Great Eastern Drive

A long east-coast route linking bays, granite headlands and small towns.

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Why this ride

A long east-coast route linking bays, granite headlands and small towns. The road: A3. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Hobart start

   Hobart tucks itself against the foot of Mount Wellington, with the wide Derwent estuary at its feet, and it has the compact, sandstone-and-timber feel of a port that never grew too large. It is the capital of Tasmania and Australia's second oldest city, founded in 1804 as a convict settlement, and the old warehouses along Salamanca Place and the cottages of Battery Point survive from the early years of the colony. On Saturdays, Salamanca Place fills with a crowded market of stalls selling food, crafts and plants.

   The sea defines the town. Each year, ocean racing yachts finish the Sydney to Hobart race in the harbour on or around 27 December, and crowds gather at Constitution Dock to cheer them in. The Museum of Old and New Art, MONA, on a peninsula up the river, has put the city on the international arts map with a bold underground gallery, and is reached by ferry. Mount Wellington, at about 1,270 metres, often carries snow even in summer, and a narrow road climbs to a lookout with views over the whole river.

   The ride east begins with a crossing of the Tasman Bridge, then follows the Tasman and Tasman Highway through Sorell, Orford and Triabunna, with the coast of the Tasman Sea opening up. The Great Eastern Drive continues to Swansea, with stretches of bays, white beaches and low hills, and then up toward Freycinet Peninsula, famous for the granite peaks called the Hazards and Wineglass Bay. The roads are well maintained, with smooth bends and limited traffic outside school holidays. Wildlife, especially wallabies and wombats, is a real hazard at dawn and dusk. Weather changes quickly, so carry layers even in summer.

   Hobart has everything: fuel stations, supermarkets, workshops and accommodation. Fuel is available in towns along the east coast, though they are some distance apart, so fill up when you can. Try fresh scallops, oysters or fish and chips from a floating shop on the harbour, and local cool-climate wines and whisky. Book accommodation ahead in January, when the city is busy.

2. Orford stop

   Orford is a small seaside town on the east coast of Tasmania, at the mouth of the Prosser River, and it has the easygoing feel of a place that has always been a bit off the main road. The river runs through a pretty valley and into a sheltered bay, where fishing boats and kayaks bob in the water and walkers follow a path along the bank. Across the water lies Maria Island, a national park with no cars, where wombats, Forester kangaroos and Tasmanian devils roam among ruins of a convict settlement and a short-lived cement works.

   The ferry to Maria Island leaves from nearby Triabunna, about ten kilometres up the coast, and the island is a rewarding day trip if you are not in a hurry. The Tasman Highway, which runs between Hobart and the east coast, passes through Orford, and this stretch is the heart of what people call the Great Eastern Drive. The scenery is wild and beautiful, with blue sea, rocky headlands and farmland rolling away to the hills.

   For a rider, the road is mostly relaxed, with long, curving sections and good views, and it is quiet outside of holidays. The road towards Swansea passes the Spiky Bridge, a convict-built stone bridge with a curious row of upright stones along its parapet, and there are lookouts and beaches along the way. Weather can change quickly, with cold southerly winds and sudden showers, so carry a rain jacket even on sunny days. Wildlife is an issue, with wallabies, wombats and pademelons on the road at dawn and dusk.

   Fuel can be an issue. Orford is small, and while Triabunna normally has a fuel station, the sensible plan is to fill the tank at Sorell, the nearest larger town, before heading east, and to check opening hours elsewhere. Food is available in Orford, with a bakery or cafe usually open, and fish and chips are the standard fare. Take time to walk along the river, and watch the light change over the bay.

3. Freycinet stop

   Freycinet is the peninsula on Tasmania's east coast where a granite spine called the Hazards rises pink and orange out of the sea, the kind of rock that looks stained by the last sunset, and the colour comes from the feldspar in the stone. The famous curve of Wineglass Bay lies on the far side, a white arc of sand reached by a steep walking track of about an hour from the car park, and a good viewpoint is on the way up; it is a fair climb in motorcycle boots, so plan to change shoes.

