George Town

It was super windy again today, almost to the point where if was hard to walk in the gusts. A bloke told us that they're always worried about small tents parked there as they do get blown away from time to time. Just as well we'd opted for a cabin 

then. 

But in a bid to help the poor old campers, the owner put a proper metal fence along the wind side of the site, only to have it blow down within days. So they called the insurance company who were going to send assessor to sort out the repairs. However, before they could, it blew back up again and has been standing perfectly for a few months. Still glad we were in a cabin though!

Hannes met us where we camped and we went riding together, albeit only for a few kms before we spotted Belle's tea shop don a side street, which was just begging to be tried out. It was pretty good and the date scones were excellent.

But we eventually got going again. Hannes was on his Transalp but didn't seem to mind our stately pace, and sped ahead to set up photos of us plodding along.

I was quite surprised by George Town. For a seasoned settlement of 200 years with quite a bit of certified history, it was a bit vague and soulless. 

Governor Macquarie camped on the beach with his wife in their official tent, having been fed and watered by the crew of their ship, Sea Force One or whatever it was called, on December 18th, 1811. It didn't say whether they had a windy night or not, but they did toast the prosperity of the town soon to be built - George Town.  And one more claim to fame - John Batman stayed at the Waterloo Tavern there in 1835. He was the bloke who founded what later became Melbourne, although he called it 'Batmania'.

There were some pretty cool pavement mosaics dotted along the main street which brightened the place up a bit, and offset the feebly inconsequential Christmas decorations. 

And a mermaid statue opposite the tea place. 

After that we rode on to Batman Bridge, the major bridge over the Tamar River and of course named after Mr Batmania. Built in the 1960s, it was for a while the biggest bridge of its type in Australia. 

It's actually quite a feat of engineering but a bit scary in the wind, with trucks going by as it wobbles. And the wind whistles up through grates in the tarmac, making weirdo ghost noises.

The wine route winds up through the Tamar Valley, probably giving good views as it does. But we were too busy hanging on to take much notice, although the winery at Goaty Hill did stand out as a notable point, if only for its superb name.

We suddenly turned up in the middle of Beaconsfield, which we had been to several weeks ago and had suffered some dreadful coffee. It's another if those quiet country towns where life is pleasant, and nothing much happens, but as we sat at the side of the street, a battered old car driven by an equally battered old man drove by, pursued by a copcar with lights flashing and sirens blasting, trying to stop him. 

But did the old bloke in the old car stop? Nope. He just kept going, completely oblivious to anything around him. It was pretty funny, especially as we could still hear the sirens as they followed him around the town. 

After that bit of excitement, we continued into Greens Beach at the top of the valley. It was a pretty nice beach, looking out towards Low Head and the penguin colony.

The plan was to sleep that night in Launceston, so we headed back in that general direction via Grindelwald. We had to go there because back in the summer,  we had been to Grindelwald in Switzerland on a ride up the unpaved roads in the Alps. 

The Swiss Gridelwald was ridiculously expensive, catering for wealthy Swiss skiers. This Grindlewald, a resort with a golf course, hotels, and shops was created in the 1980s as a reminder for a Dutchman who had been to the Alps on holiday. It was also pretty pricey but as we only wanted food and not a house, it was ok. However, it was a proper alpine village, complete with alpine chalet houses but in Australian surroundings. Very odd but quite nice.

Having finally reached Launceston, we dumped out stuff and went out in search if food. Hannes joined us, and Lordy be, we found a proper British boozer, complete with good pub grub.