4th Jan
We rode out to Gordan Dam and then on to Derwent Bridge. We then rode to the West coast of Tasmania through Queenstown- a barren landscape from years of mining, into Strahan – a touristy seaside village and ended with an evening at Zeehan.

5th Jan
The following morning we were very excited to be spending the day riding gravel on a road that is comprised of white silica. A mineral that is sent to Japan to make camera lenses. We first rode to a small town Corinna in which we caught the Fatman’s Barge across the Pieman’s River. We continued on the silica road and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with a tyre puncture. Luckily I am similar to Bear Grylls action man and could fix it. Good thing I have been carrying around a puncture repair kit. The instructions were glued together so I could only read one page of it. Very handy! People on the road were very helpful and we met an English couple who used to ride a trumpy and a family who assisted us with inflating our tyre so we could continue on our journey to Smithton. As luck would have it, there was a motorcycle store in town with a tyre brought in that morning that fit the tiger. They fitted the tyre immediately and we continued on our way to Stanley to spend the night. We enquired about accommodation at the pub and were told that there was 1 room left with an ensuite. It was recommended we take a look before paying. We inspected the room which was smelly and you could flush the toilet whilst laying in bed – so we decided to seek accommodation elsewhere! We ended up at a lovely cottage across the road from the pub. We caught the chair lift up to “The Nut” a rock formation and watched the sun begin to set before eating dinner at the pub restaurant and retiring for the night.

6th Jan
A few drinks last night meant a later start today. We rode to Burchison Gorge and then to the World Heritage Listed Cradle Mountain. The days are continuing to be sunny and the riding great. Our friend Mick was leaving to go back to the mainland so we rode to Devonport to farewell him before heading into Georgetown. Georgetown is the oldest town in Australia. We had the biggest and juiciest scallops for dinner. Tiger got to sleep over inside at the bar.

7th
The following morning we rode to Bridport, Branxholm Gorge and the seaside tourist town of St Helen’s. We stopped for a beer at the infamous Weldenborough Hotel. It is a hotel perched atop a mountain. There are only a few other buildings around it. The pub has some excellent memorabilia on it’s walls. We continued on to Launceston- a major town with a reputation for good restaurants. The weather was extremely warm. We then rode to Mole Creek and stopped for a beer at the famous “Tiger Bar” before riding into Paradise. Who could resist visiting a town with that name?! We finally found Paradise! We then rode into Devonport to stay at the Formby Hotel. The Tiger got to sleep in the bottleshop. It was a long but very good day of riding which meant we could enjoy a few drinks tonight before a sleep in and a cruisy day tomorrow before heading back to Melbourne on the Spirit of Tasmania.

We stopped at the Twelve Apostles and admired the views of limestone rocks in the ocean. Mother nature has done great work.
The Great Ocean Road goes from Torquay to Warnambool and takes all day to really appreciate all the scenery. We stopped overnight at Peterborough in a small hotel/motel that was named after a shipwreck – the “Schomberg”. Chatted with the publican and a couple of other travelers and thoroughly enjoyed their company.

Today we rode back to Melbourne via an inland road through Colac. We recommend a stop at the Country Food Store as the food and prices were fantastic!

The trip from Cann River to Toora was the most coldest ever with temperatures struggling to go past 15 deg/C. Despite wearing 5 layers of clothes it was not enough to keep us warm and to make it even worse we had rain along the way. Along the way we stopped at a small place called Woodside. It consisted of a pub and a petrol station only and we stopped at both. The pub was great and warm. We ordered warm food and coffee but with the Coffee machine broken Narelle had to walk across the street to the gas station to buy a coffee. Asked what type of coffee she wanted she asked for 2 short blacks only to be told that the only choice was Nescafe with or with out milk. Good stuff. We stayed at the pub for a while to warm up and chatted to staff and locals which where good characters. Locals could easily be spotted as they wore shorts and singlets.

The original plan was to check in at the pub in Toora and then go to Wilsons Promontory but due the extreme cold, the day was cut short when we arrived to the hotel. The afternoon was spent trying to warm up with cold wine and beers. Good but cold afternoon.

The following morning started with a ride out to Wilsons Promontory, the most southern point of Australia’s mainland. It is national parkland and bordered by ocean. We visited Whiskey Beach and Squeaky Beach – which does squeak even when wearing motorbike boots! The sand is pure white and the rocks red. Amazing. Lots of surfers catching waves also.

Back on the motorbike with a ride into Melbourne. The temperature was slightly warmer and the sun came out. We are still wearing thermals however.

We will add photos of these 2 days soon as still sorting out the sizing on the GINFAN picture Gallery. Photos will still be on Facebook

The route was through Bellingen, Dorrigo and there inland to Armidale, Walcha and Barrington. It rained most of the way with fog resulting to a very slow ride with bad visibilities through the mountain range. This route would be a great ride during a reasonable sunny day but low visibility reduced the pleasure of the ride. It took great concentration to stay alert and on the road. Eventually after coming down the mountain range after full on rain dress and cold weather it cleared and the last hour was warm and sunny with blue skies. Thankfully during a day like this my wonderful bike has heated handgrips. which even come handy during summer time in Australia.

So far we have done just over 1,000km of the intended 8,500km

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