Tasmania: Channel Highway - The Long U-Turn
How do you choose the best bike road in Tasmania? You could probably do it with a blindfold, a pin and a map – it would be possible to make a case for just about any route you happened to skewer. The place is simply overrun with great bike roads.
Inevitably some are better than others, but even if you're super-critical you still end up with a round dozen to choose from. What I've done, therefore, is simple. I've selected the road that anyone who isn't a local is most likely to miss. It's just a loop south from Hobart, like a giant U-turn.
On the map, the Channel Highway doesn't look much like a great bike road. It looks like an unnecessary detour if you're going to tourist attractions like the Tahune Forest Air Walk or Hastings Caves. Ride it, though, and you'll find that it warrants the title even while it's still a suburban street.
Past flower-bedecked gardens and snug cottages like Liberal Party advertisements, the road twists and turns, up and down the ridges running from Mt Nelson down to the Derwent River. It passes the Shot Tower, a major tourist attraction, so watch for coaches.
At Kingston it's worth taking the time to stop off at the Australian Antarctic Division, where there's a good Antarctic-themed display and you can buy souvenirs. It's a good idea: you get the souvenirs without getting very, very cold. Kingston also has a terrific place for coffee – a disused train by the side of the road.
South of here, the Channel Highway is a lovely road, all corners of just about every radius with good tar and generally good sightlines. This can be quite important, because you are in Tasmania here anChannel Highwayd the side traffic (of which there is a bit, especially in the first and last stretches of the highway) does sometimes forget that other road users exist. Especially fast ones on motorcycles…
The settlements, which include the wonderfully-named Snug, slow you down until you get a little further south. Down here the Channel Highway follows the coast very closely with lots of corners, and the temptation to open up a bit is quite strong. Apparently the usually commendably low-key Tasmanian constabulary has picked up on this and has been known to exercise its hairdryers along here, so be warned.
Pretty soon you round Ninepin Point and head north again. The road runs more inland and is less scenic, but it's no less fast. You pass the small township of Cygnet, the only settlement of any size on the main loop of the Channel Highway, and far too soon you're at the Huon Highway in Huonville, by the Huon River.
From here; just follow the highway or the Southern Outlet back to Hobart and you're ready to tackle some of those other great bike roads this State is simply bursting with.
Know before you go:
Beware the locals on the road, but for once the tourists are not quite as much of a threat as they are in the rest of Tassie; relatively few of them have discovered this road.
If you have the time, continue south from Huonville to Geeveston and out to the Tahune Forest Air Walk. It's a knockout.
This isn't a long run at about 100km, but note that in the south of the loop there is little or no fuel available.
Chances are that if you want to take your bike to Tasmania, you're going to need to put it on a ferry. The Spirit of Tasmania passenger and vehicle ferry sails from Melbourne to Devonport nightly (with daytime crossings too in peak periods), with crossings taking around 10 to 11 hours. You can get a bike over one-way for $45, and a twin cabin (night crossings only) in peak season will set you back a further $210 (also one way). Cheaper fares are available for three to four berth cabins and individual seats. For more information and bookings visit: www.spiritoftasmania.com.au The ferry route from Sydney to Devonport ceased operations in August of 2006.
For more information:
Tasmania's main tourist information site can be found at: www.discovertasmania.com.au
For info on Tasmania's many national parks and historic attractions, like Hobart's Shot Tower, visit: www.parks.tas.gov.au
If a visit to the Australian Antarctic Division centre at Kingston leaves you wanting more, check out the Division's official website at: www.aad.gov.au
For admission prices and opening hours of the Tahune Forest Air Walk and Visitors Centre, visit: http://adventureforests.com.au
Protect your Bike. Call Shannons Insurance on 13 46 46 to get a quote today.
