Kawasaki Z OwnersVictoria  

TASSIE TRUNDLE WRAP UP BY "CAPTAIN JEFF" FEB 2016

  • Thursday, February 18, 2016
  • 12:00 AM
  • Sunday, February 19, 2017
  • 12:00 AM
  • TASSIE FEBRUARY 2016


The following is a wrap up of Z Owners Tassie trip as remembered by our organiser "Captain Jeff". He did a fantastic job organising the mob but has conveniently left out a few stuff ups by himself (28 in total) such as no fuel, no beer, no food and no idea. Still managed to pull off one of the best rides Ive done. Cant wait for the next one cheers Web Editor "Simmo"


Tassie run eve

Leo was sorted with a Kawasaki GTR1000 because my bike was malfunctioning after 25 years of sterling service – an electrical problem or bad fuel – either way we had no time left to analyse the problem.

Met most of the crew at the Palace Hotel for a late lunch-early dinner so we did not have to eat on the boat.  The music and food at the Palace was terrific.  Once we were fed and our thirst quenched, off we went to line up.  The que to the boat was mad.  Luckily we could sneak through to the front despite some growlings from the tin tops.  I was asked by a lady security officer looking for contrabands as we were lining up if I was going to Tasmania.  I thought ‘is she kidding’, so I said ‘I’m  going to Vanuatu, is this the boat’?  You should have seen her face!


Day 1 Monday 8th Feb

The boat trip was calm, although I was called over the PA system to attend my bike as I forgot to leave the fob on the bike to disable the alarm……Doh!

6am and everyone was off the boat and heading to Elizabeth Town for breakfast.  Upon arrival it was obvious the Leo’s GTR1000 had a serious water leaking issue.  It was diagnosed as a blown head gasket, which nearly cooked the head.  Some Chemi Weld to the rescue which seemed to do the trick.  Leo headed off to Devonport – Burnie to get a more permanent solution.

After breakfast we stopped at a lookout 30 odd km past Mole Creek only to find that Lorraine was missing.  I then got a phone call from her asking directions.  Simmo the man of the moment, went back and found her only a couple of klicks away.

Waratah for lunch – well not so even after booking.  Apparently the proprietor was rushed to hospital with some mysterious illness and consequently shut the pub.  We fuelled up, had a quick snack then headed for Burnie.

The Makers workshop in Burnie was interesting.  The cheeses were very nice and so was the cold beer.  I feel though it was a little expensive for what it is.

Lorraine and I met up with Leo, then regrouped with the others at Boat Harbour Beach Café.  A really picturesque spot.  Unfortunately the flies here were in plague proportions around the café…Pity!    Headed for the Rocky Cape Caltex only to find that the bowsers had been removed.  The amount of servo’s with no bowsers was a common sight throughout Tassie.  Fuelled up At Detention roadhouse, then off to Stanley.  The View of ‘The Nut’ was restricted buy the smoke from the fires burning south of us.

Could not climb the Nut Due to the excessive smoke.  The Stanley Hotel put on a great dinner for us then it was off to hit the fart sack.


Day 2 Tuesday 9th Feb

Back to Detention roadhouse for breakfast and fuel.  Stopped at Wynyard to browse a collectables store.  People headed off in all directions looking for last minute items.  I bagged a reel and line in preparation for catching that trophy fish.  We headed off in the direction of Yolla then stopped at a rest area for a smoke break.

Next stop was lunch at the Tullah Tavern then fuel – alas, the servo had no fuel – it was decided to not take the B38 road due to the distance required to get fuel and that the road was used very frequently by logging trucks which were wider than the lanes.  Meeting a logging truck into a corner is not my idea of fun.

After refuelling in Rosebery, we visited Zeehan.  This place is a ghost town.  Most of the businesses had vacated, and half of the houses were vacant.  I’m guessing you can buy a cheap house here.  The largest opera theatre in Australia when built still stands and looks new, obviously well taken care of.  It is kind of sad to see such a town go to ruin.  But I guess that is the economic climate.

We pushed off to Strahan where Brissell decided to hit warp speed with Demi protesting, but fell short about 300 metres of the caravan park.  His bike said no more, but luckily it was only dirty fuel, very dirty fuel.  These were the best cabins of the trip.  They were very spacious with large bathrooms and showers. 

