didn’t know if you were going to make it!” She is one of many to tell me that.  When I stop for a break at a cafe, restaurant, or store, before I can even say hello, someone comes up to me and says something along the lines of…..“We saw you back in……”  “Wow! You are already here? We passed you back in……” , or in disbelief they say, “I can’t believe you made it here already…….”  Everyone seems to know me here and naturally they’re inclined to converse. 

After my first day of cycling, after setting up camp in a deserted caravan park in a town with one pub and no more than 10 houses, I walked to the local pub to treat myself to an evening beer and basket of chips (sometimes, I indulge in the healthiest of food!).  The bar man greeted me and said, “I thought you would make it here! I saw you back outside of Ouse.”  I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure I was going to make it.  The hills were grueling, but even worse was the head wind that slowed me down to about 13 kilometers per hour on the flats.  Unfortunately he told me I hadn’t seen anything in terms of hills, and needed to prepare myself for what was coming. 

Great roads for cycling if you don't mind the hills

There isn’t an extensive road network in Tasmania and there is very little traffic.  The main highway here in Tas is no wider than an alleyway in a big city, yet it’s the main thoroughfare that circumnavigates the entire periphery of the island.  I can go kilometers without being passed by a car in either direction.  And when the cars and trucks do pass, I always get a friendly wave.  There isn’t a shoulder for cyclist, but so far the drivers seem to welcome me sharing the road, the total opposite from the way drivers treated me on mainland.  Towns are sparse along the road however, and I have to be careful to plan my days carefully based on water and food stops as well as camp sites.

I was proud of my firemaking skills-got everything dried in no time at all!

Tasmania is rough and wild.  There are hills galore and they are steep.  I have yet to see a proper switchback.  The landscapes are reminiscent of New Zealand more than mainland Australia, however, distances are in miniature in comparison to the south island.  The climate is just as brutal as the roads.  My first day cycling, the temperatures got up to 30 degrees, but two days later, they never went about 10 degrees.  In fact, the first night, the sky was so beautiful and it was pleasantly warm, I decided to sleep without my rain flap.  In the wee hours of the morning I woke up to powerful roaring winds, followed by a huge storm that dropped buckets of rain on me.  My tent is waterproof but I hate packing up wet so I quickly brought all my gear into the camper’s kitchen which was vacant, and started to dry out my things.  I saw a fireplace and thought, that would be the fastest way to get things dry.  Remind you, part of being in a small town is being resourceful.  You don’t have many extra amenities and so you learn go back to using the simplest of things in life.  After all those years of watching my Dad and Walter start a fire at the beach house and home, I was proud of myself for getting a fire started in the wooden stove in the campers kitchen.  I had my clothes and tent all dried out in the matter of a few hours and was able to set out again once the rain stopped. 

Where else was I suppose to hang my fresh washed clothes while I went on the river cruise?!?!?

Other examples of resourcefulness on this small island (shameful or not)….I’ve got a running list.  When hot showers are hard to come by, I’ve found hot water taps in public restrooms at visitor centers to take extensive sponge baths.  I’ve done laundry in public toilets and laid them all across my bike and bags while parking it out back establishments,….and I’m becoming a frequent user of Tassie’s public libraries where you can also find free coffee and tea, internet access and hot showers,….yes, hot showers at a library, a great invention indeed!  Oh, and there is a delicious chain of bakeries that always has free samples.  If you stay long enough, they switch them out so I’m able to try two or three varieties of sweet treats all for free, after purchasing a coffee of course.

Rob and Lynne's camper van set-up.  Pretty snazzy, I pitched my tent under their awning

An eclectic mix of tourists at the hotel for dinner.  None-the-less, delightful company!

The tourists here on Tassie are definitely an older crowd, but I tell you, retired Aussies are an absolute delight and treat me like a very important cyclist.  Take for example Rob and Lynne who I met my first night riding at the caravan park.  Rob had seen my fire in the camper’s kitchen and couldn’t help but come over an join me.  We talked a bit before I headed out, and then later on that same day they found me again, just before I stopped for the day at Lake St. Clair.   I was going to camp there and have a quiet evening to myself, but they spotted me on the road, flagged me down, and invited me to dinner back at the hotel in town.  I could set up camp under their camper van awning, just to avoid any rain, and have some delightful company. You know me, I never turn down an offer for good company, nor food, so I after visited the lake, I headed back into town to meet them.

Not many big city hotels would let you dry your bike knicks in front of the fire and the rest of the clients!

We had a wonderful meal together in the hotel restaurant and instantly bonded.  They were a traveling duo, from up north in Queensland, each with their own children and grand children and enjoy each other’s company traveling.  Lynne is paralyzed from the legs down but has had a camper van designed and tailored to her needs so that she can travel completely independently.  Rob comes along for the ride and the two set off to travel around Tasmania for a month.  Rob has a great sense of humor.  He immediately wanted to teach me all the local slang, not really appropriate to mention in my blog, but I had a lot of fun learning the local phrases.  I was lucky to have such great company, not to mention the hotel let me bring dry out my wash in fromt of their fire and charge all my electronics.  We met another solo traveler Noel, and together the four of us had a delightful evening wining and dining.  At one point in the night, Rob, commented with his great sense of humor, “Let me get this straight, Melissa, you’ve got free accommodation and dinner, your drying your knicks by the fire and your computer and camera are plugged in and charging for free,….you really do well for yourself, don’t you?”  What a laugh,…..so he called me Freddie the Freeloader.  Little did I know I would run into Lynne and Rob the next three days along the road.  Day two, we stayed at opposite caravan parks, but I managed to find them in town and I came over to use their kitchen to prepare my dinner.  Today, we set out on the Gordon River Cruise together.  Again Rob had a laugh and photographed each of my trips through the buffet on board.  I hit it up for three big plates of food!  With local cheese and fresh smoked salmon, I couldn’t resist!

One of three trips through the boat buffet!  Fine dining indeed!

Might I say Rob and Lynne also had three trips through......

Half the people on the boat today had seen me on the road the previous days, and the chances are high that I will continue to see them as I make my way up north.  I’ll be sad to see Lynne and Rob off tomorrow.  Tonight, to celebrate, we have a dinner date back at their camper van.   I bought rissoles, a fancy name for Aussie hamburgers, and Lynne has defrosted chicken.  I’m sure I’ll end up pitching my tent under their awning again as I have done the last few nights.  As Rob likes to remind me, “What are friends for if you can’t use them!” 

"Freddie the Freeloader" and Rob- I'm going to miss these guys

I love the small town feel of Tassie.  I am very well cared for here. I actually feel more like a local celebrity.  By the time I’m done touring the island, I bet I will have run into about half of the island’s inhabitants out on the roads!  Tassie is paradise for tour cyclists, even more so than New Zealand.  In fact, I think it is one of the best-kept secrets, which is why I hesitate to rave so about it on my blog.  Shhhh! Please don’t tell anyone, I don’t want to spoil it!