The Ride
This was a really lovely ride. One of the best of the tour. So pleasant, flat or downhill.
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First stop was the Wombat Cafe just after coming out of Lake St. Clair on the A10. I wish I had known about this before I entered Lake St. Clair as it has a full supply of groceries.
The Wall in the Wilderness
Official Web Site
Then a bit further is "The Wall" - Only $10 and a bad mistake to miss out on this. Maybe next time. Every other tourist I spoke to had been to the Wall and spoke very highly of it.
Shortcut To Bypass Tarraleah
I took a shortcut to avoid Tarraleah - the "Fourteen Mile Road" which is a dirt track, but in very good condition. Other guides have reported this road as cut up. It isn't. You could cycle this on a road bike, seriously.
On a bike, the short cut is well worth taking as Tarraleah isn't an important stop, and you avoid a huge hill this way.
Coming off Fourteen Mile Road back onto the A10, there is a spectacular reservoir, worth a look. You can see where it is by checking my ride and see where I veered away from the A10.
The Hill into Wayatinah
This is a great cycling experience. A 300m drop of almost straight road where you can go at full speed. It's exhilarating and breathtaking, a long stretch going over 40mph.
The Camp Site - Wayatinah Lakeside Caravan Park
Official Web Site
I knew this place was good. After all it has a free swimming pool! I arrived on a baking hot day, what else could I need?
Not only that but it's situated by a lake. There isn't a camp kitchen, but there are BBQ sites and lots of shade from big trees. One of my favourite camp sites in Tasmania.
The Town - Wayatinah
By heading up the hill into the very small town, you can find groceries on sale for about 1 or 2 hours in the morning. There is a pub as well, if you fancy an evening drink.
The Characters
Firstly, the lady in the Wombat cafe was very kind. I needed Shellite for my stove, as I had run out. She didn't have any, but told me to wait as she dashed into the back.
She came back with half a bottle of Shellite. Priceless for me. She said, "It's my husband's. Take it, he won't notice!" What a woman, and I hope your husband didn't find out.
At the camp site, I met some lovely people who took pity on me and cooked me a delicious dinner. This couple are from Switzerland, and they spoke Swiss German (and very good English).
The Ride
Not a huge distance covered today, 27.5 miles, but the huge Mt. Arrowsmith stood in my way. 440m of tree-lined tarmac to grind my way up. This was the biggest mountain I climbed with the full load on the bike.
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The Characters
Having a rest halfway up the mountain, A trucker stopped to chat. It was my first proper conversation with a trucker. You might understand truckers don't usually like cyclists much as there isn't much love lost on the road between these two groups. Truckers don't like to slow down or stop, and they believe cyclists should get out of the way. As a cyclist I know these guys don't bluff and when you get the honk, you get off the road.
This guy was very cheerful and interested in my journey. His job was to deliver drilling parts from one part of Tasmania to Queenstown. He helpfully told me I was nearly at the top of the mountain, even though there was 200m still to climb!
The Camp Site - Lake St. Clair National Park (Fergy's Paddock)
There are two options here for camping. Pay for it, and get a site near the visitor centre and camp kitchen, or use the free site further away but right on the lake called Fergy's Paddock.
I opted for the free site. Lake St. Clair doesn't have the Alpine huts like Cradle Mountain and facilities are much less developed. There are no grocery provisions and the restaurant has shocking prices ($10 for a sandwich).
Horse Fly Mania
The free camp site seemed OK at first, but then the horse flies rained in. These buggers give you a nasty bite if you let them settle, and they will buzz around all day, increasing in numbers until you run away. Even if you get safely into the tent without any tenants, they will continue to buzz and smash into the sides of the tent trying to get you.
Cooking outside is absolutely impossible due to these flies. It was necessary to carry all the food and implements to the BBQ area and cook there, where you are less pestered.
The Park
There are many
walks but you have to go a long way, and climb a significant amount
before you can see views of the lake below. I had a good walk for a
couple of hours but never saw out of the trees once.
Lake St. Clair
The lake is beautiful, and you can swim in it. I did, as the weather was now hot again.
