In the Pub in the Paddock there was a poster with the following:

Rules for Women Teachers 1915

“You will not marry during the term of your contract.

You will not keep the company of men.

You must be home between the hours of 8pm and 6am unless attending a school function.

You may not loiter down town in ice cream parlours.

You may not ride in a carriage or automotive with a man unless he is your father or brother.

You may not smoke cigarettes.

You may not dress in bright colours.

Under no circumstances may you die your hair.

You must wear two petticoats and your dresses may not be shorter than 2 inches above the ground.”

Barb says Marsden School had moved on a little way from this in 100 years.

It was a bit strange setting off this morning without Brian and knowing we wouldn’t meet the Chinaman. We last saw the latter at the Purple Possum Cafe buying Tasmanian honey for his student friends in Sydney but wasn’t sure if it was allowed into NSW. He was ending his cycling in St Helens.

Today we left the sea and coast and headed inland. We won’t see it again for about four days when we reach Stanley. A short day of cycling today so a leisurely start and slow peddling. After fuelling up with Powerade at the IGA St Helens we departed just as they were setting up for the Saturday market.

The climate on the East Coast is usually warm and dry despite their recent experience of a “rain bomb”. So the farms are generally brown and arid and run sheep. Now that we are heading into the north the farms are lush and green and run cows. So fittingly our destination is Pyrengana near a cheese factory where there is free tasting of cloth-bound cheddar. The factory also has a cafe called the Holy Cow Cafe.  I had been looking forward to this place all trip as last time I had a drink of Rhu Bru, a delicious rhubarb drink. Sadly they were out of stock so had to settle for coffee and large cow pat cookies.

Our accommodation is half a km along the road from the cafe at the St Columbia Falls Hotel, also known as the Pub in the Paddock. This is a heritage hotel from about 1880 and is still pretty original, but thankfully not in the bathroom facilities. We have gone from huge 2 bedroom apartments in Bicheno and St Helens to a tiny bedroom with facilities at the end of the passage, shared with 6 other rooms. We are the only occupants here tonight though.

From the pub there is a 10km ride to the St Columbia Falls, the second highest in Tasmania at 90 metres. The road up through the Pyrengana Valley is one of the best on the trip, the creek and forest of eucalyptus, myrtle and sassafras is magical. The forest has changed from mainly eucalyptus with sparse undergrowth to mixed species with dense undergrowth and lots of fern. The falls were about a 10 min walk in from the road through cool rainforest.

We are just lounging around the hotel and at various times we have had groups of about a dozen or more dirt bikers, quad bikers and Harley Davidsons turn up. They all strip off helmets, gloves and jackets and head straight to the bar for a pint. After half an hour of banter, laughter and horse play they are back on their machines and after much loud revving of engines they are gone. Peace and quiet returns.

The star attraction at the Pub in the Paddock is Priscilla the beer drinking pig. There are bottles of beer already lined up for the patrons to feed the monstrous pig. We decided to keep well away.

For dinner in the pub we had Roo cakes with gravy and vegetables followed by home made plum pudding with caramel and brandy sauce. Now that is good cycling tucker.

It’s a bit strange at the pub tonight, all the staff and the owner have locked up and gone. Leaving just us in an empty pub in an empty paddock. A bit spooky.  I just hope Priscilla doesn’t want a beer in the middle of the night.

PS no wifi for the last three nights so these are a bit behind.

The A3 road we have been following for 220km from Orford to St Helens is called the Great Eastern Drive and is vigorously promoted as one of Australia’s greatest road trips. A sort of Tassie cousin of big sister Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

“….you embark on an experience that includes stunning coastline, incredible national parks, world-famous beaches and outdoor adventures most people only dream about. Added to this our vibrant towns, lush vineyards, fantastic east coast food and fresh produce, and you have all the ingredients for the perfect Tasmanian Holiday….”

Allowing for the rain, floods and flies it really is a marvellous area to travel in. Even the areas have cool names. The district around St Helens is called Break o’Day Council. So much more interesting than Wellington City Council or Kapiti District Council. Being on the East coast they get a sunrise over the ocean every day.

This morning we said goodbye to Brian who caught the bus to Launceston. Barb and I have a day here in St Helens and we decided to visit Binalong Bay and go for a swim at Cosy Corner Beach, both in the Bay of Fires. We bought some lunch at the local bakery and cycled the 10km to Binalong Bay, mostly flat around the edge of Georges Bay, but one stiff climb just before the bay. Binalong claims to have the whitest beach sand in the world and they could be right as you experience the glare as you walk on the beach.

We found some coffee and chocolate cake at a little shack in Binalong and the very friendly lady recommended we go to Cosy Corner for our swim. Her husband said once we had climbed back up the stiff hill it was pretty much flat all the way. Maybe in his dreams! It was up down, up down, steep short hills all the way for about 8kms. But it was worth it. A magic little beach but unlike Bicheno we had to share it with other people as there was a motor camp nearby.

Warm crystal clear water, white sand, blue sky. Just perfect.

Ate our lunch under some trees and then headed back. Up down,  up down. From feeling cool and refreshed after the swim in no time we were all hot and sweaty again.

