2019 Gym Trip: Cycle Tassy 2nd Installment

If you didn’t catch part 1 of our Cycle Tassy Adventure, you can read it here.

Below, Chris tells the tale in his words of the final week of their epic adventure!

Day 4:

Rest day in beautiful Strahan. The crew were amped to get out and try some ATVing adventure on the Henty dunes. However nothing opens in Tassy until the 1^st of November! Luckily, our amazing hosts at Gordon Gateway were able to call the operator and get him to open early just for us and take us out.

It was such an amazing day, although it was also quite ironic to have a bunch of carbon neutral push bike riders revving it up in ATV’s around the Henty dunes. It was great! Dizee needed a little coaxing to get over the first roll over, but after that it was full steam ahead. Who would have thought Michelle was such a hoooooon!

It was a great rest day, finished off with a split dinner; some opting for home made dinners while others explored some of Strahan’s fine dining (don’t get the house wine).

Day 5 Strahan to Tullah:

The day was spent riding some then driving some, due to the roads and traffic. Lunch was at Zeehan an old mining town, a few did the 10 cent tour and sampled some coffee with mixed reviews. The crew headed off for a 3 hour walk to Montezuma falls, again we were able to smash to recommended time to complete the walk, not that it became a “thing” at all! The falls were spectacular, and there was added adventure in the form of the suspension bridge at the falls – we were all game and walked the bridge.

Up to 60 plus kms were ridden with the gang settling into the accommodation in Tullah that was an old Hydro camp on the shores of Lake Rosebury. AN amazing view again in Western Tassy. Dinner was at the accommodation, with a few refreshing drinks to finish the day.

Day 6 Tullah to Cradle Mountain:

The day started off with the unthinkable… Michele asking Manfred (the guide) what the plan was for the day BEFORE he had taken his fist sip of his tea…

We all awaited the response with our breath held.

She got off lightly! This time! We drove until we got to the Murchenson Hwy where we got on the bikes and cycled the hilly road to Cradle Mountain, with spectacular views of the rugged Tassy landscape. We had lunch in the car park of Cradle mountain, then set off for a walk around Dove Lake, well that was plan A. Plan B came into play when we looked at the time we had before we needed to get the last bus back to the carpark, and we decided to walk Marions Lookout instead. No one knew who Marion was and we struggled to find out. We hustled another walker off a great photo spot, much to his disgust, but hey, “how long do you need to lay on the ground to get a shot”, right Michele?

We took the long route up and the much shorter route down. We had an amazingly clear day, which made for spectacular walking and views. The pics were taken at the top, a few quick snacks and we were off down the track. We were able to spot some of the locals, including wombats and echidnas. The accommodation was at Cradle Mountain Tourist park, it was small to say the least, but did the job… just.

Dinner was in our huts with an amazing feed from hut 6, thanks Jen and Michele.

Day 7 Cradle Mountain Mole Creek:

The day started with breakfast in our huts and ended in a little town called Mole Creek, this is where our riding adventures finished.

We drove the first part of the road, which we were all happy with, the road was very hilly and busy with traffic. Once we got on the bike we enjoyed a 5 km downhill, but what goes down must go up. The downhill was followed by a 4 km climb, wow. The rain was coming and going, just to keep us honest, and a little miserable! After the climb we settled into a great little café called the Round Hill Café in Cethana for a well deserved coffee and the odd cookie, and it was here we met Hunter, the local German Shepard. We got back on the bikes and headed off to Sheffield, a town of many murals. They were amazing! We had lunch at the bakery and some time spent checking out the sights. It was a great little town, a must see if you are in these parts.

It was back on the bikes again the way we came into town for further riding. There were some amazing downhill that came with strong warnings from Manfred to take it easy as some of the turns were very sharp. We managed the downhill fine, however Manfred chose not to mention the next 4 km climb. We asked, “why didn’t you tell us?”, to which he replied “you wouldn’t have ridden if I told you”, this is true. Jen and Di meet some more of the locals. Anne took the fast way into town by running the last 10km, she is awesome.

The day ended in Mole Creek with distances of over 50 kms covered. We settled into our cabins just outside of Mole Creek on a beautiful property with sheep, goats and chickens. Marty’s shoes went for a tour around the property in the local dogs mouth. Dinner was at the local pub, we settled in around the camp fire upon return to our accommodation for some toasted marshmallows.

Day 8 Mole Creek to Launceston and home:

Breakfast was in our cabins, and the group decided against any walks today as we were keen to check out some of the local attractions on our way to the airport. However, it was not the 1^st of November yet, and not much opens on Saturday either! Many of our proposed stops did not eventuate as they were closed. No honey farm stop, no museum stop, but we did stop in Evandale for some morning tea and last chance souvenir shopping. It was then back onto the bus and off to the airport, we farewelled Manfred, then settled into the airport to await our flight home.

Many thanks to the crew for their resilience throughout the trip, there were many challenges along the way, including the weather, topography, the cantankerous tour guide, and more. I’m stoked we all made it through safely and with many fond memories.

Thank you IntoYou for the opportunity and happy adventuring!