There was a "Jaws" style moment as Tasmanian Tiger Snakes were spotted swimming on the surface of the lake. Everyone dashed out of the water as these snakes are venomous. (However nobody has died from a snake bite in Tasmania for several decades.) It was good while it lasted.
The Ride
This was dominated by the big heave out of Queenstown, past the tree-less mountain terrain. It was a big climb out all right.
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Once over that 250m beast, the ride is a lot nicer. Lake Burbury is attractive and has free camp sites. I didn't want to stay here though, wanted to press on to Collingwood River where my Camps 6 book told me there is a camp site waiting.
Along the way is Nelson Falls. It's a short walk from the road so well worth seeing.
After Nelson falls there was a big 300m hill but it was well spread out so not too bad.
The Camp Site - Collingwood River
Erm, where is the camp site? I looked both sides of the river. No sign of a camp site. It's one of those horrible moments you check the GPS and check your Camps 6 book. Yes, it's supposed to be right here.
I realise the camp site had been closed a long time. Judging by the nature reclaim I would say minimum 2-3 years. Next to that sign for the river there was a hidden steep set of steps, badly broken. It led down to what was once the camp site.
This was it, the only clear area, mossy, damp. Should be OK to set up a tent though. Thankfully the rain has now stopped.
The river is very attractive and I was able to draw water here. I had not seen a building since Queenstown so it's a good thing I had a water filter on me.
There is no Telstra mobile signal here. Be warned.
The Characters - Valley of the Leeches
The leeches. Yes, hundreds of bloody leaches. Crawling over my shoes, over all my gear, up the tent, trying to get in. Moving like slinky springs, I can't tell their arses from their mouths. Very unpleasant, but it's nature and I'm trespassing.
The Ride
Well into the rugged West of Tasmania now, the next few days would be gruelling. Particularly as the weather was set to chuck it down for days. This was a hard day on the bike. I could have stopped at Zeehan or gone on to Strahan (pronounced, "Strawn") as many cycle tourists do, but I didn't want to go on the boat at Strahan up the river as it was too expensive. So I skipped Strahan and headed for Queenstown via Zeehan.
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| Heading into Queenstown |
As well as 44 Miles, I had the greatest elevation gain today of the trip (except, climbing Mt. Donna Buang later which was without bags) at 4497 ft / 1370m. There were 3 big hills, the worst being a 300m job about halfway between Zeehan and Queenstown.
The Town - Zeehan
First stop Zeehan, notable for its huge mining museum. I had a look in there, and it's worth going to. I bumped into the American cycle tourist I met last night at Rosebery. He was doing the Western Wilderness trail up the C249 up to the North West corner, which is for real hardcore cyclists. Not for me then!
The Camp Site - Queenstown Cabin & Tourist Park
Official Web Site
Well, this was about the worst camp site on my travels. A truly terrible camp kitchen, the only thing in there was a paid for BBQ. BBQ's in Australia are usually free even in public places. To have to pay for a BBQ in a camp site where you've already paid is insulting. The site was up for sale and it wasn't hard to see why. The owners were hardly ever there and clearly didn't love the place.
One consolation was a covered area near the tent where I could at least sit and avoid the rain. Also it had a secret electrical socket hidden on the ceiling beam so I could recharge the phone battery. I became an expert at finding these.
No surprise that I am the only one here with a tent. Believe me, that Sun did not last long.
Lunch at Queenstown.
And.. standard dinner at Queenstown! I've switched away from "Space food" and towards dried pasta and rice foods. Just add water and cook. A little butter helps too. It's lighter to carry this kind of food.
The Town - Queenstown
The town has 2 IGA stores in close proximity. Most other shops close at the weekend and early during the week. I arrived on a Friday night! It's an odd town but typical for West coast Tasmania I think. The main tourist attraction is a tourist train that goes to Strahan. It had only been open 3 years but was struggling to stay alive. The price was ridiculous, and that was for 1-way. A bus brings you back.
Queenstown is also famous for its hills that have no trees on. They look horrible but it's only 1 hill heading East towards Lake Burbury (my exit path) that is afflicted by mining (apparently fumes killed the trees).
