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Post by kuri77 on Mar 2, 2015 9:22:29 GMT 10
It's a 4 hr round trip, anyone think it's worth the detour?
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Post by traversing2 on Mar 7, 2015 19:13:08 GMT 10
Kuri77, are you asking if its worth the ride out to Strathgordon and Lake Pedder when travelling to Hobart I was thinking of going out there on Monday as I remember it as a fantastic bike road and lots of guys tell the same story. I will let you know what I find if the weather is fine on Monday.
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 9, 2015 2:50:04 GMT 10
That would be the one. Can't wait to hear what you find out. Thanks.
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Post by traversing2 on Mar 9, 2015 13:30:16 GMT 10
Great road for a ride on a fine day but was a bit slippery when it rained today, awsome scenery and if my camera hadnt buggered up i would have sent some pics. it is one of the top 100 rides in Australia according to a guy I met there today so if the weather is good then it would be a good ride, take about 1 1/2 hrs from where you turn off to Lake Pedder and a bit further to get to the dam so hope that helps. Just a thought on your first day as you head to Burnie their is a turn of to B18 which is a better route down the west coast than what you have planned. The route you plan along A10 goes through a very bad gorge that is always slippery and has black ice if it is cold so the new highway B18 is a much better route and long sweeping bends as well. Once you get through Queenstown you have planned to stop at Bronte which is a lovely place but is in the highlands as as such is very cold and the ground is rocky and not good for camping, i would recommend extending the day if you can and head to Hamilton where there is a great camping spot in the town which is nice and grassy and welcomes campers. I am also mindful that it is a big day doing the west coast and you will have so many corners coming out of Queenstown you will be dizzy. These roads can be very treachorous if the weather is bad and there is often snow on the roads. If you look at the Bureau of Met site www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/ you can get an idea of the weather forecast for the next 7 days at any location. Dont want to put you off as the west coast has some spectacular scenery and roads so it is worth going if the weather is ok. Attachments:
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 10, 2015 2:36:03 GMT 10
Great road for a ride on a fine day but was a bit slippery when it rained today, awsome scenery and if my camera hadnt buggered up i would have sent some pics. it is one of the top 100 rides in Australia according to a guy I met there today so if the weather is good then it would be a good ride, take about 1 1/2 hrs from where you turn off to Lake Pedder and a bit further to get to the dam so hope that helps. Just a thought on your first day as you head to Burnie their is a turn of to B18 which is a better route down the west coast than what you have planned. The route you plan along A10 goes through a very bad gorge that is always slippery and has black ice if it is cold so the new highway B18 is a much better route and long sweeping bends as well. Once you get through Queenstown you have planned to stop at Bronte which is a lovely place but is in the highlands as as such is very cold and the ground is rocky and not good for camping, i would recommend extending the day if you can and head to Hamilton where there is a great camping spot in the town which is nice and grassy and welcomes campers. I am also mindful that it is a big day doing the west coast and you will have so many corners coming out of Queenstown you will be dizzy. These roads can be very treachorous if the weather is bad and there is often snow on the roads. If you look at the Bureau of Met site www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/ you can get an idea of the weather forecast for the next 7 days at any location. Dont want to put you off as the west coast has some spectacular scenery and roads so it is worth going if the weather is ok. A- Well we'll have to check it out alright, thanks. B- Had planned on A10 originally but when I zoomed in on Google maps the Hellyer Gorge looked like a great ride so switched to that. Is that nothing much or a must-do if the weather is good? Glad you are offering this advice because we definitely appreciate it. C- The tip on Hamilton is good since neither of us particularly likes cold weather or bad camping spots. We'll just enjoy the view as we pass through the Bronte area. That's a fantastic weather site on-line, thanks. Just bookmarked it on the computer. Looks like 400 km from Devonport to Hamilton so definitely a doable day if we don't dawdle and the weather cooperates. We'll be nicely set up for doing the Lake Pedder route around noon the next day when it'll hopefully be nice weather.
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 10, 2015 2:44:22 GMT 10
While I'm on route musings, how about taking A2 out to its endpoint? Worth the round trip or just more of similar roads that we'll encounter going around Taz? I notice Rocky Cape Park and what looks like a paved Sisters Beach Rd down to the beach. We don't usually do roads that go in and back out the same way unless someone recommends them as worth the ride such as the one you just did.
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Post by traversing2 on Mar 10, 2015 20:32:49 GMT 10
Hey Chris I think the trip out to the end of A2 is a great ride but not worth the time and back tracking when the scenery is very similar to other parts of Tassie. The trip from Devonport to Hamilton as a long drive and would be enough for the day if you stop a few times along the way. One suggestion is the Wall in the Wilderness and the views from Tarraleah Chalet as well as all the scenery along the way.
