Thursday, December 14, 2023 | Axel Gert Schneider / Michaela Achatzi | Pacific
Today is the day of the days, our journey in Down Under will start with the Welcome Briefing here in Sydney. Today at 5 pm we will meet our group and then we will introduce the tour with all the highlights and of course the handover of the bikes - mmmh at least the paperwork. Why you will find out on this Blog. Well and after the presentation ...... we will have our first Dinner together.
So if you are thinking - should I go to Australia or not may this Blog will help you to get a better impression and helps you to decide.
So see you along the tour here on our Blog
Michaela and Axel
Today we met our group for the first time but some of our groups has been already on road with Michaela, what means there was a warm welcome.
Well and than we started our presentation where we went through all the need to knows about the Tour - what highlights will we see and all about the riding here in down under. And after all this informations it was time to get some food!!! After an nice dinner, it is now time to go to bed and to get used to the timezone over here.
So one more night without a motorcycle and from there on we will be on the road and will enjoy the stunning landscape of Australia.
So time to go to bed and get ready for the first riding day
See you tomorrow
Michaela and Axel
Finally we can take over our motorcycles. And then it starts. We leave Sydney as quickly as possible because there are nicer areas for motorcycling.
Soon we will be in another world.
our first national park is already waiting.
But coffee isn't bad either, short stop in Picton. We turn onto the old Hume Highway and have our lunch stop in a very special place. Berrima is home to the oldest continuous licensed inn - Surveyor General, open since 1834.
Further inland towards Morton National Park, we stop at the Fitzroy Falls.
A quick trip to the sea, to the penguin head lookout.
and then off to the hotel - made it before the rain came.
Tomorrow we continue our adventure
Last night we heard the heavy rain and we all have been hoping that the next morning will wake us with with the warm feeling of the sun in our faces!!! But it was deffinily the total opposite of our wishful thinking. the positiv side of the hole thing has been - the motorcycles are clean - but this did not really help today.
So what have we seen more than less over the day besides the rain and the rain and some more rain.
First we went to the Morton National park which is on a sunny day the perfect start in a riding day. Nice curvy road and on top we stopped at the Tianjara Falls for picture and today at least we could hear the water falling down - because the clouds blocked the view. Later on we went over the plateau towards our first coffee stop and later on we had some lunch before we took a look at Canberra the capital of Australia.
From there on was the goal to get to the Hotel and dry our gear.
The landscape today was on some dry sections still breathtaking. But over all we all had been happy to get of the motorcycle today. Now after a really good dinner in the hotel we are listening to the sound of rain and hoping once more that we are more lucky on the next day with the weather.
430 km of rain and we still smiling - But now its time to go to bed and hope the best for tomorrow
Michaela und Axel
Today we went deeper in the Snowy Mountains and again we had no luck with the weather in the morning. But I had to say it has been one moment when the sun came out!!! And that has been just in the moment when we arrived at the Kangaroo place and on top just before lunch. So the short story about this day would be: Rain - Sun - Rain.
All in one it was a long ride with some stunning views: On one hand the breathtaking landscape + the the fantastic road, even when it has been very wet today.
So a long day came to an end and tomorrow we have to catch a ferry to Tasmania.
So See you tomorrow
Michaela and Axel
Heute ging es tiefer in die Snowy Mountains und wieder hatten wir kein Glück mit dem Wetter am Morgen. Aber ich muss sagen, es war ein Moment, als die Sonne rauskam!!! Und zwar genau in dem Moment, als wir am Kangaroo Place ankamen und kurz vor dem Mittagessen. Die kurze Geschichte über diesen Tag wäre also: Regen - Sonne - Regen.
Alles in einem war es eine lange Fahrt mit einigen Aussichten: Zum einen, die atemberaubende Landschaft + die fantastische Straße, auch wenn es heute sehr nass war.
So ging ein langer Tag zu Ende und morgen müssen wir eine Fähre nach Tasmanien nehmen.
Also bis morgen
Michaela und Axel
Goodbye Wangaratta and let's see what the day brings!!! After an early briefing we went out & the first stop has been the Power's Lookout. A stunning view and some pictures later we had to move on because there is a ferry on the end of the day what we have to catch to get to Tasmania. Some kilometres later it was time for a coffee before we took on the rollercoaster road - called Eildon-Jamieson Road. What a nice road, on curve after the other and it goes forever. Well after the storm of the last days we had to be carful because some parts of trees has been on the road and if you would hit them it would be not that nice. After all this fun it was time to get some lunch and today we made a sandwich day along the road to make sure we will get the ferry.
And because riding curves is fun we went through the Yarra Valley which is for me like a mix out of Avatar and motorcycle haven. So far so good that has been the fun part. The other part of this day has been to ride through Melbourne to get the ferry in Geelong which could be a big adventure - but I got to say we have been lucky and the highway was more than less empty. And so we are at the ferry for tonight where we sleep and tomorrow we will start our Tassi adventure.
So time to get some food before we enter the open sea.
Michaela and Axel
Hello again from Tasmania. It is 5:30 and we would like to sleep a little longer but, we arrived in Devenport where we will start our Adventure of Tasmania. The first mission of today: let's get to the bakery and have a good breakfeast before we start our ride to the Cradle Mountains.
After an good coffee we where ready to leave the town and went straight to one of the well known Highkights of Tai mania - The Cradle Mountains are famous for some stunning hiking trails but also for the Tasmanian Devil Station. And so we went to the Devil Staion to see the famouse Devils. After some pictures it was time to ride down south towards the coastline where we went for a little hiking in the Sand Dunes. And after that it was time to ride towards Queeenstown where will sleep tonight and that will be after this early bird not to late I guess.
