Deane & Jack's Motorcycle Trip in
Australia and New Zealand
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Deane & Jack's Motorcycle Trip in Australia and New Zealand |
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March 30 - Melbourne, Victoria to Mount Gambier, South Australia 566 km (320 Miles) |
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We started the day by arriving at the Melbourne ferry terminal, at 7:00 AM. The overnight ferry ride, on the "Spirit of Tasmania II", was uneventful for me, having slept soundly after taking some anti-seasick pills. Jack had been awake for some rolling and pitching, but he was in the Navy, and gets along without getting seasick. Just before we left, the announcer person said that no one would be allowed on deck, that all doors were locked and things tied down for two to four meter waves. The ferry is a huge ship, capable of carrying several hundred cars, but still has to face rough seas between Tasmania and the mainland. Our motorcycles were expertly tied down by the ferry deckhands, and rode out the heavy seas with no damage. About 12 other motorcyclists had taken the ferry, and we had time to talk to each of them. Most, of course, were Australians, starting or finishing their vacations, but there was one couple from Vancouver, British Columbia, so we had other North Americans to visit with as well.. As we all roared off the ship, we split up to go our separate ways. Our route took us along the "Great Ocean Road", a very scenic drive, along cliffs up high from the sea, or on roads down at about surf height.
For a while, this was fine, but then an on-shore wind started, and made if extremely difficult to stay on the road, with the tremendous wind gusts. I have had such gusty winds to match these only twice before in the last 25 years of riding (once in Oklahoma, and once in Canada). We found this scenic rock early in our ride.
The most well known rocky promontories are the "Twelve Apostles". By the time we stopped to see them, the wind was almost blowing us and other people off the viewing platform. So we took a picture and got on down the windy road.
This was one of our longest rides so far, and with the coast road, it took a long day to get it done. So we arrived at our destination of Mount Gambier pretty tired from fighting wind - at least we stayed upright. |
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