Day 2 would be a good ride from Hamilton to Strathgordon then down to Southport and back to Huonville but I would not recommend going around from Cygnet to Gordon as there is a fair patch of gravel road which i found last time and turned back. One alternative I might suggest is to go from Hamilton to Strathgordon then down to Huonville possibly via the mountain and then down to Cygnet and cut across the hills to Margate and then back around Taroona and on to Hobart and to Berriedale where I live and you can stay the night. The road to Southport from Huonville is mainly forest and farmland with a part down the Huon River but a fair bit of backtracking. The alternative has a trip down the Huon River but on the opposite side then a trip through the hills and then back along the scenic winding edge of the Derwent and back to my house.
Day 3 you could then go via Grass tree Hill which as a bike rider favorite and then to Richmond, down to Port Arthur and then back up to Triabunna where you can fix the oil and valves etc, then a short ride to Coles Bay for your overnight stop. If you guys get to Tassie on the 28th and end in Hamilton on the Sat Night then on the Sunday I could catch up possibly at Westerway and go to Strathgordon then down the Huon and back home then hopefully get Monday off and go as far as Triabunna maybe.
Hope this is not too much to take in as when I look at all the places I love in Tassie I wished you guys had so much more time but I have to just try and fit in as much as possible without overloading. Im sure you will enjoy everything you see and just hope the weather is kind but if not I can suggest other options depending on the day.
I also have a suggestion in Victoria when heading for Adelaide the better ride would be down to Geelong and along the great Ocean Road to Mount Gambier and then on to Adelaide which is 962km as opposed to the straight run from Melbourne to adelaide at 725Km. The great Ocean Road has the 12 Apostles, London Bridge, Loch Aird Gorge and the fantastic cliff road as opposed to the straight freeway on the main route with all the trucks etc. The only downside to the Ocean Road is the bloody caravan and motorhomes crawling along so it may take a bit longer on some parts. Maybe talk to some local Shadows in Victoria.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2015 20:38:54 GMT 10
Kuri77, are you asking if its worth the ride out to Strathgordon and Lake Pedder when travelling to Hobart I was thinking of going out there on Monday as I remember it as a fantastic bike road and lots of guys tell the same story. I will let you know what I find if the weather is fine on Monday. Dont forget the bloody camera
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 11, 2015 13:23:06 GMT 10
Traversing2, This is great. I've got one window open and following your post on the google map. Can see almost everything you mention. Wall in the Wilderness I'm sure will have signs so no way to miss it? The views from Tarraleah Chalet I presume means going off the highway and up Oldina Dr to the high point? To Huonville "via the mtn" is through Fern Tree? "Cut across the the hills to Margate" is via Nicholls Rivulet or Woodbridge Hill Rd? Thanks for the offer to stay in Berriedale. Looks like you're in a pretty spot yourself so close to the river. Not too much to take in at all. I'm having fun checking out all the spots you're mentioning. Unfortunately there are so many roads that I'd never have noticed that the Grass Tree Hill Rd was paved and doable and alternatively would never have noticed that the Cygnet road was not all paved. Valuable time-saving, chrome-saving, accident-saving tips that we appreciate. But you are right about so many great roads you'd like us to see but not enough time. Since we have no timetable other than the plane on May 15th we could stay longer in Taz but looking at the temps these days it's already getting pretty cool down there. Yeah I know, I'm a SoCal wuss about warm weather but ya gets spoiled. I commuted to work rain or shine, 90km round trip for seven years on my bike without missing a day so I know about non-warm, non-dry days. But getting a little more concerned about the ol body these days and creature comforts are becoming more important. I even have some electric gloves If everything goes as planned, yeah right, we could possibly make it to Hamilton as you suggested and it would be great to have you along the next day as the resident expert. Hope we're as lucky in other areas of Oz cause locals do know a zillion things the guide books don't. Guess you guys don't realize how famous the Ocean Road is for bikers all over the world. Before you mentioned it I already had it penciled in as one of the "must do rides in Oz". Just saw a post a couple of weeks ago by an around-the-world biker who did all of Oz except that road Doesn't know what he missed though I'm sure he'll hear from other bikers about it. As that road is comparable to the Big Sur road on our West Coast I'm unfortunately all too well aware of the caravan and motorhome crawl but a lot of turnouts and dotted lines means we don't have to follow for long. Well time to wrap this up. Thanks again for all the tips and the hospitality offer. Will give you a call from Melbourne if possible to give you a heads up on whether we'll be on schedule for meeting up in your area on the 28th.
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 11, 2015 13:24:32 GMT 10
Ray, Now that I'm in the 21st Century and finally got an iPhone don't have to worry about having the camera along but am bringing one as a back up because losing the pics or not being able to take any on a trip of this magnitude would be a crime.
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 28, 2015 18:59:15 GMT 10
Hey Traversing2, sorry we didn't make it as planned. Got the bikes late in the rain on Thursday and then no space available on the ferry Fri or Sat so we're heading out tomorrow in the day time so arriving evening. Will call you from Devonport or do you have another suggestion?
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Post by traversing2 on Mar 29, 2015 8:20:54 GMT 10
Hey guys no problem, call me when you can and see what we can do
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Post by kuri77 on Mar 29, 2015 20:37:22 GMT 10
Hi, Got an Oz phone number. It's zero four zero 32712 one four. If you're up can you call me please? Thanks.
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