6/01/12
We had an early start to go to the hang gliding and managed 300m before the bike stopped :-( I ended up pushing it back to the place where we were staying and then after I couldn't get it to start I went looking for a bike shop. I found one close by but they were booked out and there was no Hyosung dealer in Launceston. They did, however, give me the name and phone number of one in Shearwater, about an hour north of here. I rang them up and they in turn said they would get to it as soon as they got the bike. He gave me the number of a bike cartage business who would do it for $100. I rang them and said they would be there within 2 hours. They were, and their charge was $150, return. Not much else I could do !!!  Long gone are the days of carbies and points !!

What to do now, What to do now ?? I spied a town map with a couple of walks on it, so off we went.... Down passed the BOAGS Brewery, along the flood levy bank down to the pristine riverfront. Pristine !!!?? What gives ?? Tasmania, the island of  pristine wilderness etc etc... The river was muddy and on the nose !! We walked down to the small marina and half the boats were sitting on mud !!  Aha, it's tidal !! (No excuse for the smelly muddy river).

Pristine Waters

Marina

Built 1880

The vats

We continued along the waterfront. I was amazed at the amount of mud around. I subsequently found out that it was indeed tidal and 40 odd years ago it was clean with sandy beaches where people swam. (Not now !! Warnings everywhere about getting in the water).

We ended the walk along the waterfront by an old flour mill which now housed a restaurant, boutique food stuff and tourist titbits and an art gallery. I spied a couple of people go up a path opposite the old mill and suggested we go and have a squiz!!

Drinks available in the OFM

Ahh - Ginger Beer !!

A squiz !!! It was a path designed for Olympic quality mountain goats, of which I'm not!! I could feel my knee and hip crying "give up !! give up !!" many times as I crawled up this mountain path made by madmen. Alanah, meanwhile, bounced up from step to step like it was a quiet Sunday stroll !! The little red steam engine did not huff and puff as much as I did....  After about, what seemed like, 500km we finally started downhill. Hooray !!. Man it was rocky !

There's the river, right down there !

And this is looking from the weir

And along the flat path back

 

We arrived at a waterhole with a small weir across it with people swimming it it. They had either very poor eyesight or no sense of feeling, or both, as I could clearly see ice cubes in the water. Large ones. There was no way in a million years I was going to get wet !! Lucky there was a path over the weir to a nice level path on the other side of the river back to where we had started from. I slept well !!


07/01/12
Booked out of the hotel and had to come back at 1400 to book back into another room. (was not expecting to stay a third night, but, with no bike we were on shanks pony today) We decided to walk to the Hang Gliding we were booked to do. Over 7+km from out hotel !! Who had this idea Alanah ?? Off we went, passed the old flour mill again where we were told it was too far, too steep and too rough to walk. Was that a red flag for Alanah ?? Within 100m it felt like I was walking up a brick wall !! Man, was I going to keep up with Alanah ?? I contemplated putting a iron ball and chain on her leg. As we walked I noticed fruit on the ground. Plums !! I looked up and the tree was loaded with them. Reached up and filled my hands with these ripe juice plums. Aah a sugar recharge !! a bit further of there was another plum tree with heavily laden branches over the path. Bigger plums, yellow inside and yum yum.

Loaded and Yummy

Though you wouldn't think it :-)

As I staggered further up the road there was another plum tree. Different plums again but juicy as. By then we had covered about 3km of our walk up, sorry, UP, the road. Then a blackberry bush. Not many were ripe but those that were !! magic !! Upward, ever upward we went. I looked back, scary to see how high we had travelled and still more to go.  Another plum tree and then another, more blackberries and the more my hip and knee complained. Then slowly (very slowly) it started to level out, and then, amazingly, started to go downhill (??) We eventually, after eons, arrived at the hang gliding site only to find out you had to go up this steep goat track up the side of  a quarry to reach the glider. I had to stop a couple of times there !! (All the while Alanah bounced up like it was a walk in the park)

A couple of glides each (The glides were great fun but over too quickly) and it was now a 7km walk, downhill thank goodness, back to Launceston. At the old mill I think Alanah took pleasure in telling the woman who had said that it was impossible that we had indeed walked there and back and it was no big deal (??????) Me... I was looking for somewhere to lie down. For weeks if possible :-).

Ready to go

Supergirl - ready to fly :-)

Who is that ??

We stopped at a small Fish & Chips place on the water front not far from the mill and had the best fish and chips I've had in years. The Best !! We got back to the hotel about 6 hours after we left. A great fantastic walk weary day.

Great fish and chips

Tomorrow I pick up a car for a few days and should hear something about the bike on Monday...