Today we began the journey inland and south towards Port Arthur. The road out of Orford initially followed the Prosser River- a narrow highway with rock face on one side (complete with Wire caging & warnings about rock falls) and the steep river embankment on the other.

Left Orford round 7.45 hoping to beat the tourist traffic and to get to Buckland (20k out) before the logging trucks got underway. Our tactic worked and the first (and only) logging truck rolled past us at 9am just as we reached the Buckland roadhouse where we stopped for a well earned coffee.

From here we turned off the main highway heading up into the hills- the upside was no trucks and almost no cars – the downside (other than the obvious- hills) was that this was gravel road all the way.

we did the first 7km on foot pushing the bike up the very steep hill- as the bike couldn’t hold the road in the gravel. We were puffing like steam trains but managed to resist the urge to turn back. We will certainly have ballerina shaped calves at the end of all this!

Once at the top the profile became more undulating and we were able to ride – mind you the puffing continued and the relentless sun required some creative thinking

We rode mostly through bush land with some farming (cattle mostly) and logging. Saw our first snake today – sunning itself on the road- naturally gave it a wide berth.

We remain astounded by the sheer volume of road kill- still haven’t seen a single live furry creature but literally hundreds of dead ones. Quite a four dimensional experience on push bike – assaulted by the smell and the inevitable haze of flies as we go by- ERK.

Did a short detour to Copping to visit the Lowry cousins – lovely to have a dose of family and share stories. After our 50k gravel slog, when Robert offered to load the tandem in the back of his Ute and drive us the last 9k to Dunnalley the temptation was too much for us- after all, how could we offend him by denying his kind offer?

Dunnalley is the gateway to Port Arthur. We are staying in a cute little colorbond cottage with huge windows looking south- we are now sitting here in the dark hoping to get a glimpse of the southern lights.