Yesterday we did the first stage of the final leg of our journey up to Hobart.

As Port Arthur is on a peninsula the only way out was the way we cane in, but it was a very different ride to the one we had done two days earlier.

We left in a fine misty rain- just enough to require jackets but not heavy enough to be a problem for us- this kept our faces cool as we climbed the big hills out- although our rain coats soon became steam boxes making us wetter on the inside than out, so we eventually ditched them.

Being a Saturday and travelling outbound we missed most of the tourist traffic. Because we were travelling on the coast side of the road we were able to stop safely and enjoy the views which we had had to pass by on the way there. It also gave us a chance to check out the realestate signs and do a bit of dreaming.

Unusual letterboxes seem to be a’thing’ down here- perhaps it’s how people signpost their houses on this endless highway.

It wasn’t until we coasted down the long hills (some up to 9 km long) that we realised why we had found the trip in so punishing. Apart from the trip up through Eaglehawk Neck it was a pretty easy ride until the last kilometre when gale force headwinds kicked in.

We arrived in Dunalley mid afternoon happy to curl up and binge watch ‘The Crown’ on Netflix (the first TV we’ve watched in three weeks!) while the wind buffeted our little cabin (the same one we stayed in on the way down) – leaving only to walk to the pub for dinner.

Spent our layover day at the Port Arthur Historical site today. Cycled down there for the 9am opening determined to pack in as much of the 100 acre site as we could. This included an introductory walking tour; a boat tour including a stop over at the Isle of the Dead – which bears the graves of some 900 convicts alongside soldiers and their families; and finally the ‘’Escape’ tour- with tales of various escape attempts – well embellished with cannibalism and other equally gory exploits.

The guides were all characters – very knowledgeable and clearly getting a lot of fun out of what they do. The site itself has been well preserved with the ruins of old buildings now enveloped by beautiful gardens.

As you enter you’re given the identity of a convict (on a card) who you can find out about as you go- a really engaging way of learning about the history.

Heading back to Dunalley tomorrow taking the path of least gills (we hope).

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.

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.

David had to prise me away from our little cottage this morning – such a reality check to climb back on the old girl with loaded panniers.

We got a whole 1.7km down the road before having to stop- one of our panniers had fallen off. As tempting as it was to jettison it (especially as it was the one containing David’s clothes), we strapped it back on and pushed on.

It was a long hard slog today. The first 10k was quite beautiful- right by the beach with fabulous views across to Freycinet.

Once we got past the shelter of the peninsula it was full on southerly head winds- so what should have been a gently undulating ride became a slog uphill and down. We tried not to check the distance too often but inevitably it ended up being the distance equivalent of ‘a watched pot never boils’. We’d think we had ridden at least 10k only to find we had done 3!

Once the road headed inland scenery was sparse- dry paddocks many with skinny sheep. We stopped a couple of times to re-fuel and stretch but roads were narrow and places to pull over were few and far between.

At the 50k mark Triabunna emerged like an oasis. A beautiful seaside town – the main gateway to Maria Island so full of people coming and going. Even though only a few k’s from our final destination we stopped for quite a while there- first to sample the famous fish and chips from ‘The Fish Van’ . Apparently people drive up from Hobart just to get these F&Cs – which were certainly good- and the seagulls agreed! We then felt compelled to sample the wares from ‘The Coffee Van’ and ‘The Ice-cream Van’. After all this comfort eating were well fortified to complete our journey.

Arrived in Orford round 4 – pretty tired. Orford is on the Prosser River inlet. Not much in the way of a township here (other than the pub where we are staying and an IGA) but lots of houses going right down to the rover with private moorings.

We took a late afternoon walk to buy the makings for tomorrow’s lunch and stretch our creaky limbs. Tomorrow we head to Dunalley – mostly on gravel so will be an interesting day.

Definitely an early night for us tonight- hang on- one of us is already asleep!

Had a lazy day today mindful that Swansea is our last rest spot until the end of the ride – although our perceptions have definitely altered when a 30k ride constitutes a rest day!

After eggs on toast cooked by David’s fair hands our first stop was in town for a look around the galleries and ‘real’ coffee’.

Swansea is a beautiful little town- lots of original buildings with waterfront views. A real sense of community here. And great cafes!

After our look around- and a few small purchases 😀 we headed north towards the wineries.
Again the countryside was dry as a chip- such a contrast to other areas we’ve been travelling through.

The promise of wine and lunch with a view drew us in.

And the view was worthy- and the food amazing- sharing plates of cured wagu, cod roe, and duck terrine- we did it tough. After a small tasting (we don’t drink and ride) we left with a bottle of bubbly stuffed in our pannier – and lets just say there will be a small delivery arriving at my workplace before I do.

Arrived back late afternoon to fresh scones, baked by our hosts, waiting for us on our bench- this is the life!!!!

Tomorrow we head to Orford – with a 70k ride ahead of us scones will be a distant memory.

Headed off round 8.30 this morning to meet the water taxi at Swanwick that would ferry us across the Moulting Lagoon. We arrived extremely early which gave us a chance to enjoy the view and chat to a local who was there fishing with his son. His son looked to be about 10 and proudly informed us that he holds the record for the largest Bream caught (not sure if this is local, Tas or worldwide). Apparently the bream down here are huge – and live to over 80 years old – which seamed extraordinary to me- however entirely possible that they’re now laughing about the oldies on the tandem who fell for it hook line and sinker!

