[Zandit]

Hey Guys,
As mentioned in Festive Holiday Thread we went for the longest trip since we started riding.
Totalling about 630kms(about 392 miles) we covered 380kms on the Saturday and the remainder on the return trip by taking a different route.
Here's Indie's map of the trip. It also includes photos attached, but I'll have more below!!
[URL="http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=922074"][URL="http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=922074"][URL]http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=922074[/URL][/URL][/URL]

Long story short, Wifey couldn't handle a strong blow........I lost my load.....and Indie got a head........ache!!!

Hehehe!!! That got your attention didn't it!!!;D

Ok, enough of the crappy dialogue, how about some pics!!
First stop was in Hellyer Gorge, an awesome 11kms of twisties in and out of a steep valley.

Then was a quick potty stop at a place they call the Finger Post.

Some pics of Lake Rosebery

By this time it had started to rain, so Indie covered up his GPS with a plastic bag and we continued onto Reece Dam.

The rain cleared, and we had semi-dried out after a quick cuppa-tea and some snacks, so we were off again.......then it bloody started raining again!!

We finally reached Zeehan, an old mining town, that is now more of a ghost town. Only a couple of shops operate there now, and the mining museum keeps things going.
We parked under the canopy of an old service station to dry out.

And onto the museum.
More to come.....

 

[Felix]

Looking good! I love dams! Not sure why, think they are pretty neat stopping all that water!

Felix

 

[Zandit]

An old cut section from a Huon pine. Only found in Tasmania, and all protected now, this section was about 3 meters across!

Some of our native animals "preserved"

The good ole Tassie Devil!

And the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger, plenty of people claim to see them every year, but no proof has been brought forward that can be proven.

Here's one for you D, this is how the old timers used to do it!

Some stuff out of an old shipwreck on the west coast.

Old smithy

Other stuff

Underground display

In here is where Indie didn't duck enough and smashed his head on a low beam!!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!

Gemstone displays

This stuff is called Crocoite and is found in only two places in the would, one of them being Tasmania!

This was pretty cool, a fossilised hat

Well, that's enough of the museum, onto Strahan!!!

 

[virtualmatrix258]

Oooh! Old well pumps and turbines, I used to work on those..yes I have mechanical skills but I don't show it

Cool stuffed Tasmanian Tiger, I heard they're trying to clone them from discovered DNA. That was a few years ago, you'd know more about it than I do. Looked like a fun trip thank you for the pics!

 

[Zandit]

First look of the west coast, we had fair weather from here on out, and the roads were awesome!!!

We passed through Strahan (Pronounced "Straw-nnn") but didn't stop for any pics, might do that next time!
Then we moved on to Queenstown, this was another awesome and twisty road with over 20+kms of twists and turns. I was following Indie and we would go on ahead aways, and then I would hang back for Wifey, then I'd take off again and try and catch Indie before repeating it again.
Quick stop off at a lookout.

Queenstown is another mining town, but this is still active, and one of our bigger customers at my workplace. It is also home to a stretch of road called the "99 bends" There isn't actually that may bends anymore since they resurfaced it, but it's not far off and all in the space of under 5kms!!!!
At the top of the hill is another pace called "The Gap" here it is a valley between to mountains and the wind gusts through here is known to blow over caravans and campers.........And little Wifey's on Red 250 Ninjas!!!;D
We were planning on stopping here to have a cuppa, but the wind was so strong we decided to move on. Indie and I were already at the top, and Wifey was right behind us when we took off.......but she wasn't there for long!!! We waited at the bottom for a minute or two, and I thought I better go check cause she was right there before!!?? Where did she get to??!
A passer by had stopped and helped her right the bike, and there were no injuries and some scratches that just happen to be in the same place from where I parked it in the mud the week before!!! Boy did Wifey cop it after Indie and his wife found out!!!;D
We ride on to Lake St.Claire(Yes, we did actually make it!!) and were finally able to give our sore butts a rest!

A very nice place, and we were surprised at how many people were here, but then you see just how many walking tracks there are to do around the area. It also the end point for the great overland track, a 7 day walk from Cradle mountain to Lake St.Claire.
The camp ground was unorganised as this is a National Park and no much can be constructed and modified, so it was basically find the flattest spot left and go for it!

This was funny, a hire camper that on one side says "If this vans a rocking..."

The Lake.

 

[Zandit]

Last lot of shots,
We did a little spot-lighting after we had a beautiful dinner at the lodge, and we were able to see a couple of critters
Brush-tail Possoms(Crushed favourites!)

These were playing through the dumpsters at the back of the restaurant.

The Jetty

We also saw a Quoll, and a couple of Wallabies, but they didn't want their photo taken by me!
Next morning I was woken by the sounds of Indie packing up already.
What time is it?? I look at my watch and hope to God it is broken.........5.15 in F**king morning!!! WTF??!!

We couldn't have breakfast until 8am, so we had a cuppa, and packed up ourselves, and then went for a quick walk to fill in some time, but I could have killed Indie for waking us up that early!!!

The final reason for our journey was waiting for us just down the road. Called the "wall in the Wilderness" this is work in progress from a wood carver who is trying to show the history of the West coast of Tassie in a large wall of Huon Pine. Now remember I told you this timber is protected, so for this to be happening it's a special project. Each panel is approximately 3-4 meters tall and overall he wall is over 150 feet long. The work that has gone into this wall is phenomonal! And unfortunately I can't show you any photos, as there were no cameras allowed inside.
This is the outside of the building, maybe you can settle for that!!

This is a sculpture of a Wedge-tailed Eagle, but it is not wood, this is made out of metal!(Just to confuse the issue!!)

[url]http://www.thewalltasmania.com/indexms.html[/URL]
You have to see this to believe it!!

So, we headed home!
We went back through the 99 bends and thats where I lost my load!!
The straps I had holding on our bags decided that I hadn't tightened them enough and they should slip down, dropping everything on the road, and then the straps went under my rear wheel while still connected to the bike!!! Needless to say, I had a moment where I thought I needed new underwear, but I contained myself quite well I thought!
Wifey rode past while I was walking back to the bike with the bags, and then proceeded to continue down the road and tell Indie and hs wife all about it!!!
Some chunks were missing from our bed rolls, and a few holes in the tent bag and our duffle bag

Quick stop at the Glacial reserve for some strange leftover rocks from the Henty Glacier.

And then we made it home!!!
Enjoy the pics as much as we enjoyed the ride!

 

[Zandit]

Oooh! Old well pumps and turbines, I used to work on those..yes I have mechanical skills but I don't show it

Cool stuffed Tasmanian Tiger, I heard they're trying to clone them from discovered DNA. That was a few years ago, you'd know more about it than I do. Looked like a fun trip thank you for the pics!

Yeah I remember that, but I think some people objected to it due to "Ethical reasons" I'm all for it, but I think the nay-sayers had the final word!

 

[metbandit1]

loved reading and looking through all of the pics! i think a trip to aus might be on the cards at some point....

 

[Felix]

loved reading and looking through all of the pics! i think a trip to aus might be on the cards at some point....

Zan lives in Tas... completely different.

Felix

 

[metbandit1]

ooops my bad.

 

[Zandit]

At least we don't need a boat to get around at the moment!!!

 

[metbandit1]

hhahaha