Tasmania Cycle Tour – Day 22
Rosebery to Waratah
63km, 1,340m elevation
I reached the 1,000-km mark on my Tasmanian cycle tour today! This is a great milestone for me – the longest cycling trip I’ve ever done. And it’s not over yet…
Continue reading “1000 km of cycling in Tasmania”
Tasmania Cycle Tour – Day 21
Strahan to Rosebery
78km, 1,225m elevation
Before leaving Strahan this morning, I spent some time exploring more of the town and going for a walk through the forest. Strahan is a beautiful place and classically coastal – a tranquil bay surrounds the town, there is a marina full of boats, and you can walk for hours along the beach. It rained heavily last night and continued until the early morning, making everything feel fresh and new.
Continue reading “Here comes the rain”
Cycling Tasmania – Day 20
Queenstown to Strahan
53km, 610m elevation
I was very happy this morning to see that it had rained more overnight and the air was beautifully clear. No sign of bush fire smoke. What’s more, the rain had stopped, promising a nice day of cycling.
Continue reading “I made it to the West Coast!”
One great thing about travelling in Tasmania is all of the unique accommodations you can find. In Norfork Bay, we stayed in a B&B built by convicts in 1838 as Australia’s first railway station and later used to ship convicts between Port Arthur and Hobart. In Queenstown we discovered another great lodging full of history and character. The Penghana B&B is a grand old mansion that was once the residence of the town’s mine manager. It’s strategically situated on top of a prominent hill where the manager could see everything happening throughout the town.
Continue reading “Tasmania’s B&Bs are full of character”
Last night as I was leaving Queenstown’s Empire Hotel after a great dinner I ran right into a wall of thick smoke. For a place that usually gets 3-5m (10-15 feet) of rain each year (!) it sure has been dry and hot on Tasmania’s West Coast and fires are raging as a result. That throws a big wrench into my plans to continue cycling west. The smoke is so thick that it’s seriously affecting visibility on the roads and I’m getting a sore throat. This morning I decided it’s probably best to wait for the smoke to clear a bit.
That’s alright – I had no trouble finding lots of interesting excursions to keep me busy.
Continue reading “An unexpected extra day in Queenstown”
I’m taking a day off cycling to explore a sleepy town in the rugged mountains of western Tasmania. Most tourists pass by Queenstown without stopping, turned off by the barren landscape, but it was once a thriving mining town with immense riches – the richest mining town in the world, in fact.
Continue reading “The richest mining town in the world”
Cycling Tasmania – Day 17
Derwent Bridge to Queenstown
99km, 1,825m elevation (including side-trips)
Today I cycled out of Derwent Bridge and into Wild Rivers National Park. It was superb. I sailed down long descents with sweeping turns and stopped countless times to take short walks into the wilderness. Bush fire smoke had blown in during the night, obscuring what I could see of distant peaks but leaving behind silhouettes that left the imagination free to exaggerate. It is disappointing to miss out on so much great scenery because of the smoke but I still marvelled at the grand mountainous country.
Continue reading “Into the Wilderness”
Cycle Touring Tasmania – Day 16
Tarraleah to Lake St Clair
58km, 600m elevation
After two hard days it was nice to have a shorter cycle on relatively flat roads today. From Tarraleah, the highway takes a circuitous and hilly route to Derwent Bridge. Instead, I decided to cycle the C601, a gravel road that passes through pretty forest. That saved me 10 km and let me enjoy the scenery without much traffic.
Continue reading “When one door closes, another opens”
Cycling Tasmania – Day 15
Westerway to Tarraleah
70km, 1,560m elevation
This morning I awoke to dark skies. The weather forecast was calling for rain but I was surprised that it was actually quite warm and dry outside. It has rained a few times so far but never while I’ve been cycling. Tasmania is experiencing a drought so they really need the rain.
Continue reading “Up to the Tasmanian Highlands”
Tasmania Cycle Tour – Day 14
Hobart to Mount Field National Park
81km, 1840m elevation
I took a break from cycling over the last two days to explore Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart. I’ve been really impressed with how vibrant Australian cities are and Hobart is no exception. The food is great and taking a stroll along the harbour is sure to take all your worries away. The history is fascinating too. Last week I enjoyed learning about Tasmania’s convict history at Port Arthur. In Hobart you can visit the remains of a women’s prison or “female factory”, as they called it. Conditions were arguably even worse here than at Port Arthur. Sometimes as young as 11, these women spent 12 hours a day washing laundry while standing in knee-deep, freezing cold, sewage filled water. Today the Female Factory offers guided tours and interpretive performances that really bring this history alive. I really enjoyed both.
Continue reading “A Big Aussie Barbie and a Big Climb”
Eating Snow Around the World 