Melbourne - Devonport - Branxholm
For the first time in my life I was able to say "I set sail for the night". I have been on a few barges, one or two hover crafts and a couple of booze ups on the river but never a proper boat and certainly not an overnight one. The sea wasn't particularly choppy but the car alarms on the garage decks were soon singing a merry song, good job the sound didn't reach the sleeping deck. The sound of car alarms was superseded by the worst snoring I have ever heard. The guy was lying on the floor between the recliner chairs and giving off a total foghorn. It's no lie to say that when he went to sleep there were about 10 around him in chairs and when he awoke all of us had moved to the other block. He will have risen with the thought "was it something I said". Yes mate it was.......
I arrived at Devonport at 6.30am and grabbed a coffee and sorted out my route to my hosts house in Launceston. It was a 60 mile day coming up and the terrain guide was showing quite a few spikes. Not one to worry I set off towards Latrobe hoping to see some of its famous Platypus. The only one I saw was it's Big Platypus in the town park which was competing with The Big Cherries to be the towns "official" big thing. About 30 miles in and with each town I reached bring nothing more than a cow shed I was starting to feel the heat so I pulled over at a farm to see if I could get some lunch in the shade of the barn. Good luck that I knocked on the right door as the farmer and his wife invited me in for coffee, biscuits and cake. They joined the growing list of superb people you meet when travelling by bike.
I made it to my hosts town around 5pm after a total of 62 miles a figure that seems to be becoming more regular. The hosts name was Mandy. She lived with her partner and their dog Gus. Her son, his wife and daughter were coming over to join us for a bbq of pork chops, vegetables and dressing. It was another great evening of food and conversation of which I'm truly grateful.
My next days ride was to Branxholm. A small village with a fully equipped free campground. The days ride was very similar to the last one as in it was 62 miles and very hilly. The real difference was it dropped very cold very quickly. It looks like a trip to a camping store for a few items of warm clothing. With me now going to New Zealand I was due to restock on a few essentials anyway. Loving Tasmania so far. Next stop, St Helens and the East coast.