The ferry was actually a tinny- so we had a bit of manoeuvring to get the bike on.

The trip over to the other side of the lagoon only took about 10 minutes, but it saved us about 50km of hard uphill slog back-tracking out of Coles Bay. Once on the other side we had to wade from the boat to the shore with bike in the air and put everything back together on the beach. It felt like quite an adventure

Where we ended up was Dolphin Sands- a long peninsula about 25km out of Swansea. One of the upsides of this route was that we passed by the Melshell Oyster farm- so of course we felt compelled to sample their produce (or one of us did!)

This neck of the woods is tinder dry- with bushfire warnings all along the way. The road passes straight down the middle of this fairly narrow peninsula with dunes hiding the beaches- however a small detour revealed the incredible beaches that we continue to be awed by.

Arrived in Swansea in time for a late lunch at the bakery that moonlights as the local Tavern

Arrived at our new little home mid afternoon. The most GORGEOUS little cottage on the outskirts of Swansea. The cottage is set amongst an equally beautiful wandering cottage garden in full flower- and OMG- it has a bath!!! I couldn’t get into it quickly enough to soak the battle worn muscles!

Cottage all set up with breakfast provisions including a home baked loaf of bread and eggs fresh from the chickens bottom. Have two nights here and I don’t know how we will leave when the time comes!

Three nights in Coles Bay has given us ample time to rest our saddle sore rears and explore Freycinet – and to do some much needed washing!

Coles Bay itself is tiny- three shops in the Main Street- a general store, a fish & chippery that doubles as an ice-cream parlour and a cafe. We are frequenting all three regularly- sometimes doing a ‘progressive meal’ having our seafood then moving next door for coffee- just as well we’re exercising lots!

The town is teaming with grey nomads and all the traffic that entails.

Eager to have a day without riding yesterday we started with a Wineglass Bay Cruise and walk. We opted for the Freycinet Discovery tour which had a much smaller boat and less people than the giant cruising catamarans (aka floating feedlots).

We were so pleased with our choice- turns out the tour operators were a couple just starting out in the area with their boat that they’d had purpose built. We were on their inaugural tour- which was very special. Wonderful personalised service and only three couples on the tour- all with a similar sense of fun. Turned out to be a fab day and really exciting to be part of their new beginning.

The cruise went from Coles Bay around the rugged (and turbulent) national park coastline dropping us off in the serene waters of Wineglass Bay (more like a lagoon). From there we did the 90 minute hike across to Hazards Beach where they picked us up again.

And today we approached the bay from above- riding up through the national park and then hiking the last couple of Km to the Wineglass Bay lookout. The climb up was hard on the lungs and the climb down hard on the knees- with terrain similar to the Grampians. But the views were definitely worth the climb!

Now back at our cabin getting our workhorse ready for the next leg to Swansea tomorrow- it’s amazing how much can explode out of your bags in three days- it’s like trying to get a genie back into the bottle!

Rain or hail: NONE.
Wind: almost NONE..
Sunshine:continuous!
Hills: mostly small ones.
Tired but happy campers: two!

We had the perfect riding conditions for our trip down to Coles Bay today.
Given there are no shops between Bicheno and Coles Bay we stocked up at the bakery before leaving – including two of the what have become mandatory iced apple cakes.

The first half of the ride was through farmland- mostly flat. This part of Tas is noticeably drier than the northern areas we’ve come through.

Saw some interesting signs along the way

Once again had a magnificent lunch spot well worth the detour and the big gravel climb

Arrived in Coals Bay mid afternoon in time for a walk around town and the waterfront. We are staying in a cabin in the caravan park near Oyster Bay for the next three nights. If the weather holds we might even venture in for a swim!

One thing we have realised is that Freycinet is huge, so seeing it without a car will be a challenge. So have booked a Wineglass Bay cruise and climb for tomorrow.

With over 80k to cover today we set off (relatively) early- 8am ish.

We hugged the coast all the way down. For the first 40k the wind was behind us and riding was easy. First stop was at a shipping container transformed into a coffee spot- full of both locals and tourists- and we soon saw why- best coffee we’ve had so far.

Reached our halfway point at 11.30 which as fortune would have it was the Iron House Brewery. Fabulous views and a great place to rest our bones for an hour- mind you, had we known what was to come we might not have lingered quite so long.

The east coast is certainly spectacular- gorgeous pristine beaches one after the other- but the winds were punishing. By mid afternoon they had reached the threatened 45-55km/hr, which was great when they were behind us, hard work when they hit us front on, and downright scary when they hit us from the side. A few times we had to get off and walk as the wind blew us into the gravel shoulder.

With 10km to go we gave in to exhaustion for a while- rode down to the beach, devoured our bread rolls and hedgehog slice and let the sun and food work its magic before setting off again.

We arrived in Bicheno round 5 very windswept but nothing a shower, pizza and beer couldn’t fix.

Off to Coles Bay tomorrow- a much shorter ride thank goodness.