Paul's Touring Blog

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Update Day 50 18-3-2026 (3-17-2026 in the US)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Stephen took us to Sydney and we spent the afternoon with him there, then stayed another day. Saw a lot, but there’s a lot more to Sydney. We “celebrated” St. Pat yesterday at a small pub in Avalon Beach. We had already missed the last ferry from Palm Beach to Ettalong, so took our time getting to Palm Beach where we camped in a park next to the ferry dock. Poured rain, but that’s a story for later.

Currently in Newcastle, NSW, and will be heading up the coast to Brisbane, eventually getting a train to get there with some time to explore that area.

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We left Apollo Bay after a pretty good night’s sleep, and though my cold was still a presence, I felt better and ready for the first climb that started 2 mi outside of Apollo Bay. The short day yesterday allowed us to change our destination to Princetown, which avoided the almost 10 mile round trip detour into Johanna’s Beach campground. I was happy about that!

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A good night’s rest, a warm breakfast, and we were ready to move down the GOR to Johanna Beach campground.

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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.