The rain continued non-stop and I was having to dry the tent with kitchen roll and sponges every day, and dry all my stuff in the laundry. I was getting soaked during the rides too with my non-functional cursed stupidly expensive coat weighing me down even more as well as getting me wet.
I tried to wait for the rain to stop but clearly it would not. After 3 further days of continuous rain I gladly moved on, leaving behind the least celebrated part of Tasmania.
Many cycle tourists avoid the West coast of Tasmania. I have mixed feelings. Had it not rained for 6 days I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. The hills are severe and the water is toxic with heavy metals (many rivers have "DO NOT SWIM" let alone "do not drink", but apart from that there's a rugged charm to it. The locals are as rugged as the territory.
The Characters
Well a boy came up to me and said something. I didn't understand. He repeated. I still didn't understand. The 3rd time I got it. "Nice Bike". Although it sounded like "Noyce Boy". The accent here is strong.
The Ride
Only a short 11 mile hop today over a 300m hill to Rosebery.
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We're now well and truly into Western Tasmania, mining territory, bad weather, and people who don't like Greenies (well according to the movie, the last Tasmanian Tiger).
The Camp Site - Rosebery Cabin and Tourist park
Officlal Web Site
The day of arrival was nice weather - until the evening.
When I arrived here, I enquired about a camp kitchen. The guy in charge told me I couldn't use the camp kitchen as it was intended for miners who were staying at the camp site and it was full of their stuff. So I was very disappointed as it's less convenient (and weather dependent) using my stove by the tent.
On my last day there I discovered there was another camp kitchen tucked away in the far corner of the site that anyone could use. The man never told me and left me to cook in the rain outside my tent for 2 days.
Tent Woes
The first night the weather closed in, as it often does in Western Tasmania, and it rained, and rained and rained. It rained so much, my tent started to drip, on the inside. I fell asleep. By the time I woke up, I was in a lake of water inside the tent, with the sleeping bag and everything soaking wet.
I think the tent has paid the price for sitting in the Australian sun too long. The silicon tent layer had been damaged by UV and was ineffective. Water was coming right through the fabric, not the seams. For the record, it was a Black Diamond Lighthouse Tent. I can't recommend a tent like it or with the same lining, it's useless for serious camping.
The Town - Rosebery
A larger town than anything I've seen since Deloraine. Cafes, Servos, Supermarket, everything you need. But just a big mine and nothing to see, except Montezuma Falls nearby.
Gotta love Australian branding.Courtesy of the BP Servo where I was hunting for Shellite.
The High St in Rosebery. The view back towards Tullah, that's the hill I climbed over.
The People
Actually the owners of the camp site were well meaning and helpful, despite not telling me about the camp kitchen. They let me re-pitch the tent under a car port, and I was able to get into one of the Miner's cabins for the last night, which helped me and the tent dry out a bit. When I finally left, they saw me off!
Also for the first time, I met a lot of other cycle tourists here. A British girl from Birmingham, an American couple and a guy from Germany who was having a lot of trouble with punctures. We were all heading in different directions though, I didn't expect to see them again. We all had a good chat and shared experiences in the public camp kitchen.
Montezuma Falls
The reason I stopped at Rosebery was to visit these falls. They are very famous in Tasmania as the water drops 110m.
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The ride was a sealed road climb up a quiet lane, big hill of 300m or so, followed by a trail along an old mining railway line. The trail is very rough in places. It rained all day and I got very wet.
Today was the day I discovered my blue Gore-Tex coat wasn't actually waterproof. Damn that coat, I was stuck with it for all of Australia now. It cost £150 back in the UK, a TK Maxx special reduced from £600. I could have got a better job from a £5 plastic coat :) I did actually get a refund for it later and bought a much better new coat instead (also Gore-Tex, which seems to work).
There is this scary foot bridge just by the falls. It's called that because it's as wide as your foot. And it sways all over the place. Realistically only 1 person can go on there at once.
What was particularly scary was, during taking this photo, if I dropped the phone, slippery and wet as my hands were, it was gone. There was no way I could get down to that canopy let alone find a phone in there.
It's a shame the weather was so bad, but I'm glad I got to the falls.
