Our GS Adventure to Tasmania – Part Three
By Petra Hennig & Jamie Shotton
In Part One we saw Petra and Jamie make the journey on their BMW GS 1250s from Queensland down to the Spirit of Tasmania, arriving in Tasmania. Then in Part Two the adventure continued visiting the South Sisters Lookout, Scamander, the Bay of Fires and Binalong Bay. They had intended to visit Jacobs Ladder at Ben Lomond National Park, however that was pushed back due to weather, with St Marys and Port Arthur now in their sights.
Day Three
Well after some more rain this morning we left Fingal in the mist and drizzle. Instead of going to Jacobs Ladder, we again steered towards St Marys and headed down the southern pass – the awesome Elephant pass – which I’d like to do again in the dry one day. It is a large radius pass run down through mostly forest. With the recent drizzle it was a bit slippery and we had to take extra care riding.
Our next stop was the town of Bicheno which is north from the Freycinet Peninsula and is yet another idyllic town on the east coast Tasmania. The rain only stopped shortly after arriving there so we took the chance to sit and enjoy a cappuccino while taking in the market atmosphere close by.
The day got brighter as it wore on and we ended up with beautiful weather and sunshine. Continuing through Freycinet National Park we arrived at a perfectly balanced Wineglass Bay.
An exhausting 1 hour 15 minute walk return to the Wineglass Bay Lookout in full motorbike gear (again those boots where not made for walking), offered spectacular views and was well worth it.
We set up camp at Coles Bay which sits beneath the breath taking, stunningly sheer pink granite mountains and its views over the crystal clear water of Oyster Bay.
Rewarded with a stunning sunset at the night’s beach camp, we had the freshest oysters, prawns and scallops cooked for tucker. It was a day to remember well, another spectacular Tassie day roughing it in ‘our GS lifestyle’.
Oh, this was also where we saw the first Tassie Cop with a radar gun on the most picturesque road there is… No doubt much to his disappointment we were too busy looking at the scenery to go over the 80 km/h signposted limit and he took the radar down as we passed him.
Day Four
After a hardy camp-style bacon and egg on bakery fresh roll breakfast, we sailed off from Coles Bay camp ground in search of the illusive ‘Spikey Bridge.’
The riddle goes it was built in 1843 by some convicts who laid the field stones in a way without mortar/cement to hold the bridge. The now vertical stones give the bridge the spike-like appearance. It is quite a stunning work of art and we had a quick stop to take photos.
Continuing along the east coast passing Orford, we detoured off for a sneaky 50 km onto the dirt, traversing the Wielangata Road. It was beautiful riding through Wielangata State Forrest as it offers spectacular views over the colourful coastline and out to Maria Island.
With easy to medium dirt road skills required the Great Eastern ride continued before heading towards Eaglehawk Neck, which is famous for its Port Arthur’s prison colony, then on to the Tasman Peninsula and the tessellated pavement.
Tessellated pavement is a real rare occurrence and only found in a few places on earth. Its a flat rock that has patterns of broken rock. It is a rare type of natural erosion. Another short ride from there is the Tasman Arch, another coastal rock formation with its blowhole at the Devils Kitchen.
From there we took to the road for Port Arthur, our stop for the night. Port Arthur is a heritage listed historical site which was closed in 1877. It is definitely worth a visit, however we’ll have to come back as it was raining cats and dogs.
In pouring rain it was time for us to set up camp at the local caravan park for a well earned local wine and sample of cheeses. We sat overlooking the Port Arthur historical site under the cover of our hoodgie.
In Part Four Petra and Jamie leave the Tasman Peninsula behind and make a beeline for Hobart.
