The Highlander - Day 2 - Riding to Strahan

It got quite cold in the night but I got my down jacket on at 2am and slept well after that. It was overcast but not too cold once the sun came up. It took me a while to pack and I had a light breakfast before rolling down the rest of yesterday's epic big hill at 8am.The road was really quiet and occasionally the sun poked through gaps in the clouds. There was some more really stunning scenery around here, its lush, green and wild.

The Highlands

I made good time to get to Tullah for a coffee break. The lakes around the town were just stunning...mirror flat this morning and reflecting autumn colours from the trees. It felt like Scotland from some walking I did there with friends years ago.

Lake Rosebery near Tullah

After Tullah there is another major hill before the mining town of Rosebury. The mine seems such a shame in such beautiful forest, and I found the town a bit depressing, maybe from that or the takeaway shop. I was also a bit flat from the last hill too and wondering how realistic Strahan was as a target. I'd  stopped at a public toilet next to a playground where a family were settled in and a little girl was having a serious tantrum about something. Of course I have no idea what it was about, I only caught her closing statement: 

OK THATS IT I AM NEVER, EVER LEAVING THIS PLAYGROUND!

I guess we all feel like that from time to time. 😆 But leave I did, the coffee was bad and there were lots more wasps.  Many more ups and downs followed, passing another big mine and plenty more forest. But, once I got to Zeehan and had a banana, Strahan suddenly looked pretty doable for 43km more and only a few small hill climbs away...plus it was only 2pm...onward! 

The trees really changed here too, and after cresting a small hill I whopped for joy with a glimpse of the west coast and the wild ocean beyond. Looking west out to sea from here, if one was to travel on the same latitude, the next landmass you would hit would not even be South Africa, but South America. 

If one were to swim West from Tassie...

For Geography nerds, its about the same latitide as Punakaiki in New Zealand, going East. (And rather a lot closer relatively speaking). 

After a specular final hour riding, seeing very few cars and constantly changing terrain, eventually I rolled into Stahan.. make sure you book something if you want to sleep inside here. Also a lot of business are still struggling with short staff from the lack of seasonal workers, and covid shut downs. Getting a meal out is also not easy at the moment...it feels like how Melbourne was around January.

4800 calories burned today, a solid effort. Everything is a bit sore but I have some sightseeing on the Gordon River to look forward too tomorrow and a chance to rest the legs.

Day 2 Summary:

• Distance: 125.27
• Meters Gained: 1323m