The infrastructure is still amazing, considering that of the 4.5 million Victorians, Victoria being the smallest of the Mainland States and about the size of Germany. Germany now "houses" more than 80 million. More than 3.5 million live within 60 miles of Melbourne, the rest being scattered in smaller country towns along the major inter-capital highways (hardly any freeways here, folks) and the tourist areas.

This makes for plenty of unsealed roads, long stretches between fuel stops and the necessity of mobile phones as a means of calling for help, it also makes for a lot of friendly people, since everyone depends on others, in some way, at some time.

Bikers over here greet each other on the road, there's always a nod, a wave, something to say hello and "G'day, mate, you're not alone".... Murray and Renate, #K601/602 (the Kiwis) are both riding dual purpose bikes, mainly on-road, but still with some off-road capabilities, which gave us some food for thought. Gudrun's R80 needed some urgent repairs before the trip to Tasmania. From here on we'll call it TASSIE. It was leaking oil out of the differential into the brakedrum and the annual registration fee was due etc, which, combined with the trade-in figure, made us think about swapping the bike for something else, preferably a dual purpose. She'd been looking, and I know THAT look, at the BMW Funduro 650. We'd also seen an Aprilia Pegaso 650. It is the Original, the BMW, was derived from. Both bikes are built by Aprilia in Italy. While in Europe over Christmas, and after some digging around, we found a dealer close by, who had one on the floor. After a test-ride the damage was done: Sign on the dotted line and all that.....

Tasmania (Tassie)

Tassie is the little heart-shaped appendix hanging off the mainland of Australia. Tell that to a Tasmanian, and she/he will kill you with a blunt knife. It is connected via that treacherous waterway, called Bass Strait. Yonks ago there was a land-bridge to the mainland. It's also the place of the recent Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race disaster.

Being the smallest state within the Commonwealth, with a population of only 400,000 or so more than half of the area is covered by World Heritage Areas, National Parks and other Conservation Areas. The rest being Farmland, Hobart in the South boasting about 200,000, Launceston in the North around 130,000 people. The climate is more temperate than Melbourne's, but there are distinct weather zones around the island, which is about 250 miles North-South, and about 200 miles East-West. The west coast is rough and rugged, cold and windy. The North, facing Bass Strait is a bit calmer and warmer while the South is cooler and less predictable. The West being the "Florida" of Tassie. You gotta' be either born locally or intoxicated to go for a swim. There, the water never gets past 65° F (18° C), but they grow great lobster along that coast.

The rest of Tassie is bush, the roads are excellent due to the past 50 years of Hydro-Electric power schemes and all the infrastructure that brings along. Main "Exports" of Tassie are electrical power, Fruit and Vegetables, mainly the famous apples and the receding wood-chipping industries, tourism being one of the main money-spinners of the state. The mosquitoes seem to have the same 4-foot wing-span as on the mainland, though.

Being the smaller version of the rest of Australia, Tassie compacts all its assets into an easily accessible package, unlike the mainland, where distances between points of interest are mostly enormous.

The whole island is hilly, hardly a stretch of straight road longer than 100 yards before the next bend, drop or rise, in one word: BIKERS HEAVEN..... Ducatis could've come from here!!! Not much good for the HOGS, sorry..... Best time for travelling in Tassie is the same as for the rest of southern Australia: late summer into autumn (fall), it's warm, dry, the days are still long enough and beautiful sunsets at the end of the day.

Access from the mainland is via Ferry from Melbourne, one being an overnighter, the other one being the Devil-Cat, a big catamaran-ferry, which does the trip in 6 hours on seas 13 foot and below. The Devil Cat......brings me to another point, the unique Tassie Devil. The Tas Devil is a nocturnal animal, the size of a small dog and a ferocious meat-eater, preying on other animals like birds, possums and other smaller stuff. It's pretty shy and hard to catch in the wild......and there's still the ever-continuing saga of the Tassie Tiger, another dog-like creature, striped like a tiger, of which the last known one died at the some mainland Zoo in the 1930s.

Of course, there are "regular" sightings by some farmers, or tourist operators J , to keep the myth alive.... Yeaaah, Tassie is something, alright!! I just "listened" to the bikes "whispering" in the garage, they're rearing to go....tomorrow morning 5am is showtime, the ferry leaves at 7.30.

Drizzle and rain greeted us before we got to the garage door and the new rainsuits came out in a hurry. A largely abandoned ferry and smooth water got us the 250 miles or so across Bass Strait to Georgetown in the advertised 6 hours. This left us plenty of time for the 40 miles to Launceston.The afternoon was spent around town and the famous Gorge, which is smack-bang in the middle of Launceston. Late afternoon we met up with some Tassie friends for early dinner and had to scrape out a smorgasboard of bugs out of the radiators of the Aprilias arriving back at the cabin at the Caravan Park. The day was rounded off with a bottle of Red.

