Saturday 14th February Day 7 20150214

Day 7 began for me at about 4 when I awoke to hear heavy rain. This did not augur well for the day – sightseeing or riding. I did feel better, though, when I awoke at 6:25 to hear – silence. I got up at 6:30 and, quietly getting my clothes which I had laid out last night, I tried to quietly open the door and head off for a shower. At the ablution block, I put my $1 coin in and the shower started – no way to adjust the temperature or the water flow. Cool water and I started, but was dreading it. Then the water went to just on the hot side of warm and it was enjoyable. I finished soaping up and rinsing off in case I ran out of hot water, but this didn’t happen for another few minutes. I dried and dressed, then went back to start getting breakfast ready. Richard (from the Queensland walkers) was already up, so I offered him some teabags for the group. Then I went back and changed into bike gear and started to pack. Fred was awake so I didn’t have to worry about being quiet. I looked for SUZI’s key so I could log the day’s distance and couldn’t find it. Slight panic until I found it – still in the ignition! The reading was logged, I finished packing and then finished breakfast. All gear was fastened on to SUZI and I rode around to the car park. But the rain had started up again, so I hoped the cruise was in a covered vessel. I went to confirm my booking, but the clerk last night hadn’t put my name on the list. There was a cancellation, so I was on anyway. I arrived at the wharf (jetty) at 8:50, in plenty of time. Three other couples were on, so I thought there was plenty of room, but no – they had to pick up walkers. We set off at 9 and headed over to Pumphouse Point. The original pumphouse has been leased to a consortium and they have put extra accommodation on shore. After being waved at ($200 per night) we moved onto Echo Point, where we berthed briefly, a German couple got off to walk back to the centre and we all had a little trek (about 50 metres), took photos and were quickly back on the boat. There was slight drizzle, but low clouds hid most of the beauty. Then we went to the creek at the top of the lake and picked up quite a few walkers and their packs. One was supposed to have had a broken ankle (a student from Armidale NSW), but it looked and behaved more like a bad sprain. Once they were on we had a quick trip back to the centre. Passengers were off and then the packs were unloaded. I visited the WC and ran into Fred again, so we said goodbye. I considered whether to put my rain jacket on – and did. The run from Lake St Clair to Derwent Bridge and then Queenstown was interesting. A winding road, wet, and an assortment of road kill meant I had to take it easy on every curve. For most likely the first time, I went at the advised speed limits. Fortunately I was able to find either exits or laybys when vehicles came up behind me, and on the rare times neither were available, broken lines appeared and I slowed and went right over to the left. On the lookout outside Queenstown, a number of passengers on a tour minibus thanked me, so I had a chat and hope to get a sponsorship for my ride from at least one. Then I rode into Queenstown with my rain jacket off. I filled up with fuel and parked near a little park, then looked for the papers and lunch. No luck with the papers, and not much more with lunch. I bought a pie and sausage roll; neither was really satisfactory, but I had to discard the sausage roll. I bought a drink, then oiled the chain. Oil is not good – it was thrown all over the wheel. I’ll discard it once I’m home. I spoke to a policeman about him looking like a schoolchild and he thanked me – 18 years out of school for him! I also spoke to an English couple (he owns a Triumph Tiger) and three girls from France (two from Paris, one from Nice). I left Queenstown in sunshine. I decided to head north, so my first destination was Rosebery. Here I got a Mercury, but no Examiners left. Easier to buy a Melbourne paper! Rosebery was a nice little place, but I pushed on. Little did I know that roadworks left over the weekend (it’s Saturday) would turn into kilometres of near glassy slipperiness as clay mixed with the rain. Car drivers wanted to stick to the middle of the road, which left only the left wheelpad for me – not the best option on bends and curves as it left me nowhere to manoeuvre. The rain had restarted, so I pulled over in a rest stop to put the rain jacket back on. The husband of a couple (yes, they were from Queensland) commented on my size and SUZI’s size. He had a road bike (1100 cc). When I mentioned I would be looking for a place to stay because of the rain and temperature, he suggested Waratah, off on the road to Savage River and Carrina. I turned done there, found the pub, and at $49 the deal was done. The publican had sold and owned bikes and was interested in my Andy Strapz gear, so I showed him what I had and demonstrated its usefulness. I unloaded SUZI and then went for a drive around the town. I found out it’s population was 260, the caravan park was just that (no on-site accommodation) and there was a beautiful little park and lake (plus a hydro and smelting history). I went to park SUZI on the rear, but a car had already parked there. The publican’s wife urged me to park in the garage and then showed me her new Harley. I changed in my room, went down and ordered tea and then ate it with a Queensland couple, Wayne and Bronwyn, both retired. We swapped notes on driving, visiting places in Australia and finally that most other people just don’t have the same concept of distance that Australians do. We parted, I went to my room, rang Fran, changed for bed, wrote up my blog and then went to sleep.