I was up at around 7.30 am and met a few hardy souls who made a short walk to Salimander Wharf to visit the markets
The whole setup there was quite outstanding and there were many stalls selling all kinds of clothing, souvenirs, jewellery and food. We managed to find a cafe where I had eggs on toast with bacon and tomato together with the obligatory coffee.... great start to the day!!
After breakfast Phil and I went to the Hobart Giant bike shop to get 5 bike boxes to pack bikes to transport them to Devonport. Phil did a great job of loading all 13 of our bikes plus the other odds and sods of luggage on to the Ute despite having a lot of advice from many of us....
After loading everything up Phil, Des and myself said our good-byes to the other 10 guys who were traveling back to Melbourne by plane and began our trip back to Devonport
The route we took was quite spectacular as we traveled through the Central Plateau region of Tasmania alongside the Great Lake. The area seemed to have been ravaged by bushfires in recent years and is in the high country which gets snow in winter. There seems to be a lot of country holiday shacks which might be used by folk in the cities for fishing, hiking or generally for leisure.
We made several stops along the way to take photos and enjoy the wonderful scenery
We had a stop in Deloraine for afternoon tea which was about 50 kms from Devonport. This seems to be a lovely town with a lot of well preserved buildings. Worth another visit sometime
We arrived in Devonport at about 5.00 pm well ahead of the loading time for the Ute which allowed time for a refreshing drink and snack...
As we experienced in Melbourne the boarding process on to the ship was slowed by the extraordinary number of cars, vans, caravans and motorcycles that were making the crossing to Melbourne
One we boarded we were able to have dinner in the bistro and have a long chat together about a lot of things
As I lie in my bunk at 11.30 pm I can reflect upon the past week and a bit of the trip...
It has been a wonderful experience and has really opened my eyes again on Tasmania as a positive place to visit ( I last holidayed her in 1969 with mum and dad and I really did not enjoy it )
I was really impressed and greatly appreciated the organising efforts byPhil in making the riding and accommodation a great and safe experience for us all
I thought we met some wonderful people along our journey and the staff at nearly all the places we visited and stayed at were most friendly and made us feel welcome
The only negative I could say were the significant numbers of dead animals we saw on the road on our journey through the State
This is my last blog for this journey... I hope you enjoy reading another wonderful story from Wheelieharro whenever I can get the blog published
Now for the photos.....
Loading the Ute
All loaded up and ready to go!!!
A lovely view of the Great Lake
Another view of the lake and the Ute
Coming down from the high country
A drink and wedges at a cafe near the Devonport terminal
An interesting photo of a passenger in one of the nearby mobile homes at the ferry terminal... the guys said it was his wife who could not answer back!!!
