Apr 7: A Wrap up of Sorts Whilst on the Long Boat Ride

I left my fantastic hosts, Chris, Jill, and Alex (just Chris was up when I left) at 7:00 this morning. It took me just 20 minutes to ride to the Spirit of Tasmania ferry. I was thinking as I was riding how different it was to when I arrived. It was 24 days ago when I disembarked at 6:30am in Devonport. Then, I didn’t really know where I was going, but I finally managed to find Chris’ house. Today, it was so easy. I knew exactly where to go, and how to get there. Of course, going to the ferry there were signs, but I didn’t need them.

Now I’ve settled in for the 9 1/2 hour sailing. This time, there are 4 bikes (5 cyclists). One is a Hase recumbent/standard tandem. We passed each other, I think, when I was on my way to Freycinet. They also camped with Stefan in Deloraine the day before I got there. Another cyclist is Carlos from Brazil. Him and I are sharing a table and nice comfy chairs on the main deck. His stay on Tassie was a little shorter than mine, and he did mostly the East Coast.

Now for some thoughts about Tassie...in no particular order.

1. Tassie is hilly. Of course I expected lots of hills on the West Coast, but the rest of Tassie is pretty hilly too. Still, I’m glad I did the West Coast first (even though those first few days were pretty hard due to my lack of fitness). 
2. Weather-wise, being here in February would have likely been better. I had many cold nights, and rainy days on the West Coast (but, it rains there a lot anyway, so who knows). Even though, from the day I left Hobart, I didn’t have any more rain, it was still chilly at night. I used my sleeping bag liner more nights than I didn’t.
3. The question I got asked the most (besides “Where are you from?”) was, “How are the drivers?”. For the most part, drivers were pretty courteous, particularly on the West Coast. It is quite winding there, so it’s for their own safety as well, to pass me when they could safely get around me. Also, there are virtually no shoulders on any roads but the main highway (A1 with a speed limit of 110km). I think the worst place was when I was coming back inland from the East Coast, especially on the Tasman Hwy. It was a good choice to get off of it where possible.
4. My experiences with people on Tassie couldn’t have been better! Every single person I met was very friendly, and seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing. That goes for both Tasmanians and fellow tourists. I met so many wonderful people. Of course the tops on my list were Dorothy and Greg in Hobart (and Bob too for all his cycling route knowledge), Chris, Jill, and Alex in Devonport, Cam and Will from Seattle. There were many others who I had great conversations, but didn’t get their names. The true spirit of a place is seen through its people, and Tassie has great people!
5. Tassie is a place with unusual flora and fauna. My favorite were the birds. I loved seeing the green and crimson rosella parrots, the flocks of white cockatoos, the laughing kookaburras, the incredible singing of the magpies, and the funny sounds of the currawong birds. I also delighted in seeing echidnas, wombats, wallabies, pademelons, a platypus, and even one kangaroo! Sadly, I saw (and smelled) far far too much road kill. Because many of Tassie’s animals are nocturnal, they end up being hit by vehicles when they bound out onto the roads at dusk and dawn. At times it seemed like there were so many dead animals, I wondered if there were any live ones left! Doing the short walks amongst the huge fern trees, and so many different varieties of plants and trees was pretty cool. It was often very jungle-like. Of course, you all want to know about the snakes. I’m happy to say that I did not see a single live snake in all of my time on Tassie. I did see three dead snakes (that’s some roadkill that I am okay with). On Tassie there are three varieties of snakes, and they are all venomous. I was happy to not see any.
6. Regarding the mechanics, bike and personal, I had zero problems with Tilmann. He performed as flawlessly as he always does. I merely had to adjust the brake pads a couple of times as they wore a bit. You’ll remember, I decided to go without a chamois on this tour, chose to ride in long pants, and switched to flat pedals. As for the no chamois, the first 5 days were the hardest. I was seriously questioning my decision, but it got better. Now it’s pretty good, and I’ve not used any chamois cream for a long time. The same could be said for the flat pedals. Initially, I wasn’t happy with them. It was difficult to get into the left pedal, after pushing off, when I was going up a steep hill. I finally figured out a trick that worked most of the time. What I did like about them was being able to hop off the bike and go for a walk in semi-regular shoes (the Five 10 shoes are pretty good for walking, even though they have a fairly stiff sole). As for the long pants, with Tassie’s not terribly hot weather, I found the pants to be perfect. Without the pants, I would have spent entire days in leg warmers. On those few days where the weather was warmer, I didn’t find the pants to be uncomfortably warm. They also seemed to shed the dirt quite well. My only complaint would be that they could be a slight bit bigger in the thigh (and I don’t have big legs) to allow a wee bit more freedom of movement.
7. If I knew then what I know now, I would do some things differently (isn’t that always the case???). Mainly, I would do the Cycle Tasmania 4 week itinerary instead of the Lonely Planet guidebook itinerary. For one thing, the Lonely Planet guide is out of date. It is also too ambitious in some of the distances. The Cycle Tasmania itinerary (out of print in hard copy, but available online) allows for more time to explore. In addition to the 4 weeks, I would add another full week to allow for some longer stays in places like the National Parks. Truly, if you don’t have time to do some of the walks in the National Parks, it’s kind of pointless to go to them. They are all about the walks. I was glad I was able to do Wineglass Bay in Freycinet. It would have been nice to do some of the walks at Cradle Mountain (although the weather was not cooperating when I was there). It doesn’t always have to be bike riding.

So, that’s about it. If I had to choose favorite places, I would say Maria Island, and the Rail Trail into Scottsdale were my favorites. But, as always, it’s the people that I really like! I’m very glad that I included Tasmania in my Australia Tour. I would highly recommend a visit to Tassie, cycling or not!