Feb 2007

After I arrived in Melbourne with Barge and Dan (two of Simon's friends, who made it an "interesting" night on the boat) and we said goodbye over breakfast, I drove out to Sunbury to see Dani, a good friend I'd met in India, and her 11-month-old baby girl. Unfortunately her husband Reyas was still in India, but is expecting to be over in a month, so hopefully I'll see them later in the year.

It didn't take long for Dani to convince me to stay an extra night, so we had plenty of time for catching up over drinks, water aerobics, a museum trip, and a fabulous last night playing Uno and Balderdash while drinking at Dani's brother's house.

The next morning I drove, slightly hungover, in 38 degree heat along the Hume until about 6 pm, at which point the sky turned black ("It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black." Just a little Spinal Tap quote for those of you not up with the times.) and a torrential downpour of rain and hail harassed me until I pulled into the first pub I could find.

This small town was called Gunning, and was apparently the place to be on a Friday night (the Gunning Horse Show was the next day). I waited a good 45 minutes for my dinner, but entertained myself by sitting at a table with 4 men who pulled up on Harleys, and thereafter introduced themselves as Dave, Dave, Dave and Dave. I must say it was a night of classic Australian crudity, and good fun for sure, but as soon as I felt that alcohol levels around me were reaching uncomfortable ranks, I retired to my room upstairs.

I felt a bit lonely, and realized how strange it was to be travelling on my own again, which will take some time to get used to...

I arrive in Sydney the next day in time for lunch at the beach with Simone and Jamie, and then headed into the city to meet up with Inga and Caroline, old girlfriends from high school!!! They left this morning on a Contiki tour with their friend Megan, also from Calgary.

It was fabulous to see them again, a short reminder of how much I treasure their friendship!

After another long night I'm off again on the highway to see Susi in Byron Bay, hopefully by tomorrow...

This week has gone past ridiculously fast. It feels pretty good to look at the map of Tasmania and see that we've covered most of it together:

Hobart -> Port Arthur -> St. Helens -> Bridport (via Scottsdale) -> Burnie (via Launceston, Batman Bridge, Devonport) -> Stanely and Smithton -> Rocky Cape and Boat Harbour -> Derwent Bridge (via Strahan, Queenstown) -> Hobart

We've been keeping so busy, seeing so many sights, and riding so many great roads that it would be too much to write down. But some of the highlights include:
- Waterfalls from St. Helen's to Bridport
- Listening to increadible blues on the patio of the Bridport hotel before a sunset walk along the beach
- Riding from Bridport to Burnie through the toughest, windiest road I've ridden. In fact I tipped the bike on one corner, but no major problems, thank goodness! Was quite frustrated with myself, but Simon was amazing in helping me through it. A valuable lesson about pushing the boundaries...
- Brett and Karen (and Ethan), old racing friends of Simon's in Burnie
- Riding the chairlift up Nut Rock at Stanley (Simon's white knuckles!)
- Driving into the mountains and the road from Strahan to Derwent Bridge
- Pinball wizards, billiard kids, and sketchy accommodation at the Derwent Bridge hotel.
- Breakfast at St. Helens while deciding to keep riding all the way around the state. "Feeling like we had so much time ahead of us!" (Simon's contribution)

I'm starting to seriously consider it necessary to return to Tasmania. Three weeks will not be enough!

Simon, Myself, and Kirk at the Hobart Races

My entire trip has taken a complete turn. I never thought anything this great would happen to me: I have found a wonderful friend (and personal tour guide!) to join me.

Simon and I have been travelling together since friday morning, when we left Hobart for Port Arthur, an old penal colony from the early 1800's which is now nothing but ruins. It was interesting to see the old sandstone buildings, but was depressing to think of the history, and unfortunatly was a bit too "touristy" for us to enjoy spending much time there. My "personal guide" also took me for rides out to see some natural landmarks on the Tasman Peninsula including The Blowhole, Remarkable Caves, Devil's Kitchen in Penzance, and Eaglehawk Neck, a breathtaking lookout on the west coast of the peninsula.

That evening we stayed at the Lufta Hotel and had an amazing meal while looking out at the ocean. The next morning we decided to head back in for a brief stop at Hobart to change our clothes before heading north to St. Helens. It was a fairly long ride, but quite phenomenal roads and only a few painstakingly slow tourists. Poor Simon had to go slow to let my bike catch up, especially on the hills, but he seems pretty good about it.

A notable stop along the way was Bicheno, where after a few beers we played Keno and won $512!!! So needless to say when we arrived in St. Helens we wined and dined, once again looking out over the water!

This morning we're in recovery mode from a great night... Sitting in the sun enjoying tea after breakfast, I'm writting and Simon is reading the paper. I have really enjoyed his company over the past few days, and in fact we have decided (after a phone call to Simon's boss to request the week off work) to ride North and West and around the whole state of Tasmania! This is going to be a great week!