Rising early to an overcast and coolish morning the usual chaos started. "How did we get all the gear into the bags yesterday? Look all all this stuff...!" Getting out of Launceston into the countryside heading east was a breeze and soon the BM and the 2 Aprilias ( our friends Norbert and Karin on the Beemer) were singing their heart out in the endless number of bends, up and down the hills, superb vistas, long sweepers broken up by the tight & twisty stuff, sunshine cracking the grey skies until it was blue with some big, white clouds. Reaching the East Coast, after some detours to the magnificent Columba Falls and the Pub in the Paddock (with a beer-swilling pig) we made quarters early. We used the rest of the afternoon in search for some local delights, namely the beaches and coastline of some of the smaller settlements along the coast. We also started to get a taste of the interest the 2 Aprilias were causing with people of all sorts stopping in their tracks and asking questions, some knowing more about them than we did, others just commenting on the looks. Yeaaaah, that Italian styling showing through.....

Next days ride to Bicheno (coastal town) produced 50 knots gusts and a leisurly scrape up Elephants Pass, where the famous Pancake Shop on The Mountain couldn't be avoided, that one alone being worth the windy road up to St. Marys. Again finishing the ride early, Bicheno was explored on foot, the blowhole and coastal scenery well worth the battle against the south-westerlies, which tried to blow us off the coastal walkway. One of the most picturesque National Parks in Australia was waiting for us the next day, but the weather didn't seem to go along with that idea. The following morning turned out to be the exact (unexpected) opposite, with blue skies and a sunrise that begged to be captured on film. Red, pink and glowing against the still dark skies it promised to become the perfect day to be at Freycinet National Park, the 30 miles were quickly covered and the steep climb to the lookout started a day of bushwalking not to be forgotten for quite some time. The way down the other side to Wineglass Bay got everyone steamed up and the pure, white beach begged for a dip in the somewhat cool Southern Ocean. Talk about breathtaking..well, nothing that a bottle of Viagra couldn't fix, eh ?? Plenty of photo-stops and another 5 hours got us back to the bikes, a welcome sight by then and the usual vino at night had everyone in bed by 9pm, sore feet, rubbery knees and all.

Starting early into a grey morning we made our way to Richmond in the South, only 15 miles north of Hobart. There we dumped our gear at the office of another Caravan Park. Taking the daypacks only for the ride to Port Arthur, the ruins of the former Penal Settlement, a well known historic site and place of the more recent random killings of a madman shooting a score of tourists a few years back. Walking the site and reading up on the information gave a chilling insight into early settlement of the place....well worth the visit. Breaking up the 60 miler back to Richmond were some of the natural wonders of the Tasman Peninsula which surprises with a breathtaking coastline. A BBQ back at the Park finished the day, plans made for the following day, which got us first into Hobart to check out the famous Salamanca Markets (down at the waterfront). Being in Hobart on a nice clear day, the ride up to Mt. Wellington (towering close to 5000 feet above the city) is a must. The views from there down onto Hobart, the Tasman Bridge, the coastline and the myriad of waterways and channels is truly one of the best (and rarest, because of nearly permanent cloud cover at the top).

The weather held up for the 40 mile ride to Hamilton (via Mt. Field National Park and a nice stroll to the waterfalls). North of Hobart, where we knew of a wonderful place for that night, a historic schoolhouse and a renovated schoolmaster's residence in the back at which we stayed some years back. The place was still the same and the A$135 (for 4 people incl. a monumental breakfast) were happily spent. That night saw everyone bent over the maps and listening to the weather forecast at the same time. A decision had to be made to either go back up the East Coast back to the ferry or take the road up the West Coast, once committed to, there's no escaping anywhere, no crossroads leading back to the centre or the east, only north or south. Leftovers of the Cyclone that devastated the Western Australian coast 2 days prior were beginning to affect the weather on the eastern side of Australia, including Tassie, and things didn't look too good. We decided to go anyway, bugger the consequences and made a booking ahead at the Caravan Park in Queenstown, an old mining town, just to be sure of a roof over the head by the end of the ride. The morning was grey but dry, soon turning to drizzle, then to rain, then to 40 knot gusts and pelting rain. Some of the newly bought rain gear didn't prove to be all that crash-hot and it got pretty uncomfortable for the last 150 miles. Wet as dogs we crept into Queenstown, just to see the sun break through and shed some light onto the denuded hills. This make this place wonderfully ugly (the local mine and smelters had produced lots of pollution which, because of the climate, turned into acid rain, killing everything green for a period of nearly 100 years). Slipping into the Park we found the office closed until 3 in the afternoon, more than 3 hours to stay in the wet gear ?? No way, we tried the phone again to perhaps get the manager on a cell phone, trying the bell also proved fruitless. Looking around we found an open cabin of the sort and size we'd booked the previous night. Thanking the foresight of the Manager, we slipped in and dried out, leaving everything but backpacks behind for a stroll through town and some shopping. More sunshine got the locals going and watching them trying to remove an old mining locomotive off a display onto a truck to get it restored for the use of a planned tourist railway was quite interesting.

