A big ride today. Although the distance wasn’t huge (51km) the hills were and at 31 degrees it was the hottest and probably the hardest day we’ve had.

Set off before 8am stopping 8k down (or should I say directly up) the road at Murdunna General Store for coffee. Tiny unobtrusive store but a treasure trove of interesting fresh foods. We came away armed with freshly made sandwiches for our picnic lunch and two extra litres of water to replace what we’d drunk climbing the hill to get there.

Most of the ride was through bush land, and we were grateful of the shade from the big gums.

As has been the case all through this trip, big hills = fabulous scenery and today was no exception. First scenic detour was at Pirates Bay, just before Eaglehawk Neck to see the Tessilated Pavement

Once over the neck we climbed (aka pushed) up to the Blow Hole and the Devils Kitchen. Riding through the bush to get to these amazing structures made us think of the convicts on whose backs the roads had been forged.

The Coast down here is totally different to what we’ve been following down the east coast. Craggy, rugged cliffs being pelted by thunderous seas.

Almost every tourist attraction no matter how remote has its own ‘fish and chip van’. Couldn’t resist the scallops – but again had to (literally) fight off the gulls.

As we were walking along the cliff tops we came across this little fella- bold as brass and totally un-deterred by us he continued fossicking for his dinner.

Arrived at the Port Arthur holiday Park round 4.30 this afternoon- our 50k ride had taken over 8 hours to complete! With schoolies in residence it looks like we’re in for a noisy couple of nights.