Jan 28

We woke up this morning to hard rain. With 119k to bike down to Coles Bay today, we had been hoping that somehow the forecast for the whole East Coast of Tassie would miss us. Barry, especially, does not like rain. Living in Wallongong, south of Sydney, he is not used to inclement weather. He has his phone out and is busy researching the possibility of taking a bus and putting our bikes in the compartment below. I have much more experience with this wet stuff and don’t really mind it. My good friend John Wood used to call me to go running in the pouring rain – off we’d go. You can only get so wet and then it’s fine. That is, of course, as long as it is not cold outside. The temps here today will be in the 60’s and 70’s. We dawdled at breakfast. The rain would let up and then start again. Barry hasn’t had a call back from the bus company. It’s time to go. We loaded our stuff on the bikes under the cover of the hotel carport. Off we peddled into the rain.

Today we traveled along the seacoast the entire day on a paved road very similar to the narrower parts of scenic Highway 61 along Lake Superior where I live. We passed numerous sand beaches, rocky outcroppings, islands and hidden coves. The waves were crashing hard and large against the shore, prompting Barry to wish he had his surf board along. There were no big climbs today but the road weaved and bobbed along comfortably. Despite the rain, it was a great place to be on a bike.

There are very few people here in Tassie. It is high summer season yet no crowds and lots of space. Tassie is like one big small town. As I passed a guy working in his yard during a lull in the rain, he looked up and gave me a comfortable easy smile like he’d known me forever. “G’day, mate” with a wave as I cruised past. That’s the people in Tassie.

We have now moved into the Freycinet Peninsula. It is a National Park with small abruptly rising heavily wooded mountains and white sand beaches. The small village of Coles Bay fronts one of these beaches. A few fishing boats bob on their moorings and a small water taxi sits alongside the dock. This is where we will spend our day off tomorrow. Cole’s Bay.

Just a kilometer bike ride and a half hour hike away lies Wine Glass Bay. It is considered to be one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. You can also get there on the little water taxi located just below our accommodations. This white sand beach is shaped perfectly like the bottom of a wine glass and in the whaling days the blood of the butchered animals would color the water red leading to its name. We are hoping the weather will allow us to spend some time there tomorrow.

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