Day 10 Strahan to Hobart

It was driving to Queenstown on my last visit to Tassie that inspired me to return on a motorcycle. We got away well fuelled and on the road about 10. We were reluctant to leave Strahan as the accommodation was great and we did not expected it to be repeated else where. The weather was a bit like to trip down to Strahan. It looked threatening the road was wet but we experienced little more than a light shower once or twice all day. It seemed like no time and we were in Queenstown. Deanne arrived first (we had stopped at the look out) and scouted out a bakery. It was not a great example but it did provide morning tea. As we ate it while Queenstown had a thunderstorm. Pleased we weren't riding in it. Ashley a girl Warren and I taught at school two years ago and now lives in here came to visit us. It was nice to see her and her boyfriend. After a couple of showers of rain we decided it was clear enough to leave. We mounted up and looked to Warren to lead us out. His bike would not go. Kate beside him looked down to see the Buell had spat it belt out on the ground. Warren was very controlled. After exploring many options Warren ask the police if he could leave his bike with them. Kerry had been on the phone to the Harley dealership in Hobart and they would have a new one by 11am tomorrow. We loaded Warren's panniers into the car and Kerry pillioned with Warren on her bike. They would return to Queenstown tomorrow with the part and repair and retrieve the bike.

I had forgotten had windy the road was up out of Queenstown. Our next stop was Derwent Bridge. We were now a bit later than we had hoped to be. This section of the ride provided a new and frightening experience for me. The wind we came along Lake Burbury was unbelievable we were doing about 80 km/h and there was almost not wind pressure on us. We were traveling with the wind at almost the same speed. I had experience this once before in a storm at Coober Pedy in the '80s. That time we stopped in a cutting until it blew over. This wind was probably going to blow all day. It is fine travelling with the wind but at some point the road will change direction and we will have to cross it. Today this point came as we crossed the lake at a bridge. The wind blew across the lake with not resistance and applied its full force at the bridge perpendicular to its path. Crossing this bridge has been my scariest motorcycling experience to date. All the riders even the car had tales of being blown across the road. By the grace of God all survived all with a story to tell.

The rest of the trip was pretty mild beside this. Lunch at the Hungry Wombat was substantial. It rained again while we ate. We past in The Wall (an amazing wood craving 100m long about the local timber industry we are told) time and price put us off. We need somethings to come back to. We arrived in Hobart about 6. The only thing Warren is happy about his bike breaking down is that he gets to ride this road again tomorrow.