11-13 Jan 2023
On my first rest day, I mostly lay in the sun and at some point made some nachos. On my second rest day I explored the campsite a bit more. I discovered a path going in the direction of the beach, where the shot tower is, and thought I'd have a look to see if I could follow it to the tower or if it would stop at someone's property and be blocked off. I put on all my bike gear just in case. However, it was blocked off about a third of the way so I did not get to see the shot tower. So I went to see what was on the opposite side of the campsite at the top of this hill. I came across a cool outdoor laser tag that I assume is used by scouts. Too bad I don't have a team here to test it out. I had a look around, and then someone else arrived so I scampered off like a spooked fox.
At the campsite I started talking to a woman from Lithuania who had recently moved to Sydney and was also in Tasmania for three weeks, backpacking. She was also on her way to Bruny Island the next day, but she would be there much earlier than me, and only for one day. When I was making dinner later, I started talking to someone else, a man from Canada who had been travelling for 3 years living in a van around New Zealand and Australia. We talked for many hours about living on the road, working holiday visas and working to support travel, and the cost of existing, let alone living. It started getting dark so I headed off to catch some sleep before trying to get out early the next day. That conversation did a lot to inspire me with the idea to join the van life some day.
On the 13th, I managed to leave at about 9am. I was a bit nervous about whether I'd make the 55km all the way to the first Bruny Island campsite. It seemed like a lot after how day 1 went.
The way to Kingston was very nice, starting with a big downhill, then quite flat on gravel on Proctor's road which follows the highway but doesn't have much traffic. As I got to the first Kingston intersection, my loaded fatty caught the eye of another fellow cyclist. We briefly chatted and he told me he was doing his last few training rides before going off on a three month bike tour of New Zealand and Japan. New Zealand is definitely on my list too.
I stocked up at the Coles and started on the highway. Kingston to Margate had a pretty good shoulder most of the way, but it inevitably disappeared for the last couple of kms. I followed my Komoot suggested route to temporarily get off the highway and upon turning left onto Crescent Drive just after Margate, I found the Margate to Snug railtrail! So it was a very nice gravel ride to Snug.
I must say, I am very unimpressed with the road design from Snug to Kettering. It is 8kms of no shoulder whatsoever, heavily trafficked, and winding, creating very little visibility. I stopped a lot to take breaks from being passed very close by cars, or to walk a bit just to feel safer. I also walked up some hills that I was struggling with...
I had some afternoon tea at the Kettering Cafe before boarding the ferry. I took so long that it was already 2pm! I definitely felt much better than on day one though, and I felt like my body had woken up today, though I was slower than on previous trips.
The ferry ride was beautiful, and I made sure to send pictures to my friends to make them jealous. As you get off the ferry there's a bit of a hill that definitely seemed very big to me in my current physical state. It was also quite exposed and the hottest part of the day. It is quite undulating for the first 9kms and then it goes down and flattens. I stopped every time cars started passing me to let the latest ferry load pass me without getting too close to me, as I had already had quite enough of being passed close on the highway. One thing about Bruny Island is there are no shoulders on the roads here either. I struggled with this ride today, but I did catch some nice views and did make it to the campsite eventually, at 7pm.
I managed to set up my sleep system, make my lentils and pasta for dinner, and carry out some bikepacking level hygiene before hitting the hay.
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