Monday 9th February Day 2 20150209

Ah, now onto Day 2 of my little sojourn in Tasmania. I was deep into my refreshing sleep when I suddenly realised something. I had left the mobile alarm still set for 4:30. When did I realise? At 4:30 a.m.! However I resisted the temptation and shut it off, then removed the alarm for 6:30 as well. So at 8 I woke and got up at 9, showered, dressed and had breakfast. At 9:45 I walked down the street to see what Bridport had to offer. The first person I met was a young mum with one girl on her back and twins in a pusher. She agreed she had her hands full! Then past the Police Station where the lawn was covered in seagulls and plovers freeloading. I called into the Tourist Information Centre and picked up a local area map today so I wouldn’t get lost (the places were very small and I wasn’t sure if the SatNav would take me to them along the unsealed roads). The town centre has two supermarkets (a small one and a larger IGA), a post office, a number of cafes, two hotels and at least one fish and chip shop. I believe the population is about 1200, but swells to many times that in summer when the school holidays are on. I got newspapers (Launceston [Examiner] and Hobart [Mercury] and decided to have an early lunch. There was a toss-up between the upmarket coffee shop and the more basic one, and the more basic one won. It seemed very friendly as the proprietor’s grandson ran off from his mum to visit her (his grandmother) and as he left after his mum found him, he called out, “I love you” to her. I enjoyed a good hamburger (with the lot) and when I paid and complimented the cook, she also was very pleasant. I walked back, did the Sudoku (well, one of them), rang “The Pub in the Paddock” and booked in for tomorrow evening. Currently the plan is to leave early tomorrow morning, spend time in Scottsdale and then be at the pub to book in during the afternoon. I changed into gear, prepped SUZI and then backed her out and set off … for a long drive to the servo, as she was in need of fuel before today’s trip. After discussion, I wanted to see Tomahawk and Musselroe Bay and would perhaps see Cape Portland (with the windfarm, but I had seen the one at Woolnorth, so I wasn’t too fussed about that). So not long after noon I set off on the imaginatively named Main Road, towards Gladstone but to go to Tomahawk. Well, just out of Bridport (like one metre!) the roadwork started. Like elsewhere, it was a case of tear up and do the whole surface for over ten kilometres. A speed limit of 40 km/h and a surface of wet clay made for an interesting trip. It was a case of concentration absolute, and although I had Harry Chapin playing through the in-bike-entertainment (hereinafter referred to as IBE), I didn’t hear a bar of it. The other problem is that parts of SUZI and my boots are covered with this fine clay deposit which sets like concrete. After the roadworks, the surface was sealed and the trip was good on curved roads – good motorcycle riding! I found this clay concrete when I got off at Tomahawk, just under an hour later. To make life interesting, at the only store at Tomahawk, the sealed car park was at every angle but flat and horizontal. My first effort at dismounting was aborted when I had gone to locate the side-stand and found SUZI was leaning the wrong way (and at more than ten degrees). I tried another and found she was leaning the right way, but at 20 degrees (and that’s a considerable angle unladen, but moreso with the panniers on an full (the A bagz where back at the YHA). I hoped I’d be able to get her upright again, so dismounted, ungarbed (helmet, sunglasses, gloves off) and went into the shop. I had a drink (even though the temperature had not risen over 25°C, I was still dehydrating) and chatted to the shopkeeper. The shop is part of the caravan park, which has only about 12 people in it at the moment and there are only about 10 permanent residents of the town. He didn’t make my day when I asked about their ages and was told they were all old – over 55! However we did part on good terms, even after his gaffe. I rode down to the boat ramp (they’re all hard stands, that is, concrete or bitumen, so I can set the side stand up and SUZI won’t sink into the soil and slowly topple over) and took some good photos of the bay and beach. Very scenic and very close to Flinders Island (only an hour or so in a good boat), though I couldn’t see it. Then I went over to Gladstone. There was about 20 kilometres of unsealed road along the way and I was wary of it, considering my last experience. However I got through it and into Gladstone and headed north, I decided to give the wind farm a miss and go to Musselroe Bay. Most of the road was unsealed, but I was getting back into the habit and just leaned and throttled up when the sand or gravel became loose under SUZI. Musselroe Bay was similar to Tomahawk. Most of the houses are “weekenders” of fibro and whatever other material could be scavenged. The “fibro” is most likely asbestos, as that was around, cheap and plentiful when these shacks would have been built. Surprisingly, most at Tomahawk are weekenders from Bridport, while Bridport had weekenders from Launceston. I wasn’t able to find out where the population came from to Musselroe Bay. I headed back, now at home again on the dirt, going perhaps a little easier that I would have on the mainland (but then, the distances are far smaller). At Gladstone I stopped at the store (there’s only one, so no need to specify it further) and met two young people on motorcycles from Gippsland (Victoria). We chatted while I ate an ice cream and one of them refuelled. We mused about the fact that other travellers are very suspicious of people on bikes – and these two young, fairly large, boys with beards met the “we don’t talk to them” criteria – while I, small, older and less menacing, fail the criteria, so I get spoken to. From Gladstone I went south, through Herrick, Derby and Branxholm and then north through Scottsdale back to Bridport. I wanted to get some pictures of the beach, so I went down – and so did SUZI, softly, on the sand as I stopped and put my left foot into a hole and so we both went tumbling. I am proud to say I lifted her up by myself, even with the panniers on (about 290 kilogram) and then went to the boat launching area to find a hard stand so I could stop and take some photos. It took a bit of searching to find a stone I could park on (my first attempt was on asphalt – I thought, but it turned out to be coloured sand) and it was right near the only car parked there. I took my photos – it’s a great place – and then spoke with the driver of the car, a local who was horrified at thinking he was going to hemmed in by the only other vehicle on the beach park! After ascertaining that I was not going to harm him, we had a great conversation about ways to bring income into the town without too much or too rapid progress. Then it was back to the YHA, change out of gear, pay for tonight, meet a woman from Yorkshire/Lancashire and a couple from New Caledonia. I transferred today’s pictures over, wrote up most of my blog, did SUZI’s log and then walked down the street to get some takeaway tea. Yes! The fish and chip shop was still open (just) and I could get potato cakes. I ordered four, and ate them on the way back to the hostel. There are now five motorcycles (one with a sidecar) here. Four are from Victoria – one is Queensland registered (the French New Caledonia couple, who incidentally are just now sitting down to a gastronomic delight with wine and beer). Tonight I must get to bed earlier so I can set off tomorrow refreshed. So farewell for today, dear reader, for while I may chat with the English lay, the French couple, some shearers from near Colac and those on the other bikes, I must curtail my tale now and pick it up tomorrow.