Coming back to the Park we found the Cabin locked and thought the manager even nicer for locking our gear up while we were gone. Things turned nasty within seconds upon entering the office though when we were told to get out within 10 minutes, otherwise he'd call the local cops. NOBODY would occupy ANYTHING while HE wasn't around. No time was given for a reply, he kept on going doing the local tourist trade not much good at all. Too stunned to say anything, we climbed back into the still wet gear and got out of town as fast as we could, turning up the wick to get to Strahan, another town 30 miles up the road. Having called the local Cabin Park there before getting out of Queenstown, we were greeted by the nicest guy in town, he'd already turned on the heater, brought in drying racks and was generally helpful to the max. What a difference: One guy who'd had too much acid rain frying his brain, the next one making up for it and then some. All that within 1 hour, amazing. An after-dark stroll through town brought up the laughter again and the couple of bottles of Red put that little mishap into a faraway haze.

Grey skies again and more pelting rain across the Cradle Mountain Road blocked the views into the highest mountains in Tassie. Frequent stops in small mining towns and plenty of hot coffee compensated partially for that and we made our way to Mole Creek, a small town with a magnificent backdrop of the Western Tiers. Plenty of the tight and twisties kept us happy with one of the Aprillias shedding a nut and split ring of the handlebar-mounted switch of the heated grips. After all others had given up searching the road, Norbert was the lucky finder and awarded with some extra Red that night, good on ya, mate, thanks !

Not far to go to the ferry now and departure at 4pm, we still had a good half-day ahead of us. Over the past days we'd come across some beautiful, European-style cheese, which is hard to come by in Melbourne and found the place early Sunday morning. Hoping to attract the attention of the owner by just standing around and having his dog yapping its head off, we waited some time but returned to the bikes, just as a car pulled up.

The girl emerging proved to be the staff for the Sunday and after some healthy tasting of their full range of cheeses, we somehow found space enough for 12 pounds of cheese, 2 pounds of butter and a couple of bottles of that cardiologists nightmare: REAL full-fat cream....Still having time on our hands we turned north towards the coast and the Asbestos Range National Park, bad name -- beautiful spot. The Ranger got interested in our bikes and the intended 3 hour walk was shortened by half, still enough to get a bit of a feel for this unique place. Sun glinting again we rode the last 50 miles on Tassie soil back to Georgetown to find out that the ferry was running late, the run across must've been a rough one. We copped our bit on the way to Melbourne as well. The 4 Caterpillar 10.000 horsepower jets making the 240 nautical miles in the prescribed 6 hours, but at a cost: Feeding the fish became the most popular activity until we hit the calmer waters of Port Phillip Bay and the last 30 mins on water.

Disembarking was fast, the bikes coated with salt-spray on top of a weeks worth of road grime but still chugging along happily. Getting home at midnight, the garage took care of the bikes and even the bags were left on, the next morning could take care of that. We had to hit the pillows and dream of the next day to come, another road, more twisties, more green hills, the rumbling bellow of the pipes, the ROAD....We're still dreaming (the next morning was a rough awakening, back to reality and all that) but we go along with those, who've been there : It's the most underrated place in Australia, and please let it stay that way. If riders from New South Wales (Sydney) and Victoria (Melbourne) are coming back with glazed eyes, then it really means something....both States having the best bike country on the Mainland on their doorstep.

The Bikes? A good clean-up and some TLC got them back to new-condition and Murray and Renate (the 2 Kiwis) are on the road with them right now. What about the Pegaso 650 ? Gudrun and I both love them, light, quick, nimble and surefooted and surprisingly gutsy for a big single, without just about all the negatives that this type of engine used to come up with (DRs, XTs, SRs, etc etc). If there was any regrets about selling the Beemers, not any longer, they turned out to be exactly what we hoped for. Very nice and quick on gravel and dirt roads.

Tassie Shorts: Getting there: Ferry from Melbourne, either overnight or Catamaran, cost A$ 320 p/p, A$ 50 per bike return fares.

Petrol availability: No probs, unleaded and super everywhere, Super Unleaded only in Launceston and Hobart, unleaded around 74 cents/litre, Super 76 cents/litre (about A$3.30 to 3.50 / gallon)

Accomodation: Cabins on Caravan Parks, Cabin Parks etc about A$60-70 per couple/night, A$ 10 per xtra person (most places have 2 bedrooms or more) Pricing in general: about 10% more for everything than on the Mainland (due to transport)

People, locals: very friendly, typical country folks (ok, except the mongrel in Queenstown) Best time: Between Xmas and Easter

Time to avoid: School Holidays, ferries are booked 3-6 months ahead

Bike Hire: Melbourne or Sydney

Best Bikes: Anything goes, most fun to be had on sports and light tourers, naked bikes and dual purpose. Plenty of work for the Cruisers and Wings.

Roads: generally very good to slightly bumpy, often narrow and twisty, dirt roads mostly gravel, few firm clay roads. Considering US and European standards about about 6 points out of 10, considering local standards about 8 of 10

All up. To quote Big Arnie Schwarzenegger, "I'll be back !!"

Peter