Paul's Touring Blog

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Update Day 45 14-3-2026 (3-13-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 26 & 27. Our friend Steve picked us up in Cudal (Cuddle) on Thursday morning and drove us back to his place in Coolah. On the way we stopped for a late lunch (and refreshments, of course) and picked up some necessities at the chemist and groceries. We’ve been on two cattle roundups at his neighbor’s and hiked in the Coolah Tops National Park, and have been enjoying his hospitality.

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Back in Geelong again. It’s 7 AM and we had a mixed night of sleeping and short naps. We hopped on the bikes without a plan of what we were going to do next, heading to a McDonald’s for the free wifi, some coffee and some what ifs.

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After we got back from the penguin & possum hunt, we had a relaxing sleep. We packed up, left our bags at the reception office, and left for the Tasmanian Arboretum in search of our next wildlife experience: platypuses.

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We packed up early and rode the very short ride (for us) back to Devonport. Rain was called for and we got some on the way, and we rode to a little bakery near the ferry terminal and had breakfast and coffee. We had a reservation at the Eli Hotel on the other side of the river and headed there in hopes of dropping off our stuff and being free to tour around the city sans extra weight. The hotel folks were delightful and helpful and let us check in early since the people who booked our room the night before never showed. What a surprise bonus.

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In the morning we packed up camp and hiked back up main drag. Got some coffee at a local shop and had our breakfast at a park bench on the busy main street. We got on our way to Sheffield and our intent was to go past a wildlife reserve that also had devils and then do a big climb over to Sheffield. 

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After a good rest and a good breakfast and much discussion with Malcolm, we decided doing the wine trail was not going to be something we could accomplish and make it back to Devonport by Monday for the ferry. So, we decided to head back to Deloraine and on the way visit the Tasmanian Zoo where Tasmanian Devils and other creatures were kept. 

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We had a pretty good night, that is until the video family decided that a common sleeping area, surrounded by dozens of snoring and dozing passengers, was a good place to have a 6 AM video call. Rude, to say the least. We weren’t that close to them, and none of the closer passengers called them out (they were obviously from more polite societies). We did catch a few more Zzzzzs and the ferry was about an hour and a half late getting into Devonport, so we had the extra time.

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Our restful night wasn’t to be. About 2 AM, I was woken by a group of drunk German teens in the kitchen area having a party. I got up and reminded them that it was quiet hours — they settled down for a bit, but by 2:30 were still laughing and I went out again (and sent a note to the host). By 3, they finally settled down, and I was able to get back to sleep. The only thing that got Dana up was my going out — she can normally sleep through a lot of commotion.

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Tuesday morning, 3 AM, Christchurch airport. Everything went smoothly tho I had to pull a ½ kg from both of the bikes boxes to meet the weight requirement. No one pulled out a tape measure, and we got the bikes and our 2nd bags checked, got our boarding passes, finished off all the food we weren’t allowed to bring on the plane.

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It was a dark and stormy night… (Credit: Snoopy!). Windy for sure. We got a bit of water on the floor of the tent, but we stayed dry on our pads. The rain had diminished somewhat. enough to make a break for the kitchen and bathrooms. We fired up the stove and made coffee and oatmeal mixed with granola. If the weather had been nicer, we would have taken the long route around back to Christchurch, but in the end we decided to get back on the ferry, have a stop at Lyttelton, and reassess our options from there. We said good-bye’s to Derrick, Jared, Michelle, Boh & Moss and different points of the morning, and headed out.