Scottsdale is an hours drive from Launceston. We stopped in the little town yesterday after discovering a rail trail sign. We found the bike shop (closed this afternoon and Sunday - half expected a sign saying "gone mountain biking, back sometime"). After lunching in a little park and making some small talk with a local we went up to the visitors centre to see where we could hire a bike. The first notice said open from 9 to 5 but the second notice said "closed early". That didn't happen in Dolly Parton's song. The local watched us try to open the door and then signalled to come over - she had closed early because it wasn't busy. She thought we could hire bikes at the art gallery but had some doubt in her voice. The gallery was just down the road and besides selling some lovely glass ware and jewelry also sold coffee and cake and yes hired bikes. All arranged for the next day.
We were driven to the start of the 25km trail. First 75% was down hill - I kid you not! A great opportunity to enjoy the tree fern glades and the occasional pine forest. When the slight hill started towards the end of the trip the trees no longer sheltered the path, the sun was out and the wind came up. We were longing for some exercise and got it. My unreliable pedometer on the phone suggested I had walked 11000 steps - not bad for going down hill with no effort.
We were told we might see wallabies (we did) and snakes (we didnt). Bird life also seemed a bit scarce as were other humans (I think we saw 6 over the 25 km stretch).
I always find rail trails are a time of reflection. Men spent their lives building tracks which open up huge areas of countryside and provide a life line to the residents of communities. I am assuming the workers thought they would last forever. Then there is little demand for the rail transport and they are all torn up, flattened and enjoyed by cyclists thanks to local community groups like rotary. Ironic really since I am a strong advocate of rail for safety and economic reasons.
There appears to be a lot of road kill around here and the main victim are little creatures from the kangaroo family. Interesting thing is there are very few scavengers around to clear up the mess.
Dinner was at a Thai place - 6 minutes by car says Mr Google - we took a tiki tour and it took about 30 minutes.
We were driven to the start of the 25km trail. First 75% was down hill - I kid you not! A great opportunity to enjoy the tree fern glades and the occasional pine forest. When the slight hill started towards the end of the trip the trees no longer sheltered the path, the sun was out and the wind came up. We were longing for some exercise and got it. My unreliable pedometer on the phone suggested I had walked 11000 steps - not bad for going down hill with no effort.
We were told we might see wallabies (we did) and snakes (we didnt). Bird life also seemed a bit scarce as were other humans (I think we saw 6 over the 25 km stretch).
I always find rail trails are a time of reflection. Men spent their lives building tracks which open up huge areas of countryside and provide a life line to the residents of communities. I am assuming the workers thought they would last forever. Then there is little demand for the rail transport and they are all torn up, flattened and enjoyed by cyclists thanks to local community groups like rotary. Ironic really since I am a strong advocate of rail for safety and economic reasons.
We stopped at Bridport for a cup of tea. It was a tad windy and we found a new hobby "tea bag flying".
Our final stop was Grindelwald- a must see according to locals. We pictured a little swiss village lining the road with lots of cafes and novelty shops. Not so - a bit more like an amusement park with cafes that close at 4 (we arrived at 3.58 to late for our waffles and strawberries) and amusement things like paddle boats, jumping pillows and mini golf. All the buildings were swiss style including many of the surrounding houses.
Dinner was at a Thai place - 6 minutes by car says Mr Google - we took a tiki tour and it took about 30 minutes.
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