31/01/12 (Overcast - COLD !!)
What a great way to wake up !! No dew on the tent, no rain overnight, just the wind blowing through the trees. I was able to be breakfasted, packed up and mobile by 0830 !! Damned cold though !!

1917 Indian

I went to the Harley Davidson dealer just out of Launceston to have a look at their motorcycle museum. Wow !! what a surprise !! I was expecting a, well I don't know what I was expecting, but what a pleasant surprise !! The building was ALL TIMBER, two stories high but built entirely of recycled timbers. Some came from old warehouses that were being demolished, some came from the pylons of an old wharf in Burnie (had been in the water for over 80 years !!), some from the packing crates that the bikes were delivered in !! What a great job was done !! The building had a fantastic showroom.

More clothing, accessories (lots of chrome), oils only a few bikes spaced out on one end. No cramming !!

1918 Harley

Beautiful timber work - all recycled timber

Handrails from Harley packing crates

Memorabilia

Attached was a bar and a restaurant all decked out in beautifully finished timber of various sorts while upstairs (a gold coin donation) was the museum. I expected mostly Harley but it had a good mix of old American, Italian and British bikes. The focus was on Harley memorabilia but the other bikes shared equal floorspace.  No wonder that this place has won the best set out dealership for year after year !! I had a great coffee and a generous bacon and egg muffin in the restaurant for a reasonable price.

The art of coopering is dead as far as beer goes !!

From there I went to the Boags brewery to see if I could get onto a tour of the brewery but they were booked out for the next two days !! I did however tour through their museum. The company was started by a James Boag (1) and managed to stay in the family for James Boag (11) and the (111). Then a George Boag worked his way through the company and when he died it was run by a board of Directors. Someone told me that it is now owned by overseas interests.

What size do you want your beer in ??

An old crate for carting the first bottles.

2100 hrs sunset !!

I decided to go to Cradle Mountain but took that many back roads that went up mountainsides and down again that I only managed to get to Deloraine. (Why do all these small towns get built either on a couple of hills or on a hillside. It's hard getting parking for the bike and trailer on some sort of level ground in their CBD). The van park was alongside the Meander River and I was able to get a good spot under a massive oak tree. If I was cold when I arrived at Deloraine, I was positively freezing by the time I had camp setup !! Sam told me it was 13 degrees !!. I had the second coldest night of my trip !! I ended up with my thermals on under my 0 degrees sleeping bag. Damned if I wasn't cold. I tossed and froze all night !! Found out that It went down to 12c !!

Just before sunrise

01/02/12 (COLD, COLD, COLD !!)
When I got up it wasn't much better and I started the day with thermals on, two long sleeved shirts, two pairs of socks, my motorcycle jacket and the rain jacket over the top of that. Even the locals I spoke to over a coffee said it was bloody cold !! :-)





Again, I was heading in the general direction of Cradle Mountain but got sidetracked  by the side roads full of  'up down, riding around, those magnificent roads and my riding machine'  :-) :-) I saw a sign that said 'King Solomon Cave' and chucked a RH turn towards it. In the car park was a sign 'cave is 9c' so I grabbed an extra jacket. The walk to the cave was through thick vegetation with moss everywhere !! When I arrived at the ticket office there was a sign (yes the 3rd sign !!) that kindly informed me that my cash was no good !! Only plastic !! I offered correct money but it was not accepted. I had to go to Marakoopa cave to buy a ticket there. Off I backtracked about 18k and there I was told the same thing. When I explained what had happened at King Solomon cave I was again told that they would not accept cash. I assured them that I did not own a printing press and that cash was still legal tender in Australia, of which Tasmania is a part of. Ahh well, maybe next year.....


 I got closer to Cradle Mountain but it was getting time to look for somewhere to stay. On the map it showed a park at Sheffield but, when I arrived there was no park to be found. I spoke to a few locals and they suggested a place 18k out called Gowrie Park. So off I went. Just before I got there I saw a small 'free' park alongside a small creek. Several vans and tents were there already. The sign said "maximum of 4 days" so in I went. It was a beautiful little place. The vans were only allowed on the hardstand but there was a huge grassed area for tents. I set up the tent under a large pine and with views of a couple of mountains in front of me !! I had a glass of red while just sitting on my stool looking at those magnificent mountains :-)

View from my tent in the morning

02/02/12
Well !! What a sight as I opened up my tent !! Two mountains !!  While I was having a small bowl of hot muesli with fresh apricots cut into it, and a piping hot mug of strong black coffee standing by, I noticed that the clouds were getting a bit of fire into them... The sun was rising and put a red glow behind them. I'm not sure if the photo will do it justice but I will post it.

Date scones

After packing up I headed back to Sheffield to sample the scones Kate talked about. (just to see if they're as good am mine. Modest aren't I ??). I settled for date scones and apricot  jam and a short black. The scones were bloody good !!!! Nearly as good as mine :-) :-) No, seriously, they were lovely, just not enough dates in them.

Belly done I unhitched the trailer at the servo and headed for Cradle Mountain. Un-fettered the bike was absolutely fun as I swung from one corner into the next. I could almost live here for the roads !! For the first time I came across a set of corners where the warning sign has a motorcycle on it and not a car !!

Backtrack for a moment !! The servo where I left the trailer is owned by a motorcyclist and as I was unhitching the trailer he laid out in some detail which roads to take on my way back from Cradle Mountain. "Detour via Mole creek, go through Paradise And chuck a left at the first crossroads. It's the long way back" he said and finished his instructions with "you will have a smile as wide as your visor when you get back" He was right !!  The only servo I have ever seen with a helmet and visor cleaning station inside !!

Once I reached the highlands the road became mostly rolling hills with Harley corners. At least I could stay in one gear for a short while.  The car park at the mountain was chokkers !! I looked around but there were only three bikes (including mine). After a bit of a look around I decided to take a bus tour ( with commentary) that lasted for 2.5hrs. I know that I keep on about the beautiful countryside, but this was something else again. Most of the trees and plants up here only grow above the 800m mark. All of it is in the heart of snow country and according to the driver it can snow every month !! It's absolutely beautiful !! We got as close as you could with a vehicle to Cradle mountain and he pointed out the glacier scars on the sides of the mountain and then pointed out one not far from it that had been 'run over' by the glacier and it looked like a river washed stone. All rounded and smooth :-)

The Weindorfer Lodge - pre 1930

All split from deadfall Billy Pine

See how straight the grain on the timber is !!

The creek by the Lodge

We visited a lodge built by a Gustav Weindorfer prior to 1930 with only an axe, a saw and a hammer with no building experience. He and his wife had bought over 200 acres which he wanted to preserve as a national park and pushed for the surrounding area to be declared a national park. The start of it all !!  The lodge was built with mostly fallen Billy Pine. A tree that apparently takes over 1000 years to mature and is now a protected species. The timber was used to make shingles, floorboards, wall cladding plus all the structural work !!  When you see what he achieved you would have to be amazed at his accomplishments. Fire destroyed some of the lodge and has been repaired using the same timber and construction methods.  Mind boggling !!

Back down I headed to Devonport. Stayed at the caravan park at the point. When the lady there saw my Ulysses badge she commented that her husband was also a member and gave me the night for half price !! I had a fantastic spot on level ground halfway up the hill with a view of the ferry as it was leaving for the mainland. This is my last night it Tasmania for this trip. Lookout next year !! I'll make it mid Feb to mid Mar next time.......