Tassie 2024

[nev]

When we got back to George Town, Jo stayed at the motel and I walked across the road to a small maritime museum. From the outside it was almost unnoticable, and we had walked past it a couple of times when it was closed without noticing, and it was only when they opened the doors and put a sandwich board out that I saw it. The Norfolk was a ship built on Norfolk Island in 1798. It was used to sail from Norfolk Island to Sydney, where it was confiscated by the governor and given to explorer Matthew Flinders, which he used to circumnavigate Tasmania and prove that it was an island. It wrecked shortly after along the east coast of Australia.

To celebrate the bicentennial of this voyage, a local ship builder built this replica of the Norfolk, using whatever original information they could find about the design and construction of the original. This was built entirely by hand, and is quite the masterpiece to see. It's entire hull is built using planks from a single huon pine which had been submerged under the Strathgordon Dam when the area was flooded.

Among plenty of other displays in the museum is this long boat, the Admiral, which is the oldest existing boat built in Tasmania

The pub we were staying at.

 

[nev]

Next morning we headed a few km north to the Low Head lighthouse, which sits at the mouth of the Tamar River.

there were more metal sculptures

and an obligatory painted silo/tank

We headed east around the North coast. The roads here were quite straight and the landscape quite dry. It didn't feel much like tasmania to be honest.
Our next stop was lunch at the Pyangala Pub. the Pub in the Paddock. There was quite a big crowd here. A few motorcycles, lots of cars, a few campers who had set up camp in the pub yard.

and of course the pig who drinks beer. I wonder how many pissed pigs they've had in this pen over the years...

They had a good vegie garden going. Nice views for the vegies

We stopped for the night at Beaumaris, which is a dot on the map about 4km north of Scamander and 12km south of St Helens. the only shop there is the Surfside Beaumaris. Their slogan and the sign out the front says "Burgers, Beer, Beds". The holy trinity of our current needs. The room was basic, but it was a family room, the last room they had left, so it was more than twice the size of their other motel units.

The nearest shop was about 5km away in Scamander and we went for a walk there to stock up on snacks. the whole vibe of the place was a bit weird.

but the beach opposite our accommodations was quite nice.

 

[glitch]

The pub we were staying at.

That pub looks nice!

...and the 2 beach-shots are gorgeous!

 

[nev]

...and the 2 beach-shots are gorgeous!

We went down there for a quick look after dinner, so the sun was beginning to set. Good shots thanks to the environment, no help from the cameraman lol.

 

[nev]

In the morning i rode back up to St Helens to pick up a can of chain lube. Motorcycle supplies seem to be in short supply on the east coast. Aside from a Suzuki dealer in Scottsdale, and a bloke working out of a messy shed in St Helens, there don't seem to be any motorcycle parts shops anywhere else outside of Hobart and Launceston.

We headed down the Esk Hwy to St Marys. There were a couple of two up Ducatis which blasted past us on the straight before we got to the Tasman Hwy turnoff, but I had rounded them up in short order once we hit the fun stuff, and Jo had caught them both by St Marys too.

I snapped a shot of the train station here, which is now a museum, but we didn't look inside.

another obligatory painted silo.

We spent 45 mins or so walking around Campbell Town. The Red Bridge was built by convict labour almost 200 years ago

They love carving an old tree down here too...

Lunch was at the Lake Leake Pub. It's changed a bit since we were there last, which was 10 years ago at the Austouring Rally in 2014. My god was it that long ago already. They've added this undercover area and tables and chairs out the side.

It still has the same camping area out the back of the pub, but the paddock next to the pub has been gravelled, the paddock behind that is now a large camping area, and there is a sheltered bar/kitchen area in the gravel car park. There are new owners on deck, who were lovely, and they've been there about a year. After lunch we just headed straight back to our digs in Beaumaris for a lazy afternoon.

 

[glitch]

Aside from a Suzuki dealer in Scottsdale, and a bloke working out of a messy shed in St Helens, there don't seem to be any motorcycle parts shops anywhere else outside of Hobart and Launceston.

Just for reference:
One of the longest-operating bike-shops in TAS, mainly servicing the North and West is https://www.northwestmotorcycles.com.au/
in Ulverstone.
Those guys came good with an aftermarket front brakelever for Goodie's GN250 on the last day of our first Tassie ride after she decked it on the gravel out at the Westmoreland Falls/ back of Mole Creek
and rode the totally overloaded DinkyToy on the rear drumbrake only via the Paradise-Twisties to the coast.
Back in '92.
Only ever heard good stuff about those guys.
They had also dragged the blue '02 1000 V-Strom out of the bush at Liffey Falls which I bought for spares from the Lonnie Auctions.
Sorry for OT.... back to a great yarn.

 

[nev]

Just for reference:
One of the longest-operating bike-shops in TAS, mainly servicing the North and West is https://www.northwestmotorcycles.com.au/
in Ulverstone.
Those guys came good with an aftermarket front brakelever for Goodie's GN250 on the last day of our first Tassie ride after she decked it on the gravel out at the Westmoreland Falls/ back of Mole Creek
and rode the totally overloaded DinkyToy on the rear drumbrake only via the Paradise-Twisties to the coast.
Back in '92.
Only ever heard good stuff about those guys.
They had also dragged the blue '02 1000 V-Strom out of the bush at Liffey Falls which I bought for spares from the Lonnie Auctions.
Sorry for OT.... back to a great yarn.

I was just looking for bike shops on the east coast in Google maps. There seem to be a few along the north coast between Lonnie and Smithton.

 

[nev]

Next morning we packed up and headed south. After a few warm days at the start of our trip, this was cooler. There was a general haze in the air, and clouds along the hilly areas and the Freycinet Peninsular.
We rolled south along the coast heading for Port Arthur. No real stops of note along the way until we got to Dunally. Here we stopped for lunch in a place called "The Cannery". An old cannery converted into a bar/restaurant. It specialised in seafood, and was right on the water. In a previous life it was a fish canning factory. We shared a lunch which was superb.

Our accommodation was only a short walk from the Port Arthur Historic site, so after we checked in and got changed we headed there for a quick look around and took the ferry ride out around the harbour.

From there we walked into the town which consisted of 3 shops, and passed this cemetery. I guess the person in one grave here liked to be a bit different to everyone else.

Dinner was in the restaurant at the motel across the road from us. That motel is actually within the grounds of the historic site, and has views of the site from the dining room. The seafood platter for 2 was pretty good, though it beat us. We couldn't finish it. As it got darker, lots of small pademelons (chihuahua sized marsupials) came out to graze on the grass and passed right under these windows.

Speaking of pademelons, on this trip I was riding my Super Tenere, which is the same bike I took on our last Tassie Trip in 2016. On that occasion, what I think was a pademelon came flying out of the bush, headed directly into my front wheel, and hit it so hard that the disc rotor was bent, making my front brakes inoperable, and I had to have the brake disc replaced.

 

[nev]

Just thinking about the seafood platter and reminiscing on that Tassie Gems 2005 trip, when we ate at a different pub every night for 8 or 9 nights and Matty ordered the seafood basket every single night of the trip.

 

[nev]

The following morning there were a few showers around the place, so we had a delayed start, but eventually it cleared and we took the short walk back over to the old Penal Colony where we spent another 4-5 hours having a closer look around the place.

This was in the Colony's Governors residence. An intricate system of pulley operated bells, each bell a differnet size/note to enable the staff to identify which room they were being called to.