Tree on the road to Smithon, one of the 4 encountered
To stay out of the rain for a change
From Strahan to Smithon The weather dictated everything. Seventh day in Tasmania.
From the middle of the West coast you travel to the NorthWest corner of the island, the highway follows the coast for a while, then turns inland and passes thru very popular places like Rosebery where there are a lot of activities for the tourists, nice lakes, waterfalls,hiking, camping, etc. the road turns North toward Wynyard and then West for Smithon , Marrawah and Arthur River.
I had made a reservation at the Tall Timbers Hotel/Motel in Smithon and it proved to be an excellent choice, it is a very nice place, well located to take the Tarkine Drive which is a loop that I will follow tomorrow, maybe I will be lucky and it will not rain like today.
I had to load the bike in the rain which started in Strahan during the early morning hours, it is never comfortable to do this, but it can be accomplished and tests the resistance of the biker.
t rained cats and dogs during at least three hours, making the highway wet and forcing me to be careful specially in the curves of which there were many as the road goes thru the rain forest going up and down small mountains, in a dry day this would be pure pleasure, in a day like this, cold, windy and rainy, it demands attention and precaution, plus endurance.
The risks of driving in the rain and wind are many, I encounter 4 trees that had fallen during the night due to the storm, three of them obstructed completely my half of the highway and the fourth obstructed the ath of the incoming vehicles, I took a picture of one of them and a branch hit my knee but did not cause any harm, only pain, my excuse for my mistake as all mishaps are the responsability of the driver, is that the upper tree branches had been denuded of their leaves by being hit by passing vehicles and I did not see the last foot of the most distal branch that by now was only a broken wooden stick that is the one that hit my knee, pain is a great teacher!
From Wynyard on one follows the coast West and the views are nice , however after a brief respite inthe storm, the rain started again with strong gusts of wind that at time carried the rain horizontally and I had to hold the bike firmly to avoid being thrusted again the oncoming cars or trucks. At some point the rain cover of my tank bag was blown off and I had to turn back to look for it as I can not let the maps and my camera get wet, I was lucky and found it in the plants at the side of the road.
Being this a nice hotel, I immediately decided to extend my stay an extra day and I will follow the loop of the Tarkine drive, that way I will see all the highlights of the North West.
Hoping for a nicer weather tomorrow! Victor
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