Before my most recent cycling tour in Tasmania (Tassie), I reviewed my posts from previous cycle trips to Australia’s Island State, they included  squelchy waterlogged tales of rain and lots of it, but surely this time the late spring weather will be on my side. 

The daytime Spirit of Tasmania Ferry service from Geelong to Devonport in Tasmania takes anywhere between 9 and 12 hours, depending on the mood of the unpredictable seas of the Bass Strait. After a slow, choppy crossing, we docked in Devonport at 8 pm, a further 45 minutes to retrieve my bike and panniers, and it was after 9 pm when I went in search of a free campsite somewhere along the foreshore, where I managed to set up my tent just before the rain began to fall in earnest. 

I used to be able to ride my loaded touring bike from my home in Footscray to the docks at Port Melbourne, then roll on without a worry; however, the Ferry service has now been relocated to Geelong, some 70 km away, with that a new system of embarking for cyclists which involves increased security screening, bag searches and identification requirements.  

I was to spend the next 10 days living the perfect  life of a soggy cyclist in unseasonally wet, blustery conditions while having a great time. Cyclists are nicely catered for, with a well-signposted series of secondary roads or designated bicycle paths making riding a breeze. Tasmania is simply a marvellous location for cycling, where all roads lead to paradise .When the sun did occasionally show itself, I revelled in that surprisingly warm, fleeting embrace. 

My taste of Tassie ride was full of native wildlife, including platypus, those unique monotremes, venomous egg-laying mammals, along with the ridiculously cute and fearless Pademelons those small kangaroo-like marsupials I kept my eye out for the mysterious Tasmanian Devil too. 

Tasmania is sparsely populated; however, you are never far away from towns, especially in the Northeast of the State, where bush or seaside camping options are readily available.

Tassie promotes itself as heaven for nature lovers. If you also enjoy fresh home-grown organic produce such as cheeses, chocolates, and homemade honey-flavoured ice-creams, you won’t be disappointed. 

My truncated trip to Tassie was interrupted by the weather, but I will be back again next summer. I always come back to explore more. Perhaps next time I will box my bike and fly direct to the State Capital, Hobart, and get to grips with the local indigenous, convict and colonial history. Tassie is best seen from the seat of a bicycle, that’s for sure. 🚲