Coastal Biker - Mit dem Fahrrad die Welt erkunden
Equipment
We have arrived in Tasmania. After a rather calm ferry ride from Melbourne to Devonport, arrived at the Tasmanian port city in the early morning and took on the hunt for a campground in order to catch some sleep as we had a little sleep deficit after the last nights (on the train & ferry).
| Then things finally started and we went on our first leg. We quickly noticed that two things contradicted each other, our not yet existing fitness and the Tasmanian hills peppered with head wind. Nonetheless, we made it to the Narawntapu National Park. There we made our first contact with Australian/Tasmanian fauna and saw kangaroos and wallabies, that watched us eating. Towards the evening the wind got stronger which led to everything being covered by a black layer of dust the next morning. |  |
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The following day took us on a wonderful Tasmanian gravel road which was garnished with beautiful bumps. Because of the bumps and the long and steep climbs we only progressed slowly, although we had a strong tailwind, and camped at Beauty Point already. |
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After a relaxing day off in
Beauty Point we rode on a -for local means-
rather flat road in the Tamar Valley to
Launceston, the second largest town in Tasmania.
On the local campground we met an American couple
(from Alaska) who was on the road with their
bikes as well, together with their son. The most
interesting thing was their bike, however. A
recumbent bike with three wheels an a sun roof
for the person in the back. The best thing is
that they mounted solar cells on the sun roof
which supply the electric motor that can be
switched on if necessary. What a joy to ride
uphill. Though the bike must be quite heavy.
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| From Launceston it was a steady climb with short descents to Lilydale Falls and in the following days via Scotsdale and a few climbs to Weldborough. During a short stop on the last climb to Weldborough Simone said:"Look, a large hedgehog" and pointed to the roadside. After a second glance we noticed that is the hedgehog was a Echidna, a half blind Australian animal that looks for edible things with his long snout. Having arrived in Weldborough we wanted to camp on the meadow behind the hotel which is usually possible for a meal in the restaurant. However, we did not consider that is was a Sunday and the hotel is closed on Sundays. Fortunately, someone was present and had pity with us so we were able to camp on the mentioned meadow. |  Echidna |
 Passstraße im Regen |
The next day started with the climb to Weldborough Pass (650m). From there on it theoretically was only descent towards the ocean. During the climb it started to drizzle and it developed into a:"I look like I won´t make you wet but I will make you very wet" drizzle. The pass was covered in clouds so we could not enjoy the supposedly good view. The following descent was really cold and wet. In St. Helens we enjoyed the first hot shower since days and the chance to do some laundry. This prompted us to take a day off. The plan to ride to the Bay of Fires was abandoned quickly and instead we had a quiet day in the campground kitchen together with Sarah and Hans, a german bike riding couple, who came from Hobart and were able to give us some helpful hints. During the night a wind storm developed and so our second chance to reach the Bay of Fires was eliminated as we would have been thrown off the road by the wind. So we just had a short ride to Scamander where we also found a beach.. |
The wind did not do us the favour of calming down, no, it just turned to South to Southwest so we had headwinds on our way to Bicheno and could only partly enjoy the even stretch. At least we benefited from a view of the coast with white beaches and clear blue water..
Following the east coast further south we made ourway with acceptable head wind to Freycinet National Park, only to notice on arrival that Tasmanian had a long weekend and the campground was nearly fully booked. We still were able to get a spot for one night in the National Park. The campground was located directly behind the beach and every campsite had its own access to the beach. At night we could hear the possums trying to get at the food of the campers.
 Wineglas Bay |
The following day we had to ride a few kilometres back to Coles Bay in order to get a spot on the campground, which was by far not as beautiful, before we went back to the National Park and walked to Wineglass Bay lookout to enjoy the view. |
| From the other bikers we got the hint to shorten the way from Coles Bay to Swansea with the help of a "ferry by demand" and save about 40 km. We even had the telephone number. So you usually call the number and ask if the ferry would run. The day before we needed the ferry we called and received the information that we should call again the next day because only then the waves could be assessed. So we did and called the next morning just to receive the information: "The waves are too high, we can not go today". A little annoyed by this statement we started nontheless and intended to look for the corresponding boat ramp and try our luck. The ramp was easily found but no signs of the ferry. So we called again because waves can´t be seen. We cannot call however, as our cell phone had no reception and the only telephone booth around just worked with calling cards. So we stayed close too the ramp and when we saw people in a garden we asked them if they know the boatman. And there we go, he only lives two houses down the street. However, there is no bell and we are helpless again. Shortly after that we see someone in the garden but before we can act he is gone again. A few minutes later his wife come to us and explains that her husband is preparing the boat and so our ferry ride takes its course. |  Die Fähre |
 Entladen der Fähre |
The first thing is that he explains us which bags we hhave to take off the bikes and where we have to place the bags and bikes and how they will be loaded on to the ferry. And then comes the ferry. It is a about 4m long and about 2m wide fishing boat. We load the bikes and bags, everone has to put on a live jacket and we start the two minute ride. We are taken across the 200-300m wide estuary of the Swan River to the beach on the opposite side and unload everything and after about seven minutes the boat man has finished his job and we saved about 40 km of detour. With the uncertainty if it would work it was a little annoying undertaking but a very interesting experience, nonetheless.. |
| The following days, including a day off in Triabunna, we travelled along the east coast to Hobart, where we were able to stay with a german family who we met in Coles Bay and invited us spontaneously to stay at their place in Hobart. To reach thecity of Hobart we had to pass the Tasman Bridge which spans across the Derwent River in Hobart. The bridge is nothing exciting and we should appreciate that the developers thought of a bike path. Unfortunately, they apparantly did not know how wide a bike is. In any case, the path is so narrow that we just fitted with our loaded bikes and at the end of the bridge we had to get down a staircase to get off the bridge. |  Radweg Tasman Bridge |
From Hobart we took the bus to Strahan on the west coast and started from there with our bikes again. After a first flat day along the coast and a visit to Henty Dunes, up to 30m high sand dunes, we parted from the coast and it got hilly again. Furthermore, the weather got worse and the next day we had a lot of rain. After riding two days through cool rain forests and a landscape with pretty much no settlements we took pleasure in going downhill for 35 km toward the coast. The whole thing was sweetend moreover by tailwind. Now we are back on the north coast, the sun is shining and our equipment is dry again.