And tomorrow we will ride to Hobart where will stay for 2 nights.
So stay tuned
Michela and Axel
After Reto had finally stowed his luggage on the motorcycle, we could start the day. The first 5 km is a small warm-up to the Iron Blow of an abandoned or disused copper mine in the QueensTown area. Beautiful pictures, we continue with long curves through a lot of forest, the trees fascinate us. We stop at the Franklin River Nature Trail, walk in circles and enjoy nature.
Then we continue to Lake St Clair, millions of years old, dating back to the Ice Age and the deepest freshwater lake in all of Australia at 147 m deep. We had to wait a bit for our coffee, but we enjoyed it with a fantastic view.
Today is a relaxed driving day, long shopping to enjoy nature. At the Rotherfords we then make Lantsch and have another lovely walk through the impressive nature and giant farms to look at the beautiful waterfall over three levels.
Now we decided to drive the last 70 km in one piece to Hobart in order to move into our hotel for the next two days. We had no rain, sunshine and I think we had a lot of fun today. Now we're just waiting for our dinner and then we'll see what we'll do tomorrow.
Axel and Michaela
yes, today is a rest day. We have the option of either going to Port Arthur Prison or resting. Just a rest day. Some sleep in and enjoy the city of Hobart in all its facets and others hop on their motorbikes to head out to Port Arthur to visit the 200-year-old prison. The weather is supposed to look really good, but as we drove around the corner there were black clouds. To be on the safe side, we put on our rain gear and lo and behold there were only a few drops and we had beautiful weather. We took the time to look at and visit things steeped in history. Some a little longer a little shorter. Then some took the slightly faster route back to Hobart, others enjoyed a slightly longer journey and we drove through white beaches and azure bays where you think you are in the Caribbean. And at the end of the day, we all sat together at a great restaurant in Harvard and enjoyed dinner as a group. Tomorrow the fascinating landscape continues. Stay tuned.
Kind regards Axel and Michaela
Today we drove up the east coast of Tasmania and it is so different to the west. The landscape changed from the green rainforrest to the white sandy beaches surrounded by the almost endless farmland for cattle and cheeps. The ride himself in combination of the changed landscape has been the highlight of the day. And it was a good day to take some shots from our couples as a memory from this tour. As a little bonus we had the Elephant pass which has been a 17 km long fun run with heaps of curves. Now we are in Launceston where we will spend the night before we will have our last day of riding here in Tasmania and take again the ferry to take on the Great Ocean Road.
So stay tuned for the next day of our tour
Michaela and Axel
The day begins mystical, fog between the trees. It can only be a beautiful day. We leave the second largest city on Tassi in the northeast. A breathtaking ride through the well-smelling rainforest. Civilization is becoming less and less. Infinite fields and meadows, cows and sheep and a lot of nothing. In Britport, Axel awaits us with a fantastic picnic on a fantastic blue beach. Since we have to reach our ferry today, we unfortunately cannot stay in this place for long. We will all remember him. Another café on the way and we're already at the check-in at the port of Devenport. We follow the charging process until we can finally drive into the belly of the ferry.
done back to Melbourne
in the morning the GOR is on the plan
Good night Axel and Michaela
Welcome to day 12. Today we had a day to to remember!!! Why? Simply, because we had a wonderful sunny day full of highlights. We went at first to the lighthouse of Otway and on the way back we have been lucky because we spotted a Koala. Several pictures later we did a top tree walk what means you walking high above through the rainforest and in our case 47m high. Just look at the pictures how nice and totally different it has been to be so close to the top of this giant trees. And as an award after all this hiking Michaela surprised us with a stunning Picknick. And now it was time to drop down to the coastline to see the "12" Apostel and "London Bridge". This unique Places are one of a kind down here and you got to see it - For me I have to say is the Bay of Islands the place to be for a breathtaking moment with less tourists. After all this impressions and picture postcard Moments it was time to get to the hotel where we have one more night before this journey comes to an end. Well, time to go to bed.
Michaela and Axel
unglaublich so schnell gehen 14 Tage vorbei und wir machen uns heute das letzte Mal auf zum Motorrad fahren, Richtung Melbourne. Leider meint das Wetter es mit uns heute zwar gut was die Sonne angeht aber es war ein so starker Wind, dass wir wirklich zu kämpfen hatten, um auf der Straße zu bleiben. aber jeder einzelne Fahrer hat es mit Bravour geschafft in Melbourne anzukommen. So war der Tag heute nicht wirklich spektakulär. Wir hatten einen Kaffee stop in CAMPERDOWN und unser Mittag Stopp war am Lake Wendouree in Ballerat. Die Zeit verflog im nu, wir haben alle gesund zurückgebracht und freuen uns auf ein Wiedersehen
wir sagen danke für diese wundervolle Reise , bis zum nächsten mal
Axel und Michaela
It's unbelievable that 14 days go by so quickly and today we're setting off to ride our motorbikes for the last time, heading towards Melbourne. Unfortunately, the weather was kind to us today as far as the sun was concerned, but the wind was so strong that we really had to struggle to stay on the road. but every single driver managed to arrive in Melbourne with flying colors. So today wasn't really a spectacular day. We had a coffee stop in CAMPERDOWN and our lunch stop was at Lake Wendouree in Ballerat. The time flew by in no time, we got everyone back safely and are looking forward to seeing you again.
We say thank you for this wonderful trip, see you next time
best regards
Axel und Michaela