   The drive in is the Great Eastern Drive, about 170 kilometres along the coast from Orford in the south to St Helens in the north. From Hobart you take the Tasman Highway through the Sorell and Orford area, then run north with the sea on one side and low hills on the other, past Triabunna, where the ferry leaves for Maria Island, and through the small seaside town of Swansea, where a wide bay faces the Hazards across the water. The corners are gentle and the road is generally good, with a couple of climbs through forest, and the traffic is light compared with the mainland.

   At the peninsula itself, the national park takes an entry fee, and Coles Bay is the little settlement at the gate, with a shop and a few places to eat, including local oysters from the nearby farms, which are among the best you will find.

   Wildlife is the hazard and the delight. Wallabies and pademelons graze by the roadside at dusk and dawn, and wombats and the occasional Tasmanian devil are killed on the roads at night, so avoid riding after dark if you can. The weather is changeable, with cold southerlies from the Southern Ocean, but a clear morning here is as good as it gets.

4. Bicheno stop

   Bicheno is a small fishing village on Tasmania's east coast, built around a tiny harbour known as the Gulch, where fishing boats shelter behind a rocky breakwater. The town has a quirky, cheerful feel, with a blowhole that spouts when the sea is rough, rock pools full of life and the island of Diamond Island, which you can walk to at low tide. The sea here is clear and cold, and the marine reserve off the coast teems with fish and sea life, making it a favourite of divers.

   At dusk, little penguins, the smallest penguins in the world, waddle up the beach to their burrows, and guided tours run in the evening, giving you a close look at them. The birds are sensitive to light and noise, so follow the rules and avoid using a flash. In the past Bicheno was a whaling station, and the town has a good collection of historic buildings, along with a handful of cafes and pubs serving fresh seafood.

   The Douglas-Apsley National Park, just north, protects dry eucalypt forest and a deep river gorge, with waterholes where you can swim in summer. The road toward Freycinet, to the south, passes beautiful beaches and bays, and Wineglass Bay is only a short ride away. Bicheno has a fuel station and a supermarket, so it is a sensible place to fill up, though opening hours are limited.

   The riding on the Tasman Highway is relaxed and scenic, with long, easy curves and sea views, and the surface is generally good. Summer traffic can be heavy, and wildlife is an issue, especially at dawn and dusk, when wallabies and pademelons cross the road. The weather can change quickly, and cold southerlies can blow in off the Southern Ocean, so pack a warm layer. In the early morning, with the light on the water and the smell of kelp in the air, it is a lovely place to be.

5. St Helens finish

   St Helens sits at the head of Georges Bay on the north-east coast of Tasmania, and it is the biggest town on this stretch, though that still means about two thousand people. The bay is a wide, calm inlet where fishing boats come and go, and the town is built around it, with a long waterfront, a few pubs, a bakery or two and the quiet hum of a place that survives on fish, tourists and a bit of timber. The coast here has a reputation for game fishing, and in summer the harbour fills with boats chasing tuna and marlin further out.

   The history is mining and sea. Tin was found in the hills inland in the 1870s, and the Blue Tier plateau behind the town still holds the traces of old diggings and tramways, now buried under regrowing forest. For years the little port shipped tin and timber. Today the main attraction is the Bay of Fires, a string of white beaches north of town, famous for the orange lichen on the granite boulders that makes the rocks glow in the evening light. Despite the name, the bay was not named for the lichen but for fires seen on the shore by early European sailors, the cooking fires of Aboriginal people.

   The Great Eastern Drive, the A3, brings you here from Swansea along the coast, past the Freycinet peninsula, Bicheno and the sweep of the Douglas-Apsley country. It is a satisfying road with moderate curves, forest, farmland and sudden views of blue water. Surface quality is generally good, though it narrows in places and logging trucks use it, so patient overtaking is the rule. At dusk, wallabies, pademelons and wombats come to the verges, and hitting one at speed is a very bad evening, so plan to be at your bed before dark.

   St Helens has fuel and supermarkets, along with seafood cafes where the catch is local; scallops, crayfish, and oysters from the bay are worth the detour. The wind off Bass Strait can be sharp even in summer, and nights are cool, so pack a warm layer. Late spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear skies and fewer visitors, and the road north to the beaches is an easy evening ride if the light is good.

Where this sits

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