DEVILS IN PARADISE

Dusk on Maria Island, Tasmania

The first thing I see as I step off the afternoon ferry from Triabunna onto Maria Island is a wombat, snuffling along the path.

I fumble desperately for the camera, then notice that nobody else is paying it any attention. I soon see why. There are wombats everywhere.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much Australian fauna together in one place outside a wildlife park.

AMBLING IN AMSTERDAM – de Jordaan

Bikes, bells and Better Homes and Gardens.

It was Jordaan Open Gardens Day at the weekend. We strolled from one lovely oasis to the next, reminding ourselves why we can’t afford to live in this part of town. It’s too good for the likes of us.

SUNSTRUCK – my new obsession

I love them so much I have to go and look at them every time the sun emerges from the clouds. When it doesn’t come out, my mood is immediately…well, less sunny.

Mevrouw T and I decided to do the right thing by the planet. It’s cost us a certain sum of money; that was expected. What I wasn’t prepared for was the tax on my time.

Monitoring the performance of our shiny new solar panels is taking over my life. Here’s why…

A PARADISE FOR PRISONERS AND DEVILS?

If every day could be like this, I’d almost be content to stay for the term of my natural life.

Many of the first white residents could wait to get off Maria Island.

Convicts transported here in 1825 built Aboriginal-style canoes, begged or bribed whaling ships to give them a ride or tried their luck on the swim across the strait to mainland Tasmania, a few kilometres away. To see the island now, you wonder where they’d rather have been.

TASSIE RIDE #1 – Scottsdale to Bicheno

Gentleman, start your engine. The road at Scottsdale is downhill…for the first few hundred metres anyway.

I’m the guinea-pig, apparently. I’m certainly not the first to ride a bike along Tasmania’s East Coast, but I am the pioneer on Tasmanian Expeditions’ self-guided version of the adventure. 

All up it will be six days in the saddle, with a little time off to rest the rear end by doing some hiking in the national parks.

Tasmania is not yet well-developed as a cycling destination. That day may be coming, eventually. That the island has more than its fair share of spectacular scenery is a given.

THE ROAD AHEAD – on Tassie’s East Coast

This is supposed to be me next week – something to look forward to!

I’ve been quiet on the blog for a while, sitting at home in suburban Sydney, but as of tomorrow I’ll be on the road again, cycling lovely Tasmania from Scottsdale to Maria Island.

There doesn’t appear to be a lot of WIFI along the route, but stay tuned – I’ll post about it all as soon as I can.

I’m the guest of Tasmanian Expeditions. Thanks!