Rode into the main part of town to have a feed.  Anna organised a lift in with some Asians who had hired a minibus to tour Tasmania.  We offered money but they were more than content when Brissell presented them with a Z Owners beanie.

The pub was a little expensive and Popeye celebrated his birthday as well.  The Staff presented him with a mountain of ice cream with a sparkler as a candle – Popeye did eat it all – then suffered the next day.


Day 3 Wednesday 10th Feb

Breakfast in Strahan was pleasant by the water and after we fuelled up we set off to Derwent Bridge.  A quick stop over at the Iron Blow lookout.  A group photo was taken and some interesting facts learnt.

The road just out of Queenstown, before the Iron Blow lookout, would have to be one of the tightest, steepest and windiest I have ever seen. With traffic you were lucky to be doing 10km/h.  The views were spectacular and the road following was scenic.  The view from Lake Burbury Bridge was one of the best I have seen.  It is a shame I did not capture it on film.

The lunch stop at Derwent Bridge was restful, but the monument named ‘The Wall’ just up the road was sensational.  The artists wooden sculptures can be likened with Michael Angelo’s statue of David.  I was lucky enough to speak to the artist, Mr Greg Duncan, who expressed his down to earth view of modern art and how long it was going to take to finish this project.  This man has some very serious skills, far beyond the philosophies and notions of conceptual modern and abstract circus artists.

The next stop was at the hydro-electric scheme rest area.  Popeye decided to test ride Lorraine’s bike and reported that the front forks were too soft.  This would have made cornering very difficult.  I will be putting and set of progressives on when we get back.

The beginning of the pub crawl began in Ouse.  Krazza, Simmo and Red headed off to look for the perfect trout fishing spot instead.  The Lachlan Hotel in Ouse was very dismal and not very friendly.  The Gretna Green Hotel in Gretna further on was the opposite.  Friendly and interesting.  Its funny how a positive or negative attitude can affect the total outcome of your business.  We could not wait to get out of the Lachlan, but sat around and laughed at the Gretna Green.

The next pub was the Bush Inn located in New Norfolk.  It is supposed to be the oldest continuous licenced pub in Australia.  I think the sewerage system dates back to colonial times.  We all could smell raw sewerage inside, however the locals were oblivious to the smell.  We decided not to eat anything here…….

Finally we were off to Hobart – I had to memorise the route to our accommodation and hope that everyone got through the traffic.  With the aid of rear end Charlie and markers, we all made it together.  The accommodation was a little noisy considering it was surrounded by industrial estates and a main highway.   However I did taste the best rice pudding on the planet at a take-away lunch café that serves the industrial estate. 

We had dinner at the Irish Murphys Hotel in Hobart which was OK, but I suspect some people became sick after eating there.  I know Red was very ill but recovered very quickly.

On our day off, people scattered everywhere.  Myself with Lorraine, Leo and Popeye headed into Hobart for a look.  Without the convenience of parking on the footpath, trying to park our bikes was a nightmare.  Popeye made a good point that people riding bikes into the city – hence not contributing to the congestion are disadvantaged when it comes to parking – in short punished rather than being rewarded.  We met up with Speed and Broz had some lunch then headed back to the caravan park.

Later we all headed up to Mount Wellington.  This was my third attempt over the years to get up and have a look – when I arrived, it was pea soup.  The trip up was slowed by not one but two Mr Magoo’s, just my luck.  Without a dividing line markings, people are completely clueless about where they should be situated on the road.

We all had a fantastic BBQ dinner at our accommodation site thanks to Brissell, Demi, Nicole and Twiggy for organising it, and Popeye for cooking it.  After we went to bed, the guys staying up had a special visitor from one of the local female species of the area – despite her best efforts by showing them her tattoos and serenading them with her loquacious splendour, there were no takers.


Day 5 Friday 12th Feb

Got away on time right in the middle of peak hour traffic.  Our only concern was the round-a-bout 250 meters away where the norm is to travel as fast as possible through it having just come off a 110 km/h Hwy.  Got into Sorell with no troubles and had breakfast.