St Helens is the largest town on the East coast and is the big game fishing capital of Tasmania. Also big in tin mining in the past and now, tourism, forestry and oyster farming. Population of 3500 and about as many shops as say Levin.

We will miss Brian on the rest of the cycling, he is great company and always comes up with something humorous to say.

By mistake Paul had everyone up an hour early this morning. Barb was happy with this as she is always itching to get started but Brian wasn’t his usual cheerful self. He likes to lie in and work into the day slowly.

We started off before 8am when it was still fresh and cool with not a breath of wind. The road was smooth, flat and fairly straight, still on the A3. It ran close but not right on the coast, through forest, farmland, past lagoons and crossing creeks and rivers. At 26km we took a left turn onto the A4 to go over Elephant Pass to St Marys. The alternative was to stay on the A3 for the shorter, flatter road up the coast.

The Pass is a magic bike ride, climbing to 400m over 8km through a forest of gums on an extremely quiet road. The grade is about the same as the Akatarawara Hill but a kilometre longer and with a steeper section of half a kilometre in the middle. Last time Paul was having a bad heart day and the climb was difficult but today it was a breeze. We stopped at the Pancake Barn at the summit for the obligatory photos but not for the sweet syrupy sticky pancakes with cream. Somehow not the right food for an energetic bike ride.

At the Pancake Barn there is this sign adjacent to the entry to the owner’s house:

“Don’t even think about blocking these gates!                                                     Our elephants will stomp your wretched hire car down to the hub caps. Your co-operation is appreciated”.

This is in five languages.

From the summit it is a fast run down to the small town of St Marys and the Purple Possum Wholefoods Cafe. We called in here last time and Barb wanted to buy one of their tee shirts but they didn’t have her size. None were on display today but the lady said she still had a few out the back which were going to be sent back because they were made of a strange neoprene like material. There was one in Barb’s size and she got it for $10. Paul was very happy as well, as they had fresh baked rhubarb cake.

We then had about 7km of spectacular downhill through St Mary’s Pass, the road cut into the side of the hill and through more huge gum trees. At the bottom we met up with the A3 again for a flat run along the coast through Scamander and Beaumaris.  Brian wanted to go to Eureka Farm who claim to have the best ice cream in Tasmania. So we put him out in front but he cycled straight past two huge signs without seeing them. By the time we caught him we were too far past. Over one more hill and we were in St Helens.

Our accommodation is about 2.5km south of town and located on a rise with view over Georges Bay.  It is a two storied apartment with living/dining, kitchen and toilet upstairs, two bedrooms with shower and toilet downstairs.

In the evening Manfred and his partner Sarah came round to pick up Brian’s bike. They live part of the year here in St Helens. We invited them in and talked with them for quite a while. Manfred has been running cycle tours in Ireland for twenty years and works there during the northern hemisphere summer. He does the same thing in Tasmania in our summer. Sarah is Irish and has a small farm with four horses, chickens, dogs, cats, etc. Who knows we may use them as we want to go to Ireland in a couple of years time. Sarah has promised to buy us the first pint if we meet her there. However I think she could put away a fair few pints in an evening.

Tomorrow morning Brian catches the bus to Launceston to meet Jan and pick up their hire car.

Today has been the best day yet on this tour, perfect weather, fantastic cycling, Barb got her tee shirt and Paul got some rhubarb cake.

Today we stayed put in Bicheno. We could have gone to Freycinet National  Park but there wasn’t much enthusiasm. There were two options.

The first was to cycle 15km back down highway A3 and then 27km into the park entrance. A round trip of about 85km.

The second was to cycle back into Bicheno,  lock our bikes at the bus stop and catch the bus to the park entrance. Bus cost A$28 plus a park day pass. The bus left at 7.35. From the bus there was a 2km walk into the heart of the park.

Barb and I have already spent 2 nights in the park and Brian is going with Jan when they have their rental car. So we opted for a quiet day in Bicheno.

This is a small town of about 850 reliant on a small fishing fleet and vacationers. It is a very popular beach resort and has all the basics with a warm settled climate, great beaches, good fishing and diving, forest parks etc. We waited for some drizzly rain to stop and then cycled into town around 10am.

We rode around the headland, stopped for coffee and muffins, stopped at The Gulch where there is a little fishing fleet based in a narrow channel between the mainland and Governor’s Island. This island has thousand of screeching sea birds and stinks of guano. Then on to the Blowhole, a formation in the rocks that if the tide and wind are right forms a plume of spray. A bit underwhelming when we visited it. Then to the grave of Waubdebar – an aborigine who was stolen as a teenager from her tribe to become a “sealer’s woman”. She became a heroine by swimming out in a storm to rescue two sealers from their capsized boat. A walk to the top of the headland, Whale’s Lookout, and then exhausted went to the local pub for lunch.

Barb and Brian had the senior’s special, hot pot and vegetables, while I searched the menu in vain for spare ribs (very weak joke). That was pretty much Bicheno done, a pretty typical beach resort on the East Coast. Oh yes there was a motorcycle museum and the RSL had happy hour from 5.30 till 6.30 on Fridays.

It was now a blue sky day and hot so another refreshing swim at our perfect little beach and a bit of a lie down.

Bacon and eggs for dinner again, this time with some ice cream.