Ventured into Richmond to have a group photo with Australia’s oldest bridge in the back ground.  Demi Anna and myself danced to a rendition of the duelling Banjo’s.  the Japanese tourists just stopped and stared in disbelief that people engage in such jocularity behaviour.  We stopped further up the road at ‘Ye Olde Buckland Inn’.  Apparently there is some contention about which is the oldest pub, this or the Bush Inn.  Personally I prefer this pub.  It had a good atmosphere and did not smell like Werribee’s sewage management facility.

Continued to Swansea were we had lunch at the Bark Mill Tavern.  After lunch, the manager suggested we take the scenic coast road.  We did except for Speed who was lost in the communiqué.  The scenic drive was not that scenic and I suspect Speed had a better ride.

We waited for Speed at Scammander then headed off to St Helens.  The accommodation was very good and the grounds were very satisfactory.  Some went to The Bay of Fires where it was alleged that Speed – living up to his name, had a choice of dropping his bike or head for the scrub to avoid a collision – he chose the scrub and luckily he has ABS which stopped him just over a meter from a creek.

Myself, Red, Krazza and Simmo went fishing off the pier.  A local came by and gave us some bait – this turned our fishing into catching.  Red caught the biggest Bream anyone had ever seen, including the local who was amazed.  This was a real trophy fish, nearly 50cm long and easily 3kg.  We are talking the king of Bream here folks. We all caught bream and trevally.

The guys back at camp ordered pizzas and waited over two hours for them.  It was reported that they were not worth waiting for.  We found the people and especially the working folk at St Helens to be a little belligerent.  It is unknown why and we were not the only group to experience this, as I found out on the boat back to Vic.  However the caravan park staff were very helpful.


Day 6 Saturday 13th Feb

Left the hospitality of St Helens via abuse at the servo by the attendant.  The onlookers from the streets stared at us as though we had just discovered fire.  I will rethink our stay here on our next ride.  Breakfast was at Willows roadhouse in Pyneganna, a very nice way to have breakfast surrounded by beautiful mountainous settings.  Red found a two-headed Tassie Devil stuffed toy, upon when he saw this nearly chocked with laughter.  The food also was pretty good.  This was a proud Shell servo in its day, but is now an independent, a sign of the times.

We made our way to Scotsdale via Branxholm a very pretty little town.  At Scotsdale the ride split.  Those of us who wanted to cruise and those who wanted to be thrilled.  The road up to Nunamara was a taxing tight and undulating road, with many clueless drivers, one of which decided to stop his car in the middle of the road to admire the scenery.

We regrouped with the others at our designated lunch spot in Launceston.  This was Richardsons Harley Davidson where they have a museum and restaurant/bar, a very well designed business.  Nothing like this in Melbourne.

We ventured into Launceston to visit the National Automotive Museum.  They had a great selection of cars and bikes with a pristine Jaffa on display and a supercharged Ninja boasting 326hp.  This is a seriously fast bike.

We decided to take the main freeway back to Devonport, where we sat and had a coffee in the smokey haze of the burning bushland.

The ride went like clockwork, there were no major disappointments, most of the food was good, and accommodation was satisfactory. The weather – what can I say about the weather apart from it was the absolutely perfect climate for riding and may I say not a drop of rain.  I know what you are thinking – no rain in Tassie, impossible – however it is true.

I would like to thank all of the participants

Brissell and Demi (Kawasaki Z750) – Twiggy and Nicole (Kawasaki Z900) – Steve and Anna (Kawasaki ZZR 1200) – Popeye (Suzuki GSX1400) – Red (Kawasaki Z1B) – Simmo (Kawasaki Z1000) – Leo,  (Kawasaki GTR1000) – Broz (Kawasaki Z900) – No Jack (Kawasaki Z900) Krazza (Kawasaki Z1R) – Speed (Harley Davidson Ultra Limited) – Lorraine (Harley Davidson Sportster 1200T) - Harley Jeff,  (Harley Davidson Road King Classic).

These guys really made the trip.  There was not a day where we did not laugh hard.  Everyone was co-operative and considerate.  I would gladly travel with them again.

In 2 years we will do it again so plan ahead and hopefully we will have another great ride.


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