Tassie Cruise 2016 - Nov 17 - 21

[EvilDaifu]

Combined States Tassie Cruise Nov 2016

Updates will be posted in this first post and the itinerary may change over time as necessary - so please check back regularly on this first post 

DATE: Thursday 17 November (night cruise) - Monday 21 November 2016 (night cruise) Total 4 days

 

 

TIME:
Melbourne Meet Point - Thu 17 Nov about 5pm - 6:30pm from Station Pier, Waterfront Place, Port Melbourne.  Ship departs 7:30pm
Devonport Meet Point - Mon 21 Nov about 5pm - 6:30pm from The Esplanade, East Devonport, Tasmania.  Ship departs 7:30pm

 

DESCRIPTION:
Rab and I have decided to revive an overnight cruise around the magnificent roads of Tassie.   Open to all members from all States.

 

Thu afternoon head down to Station Pier, Port Melbourne to drive into the Spirit of Tasmania so that by Fri morning we are in Devonport.  After an early breakfast by the water just south of Devonport (which will be the meet point for any locals as well) we'll head off to Deloraine and the twisting ferny roads around Mole Creek.  Lunch is at the Miona Taven and then onto Strahan where we will spend Fri night after a hearty meal in the main hotel in Strahran.

 

Sat breakfast by the dock in Strahan then off to famed Queenstown and its eerie moonscape open lands and roads that carve their way down the side of the bare mountains like a Swiss Alps pass.  Stop off for lunch at Derwent Bridge Hotel with a side trip to Lake St Claire to witness the awe inspiring beauty that makes up the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park.  After that its a series of forested logging roads through the North West Wilderness that eventually takes us back to civilisation that is Hobart.  Dinner Sat night could be the chef starred Mures Upper Deck seafood resturant on Victoria Dock.

 

Sun breakfast dockside then off to more twisties towards Strath Gordon Dam and back towards infamous Port Arthur in the afternoon.  Planning BBQ Dinner at Taranna near Port Arthur.  We'll do either an afternoon visit to Port Arthur or a night Ghost tour depending on timing of our drive from the dam and how we feel. 

 

Mon is north towards Freycinet and the panoramic Wine Glass Bay then further north towards St Mary's then eventually into Devonport in time to board the ship back to Melbourne.

 

All on sealed roads!

 

Please be aware there are some incredible twisties on this route - best let any passengers know of potential motion sickness.  

 

Also, please ensure you have a contingency plan if you have a breakdown - like a mate who is willing to stay with you if necessary or Roadside Assistance.  And it might be a good thing not to have anything critical to do on the following weekdays justin incase you need extra days to get home for some reason. 

DURATION:
Main Cruise 4 Days - Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon.  Leave Melbourne Thu night and back in Melbourne Tue morning.

 

MEET:
VIC Station Pier, Port Melbourne between 5pm and 6:30pm for 7:30pm ship departure on Thu 17 Nov.
TAS Waterfront Cafe, 17a Devonport Rd Devonport  about 8am on Fri 19 Nov.

 

ROUTE:

Tasmania - need I say more 

Vid of 2011 Tassie Cruise

 

SPIRIT OF TASMANIA:
You must book your own Spirit of Tasmania booking.  Depart Melbourne Thu 17 Nov night cruise.  Depart Devonport Mon 21 Nov night cruise.

You can of course extend your stay or leave earlier depending on your work.
https://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/ 

 

ACCOMODATION:

You must book your own accommodation in Strahran Fri night, Hobart Sat night and Taranna (near Port Arthur) Sun night.

Suggested accommodation is below where most of us will be staying - easier for logistics of catching up and departures.

 

Fri 18 Nov - Strahan - Dinner at Strahan Hotel

Strahran Holiday Retreat, 8 Innes St West Strahan (about $125)

Booking.com Link

 

Sat 19 Nov - Hobart - Dinner at Mures Seafood possibly
Hobart Tower Motel, 300 Park St, Hobart (about $129)

Booking.com Link

 

Sun 20 Nov - Taranna (near Port Arthur) - BBQ Dinner

Masons Cottage, 5741 Arthur Highway, Taranna (about $115)

Booking.com Link

 

 

FUEL:
A fair bit of fuel will be required for the drive during the 4 days. Please ensure you are topped at the meet points and have enough fuel to complete the legs (so best to fuel up when others do). 

We will try to drive to places with 98 RON but that is not widely available off the main North-South route that joins Launceston to Hobart.  So I will suggest bringing a couple of 10 litre jerry cans to carry 98 RON with you or have a tune that can handle 95 and 98 RON.
E85 is pretty rare outside of Hobart or Launceston so suggest not use it.  LPG will not be that common as well.

 

Shall provide more details on the service stations at along the route.

 

BRING:
Mandatory to have a UHF 40 channel CB Radio to keep across road hazards and general chatter. EvilDaifu has a few CBs for free loan on the cruise if anyone is interested - just PM EvilDaifu to reserve one.

Camera for the photo opps and the views.

Don't forget to bring extra batteries for your CB and camera - something makes me think we'd be chewing through the batteries on this cruise!

Sunnies.

Warm clothes - though it's November, it's still several degrees cooler down south in Tassie.

 

Jerry cans for fuel - I plan to bring 10 litre and 5 litre cans of 98 RON (hopefully won't need them).

 

Bucket, sponge and some car wash liquid if you want to keep your car shiny for photo opps.

 

3M clear contact tape (from auto stores) for your bonnet lips and maybe fog lights to protect against stone chips and cracks. Cro did a write up about it on the forum. Or just buy the foggie protectors off eBay. Worth it - I've cracked both of mine on different past cruises.

 

If you have an edit - consider bringing your flash boxes incase you need it - don't laugh I remember one gentleman broke down and had to drop his tune back to stock because
a. dust in his airbox
b. water in his fuel
c. didn't clean K&N air filter of gunk

 

Spare car keys (how many times have guys locked their keys in their car on cruises 

 

MOBILEPHONE COVERAGE:

Telstra has generally had the best coverage in Tassie.

RULES:
1. Obey all laws whilst on the cruise; this means no speeding, no overtaking over double lines (no matter how safe you think it may be), etc...

2. There is a designated cruise leader who will lead the way and set the correct pace for all cruise members.

3. Use the Buddy system - always make sure you can see the car behind you. This will give people behind you an indication on where to turn to make sure nobody gets lost.

4. CB Radios - if you don't have one, follow the maps and directions given out. It is highly recommended to have CB as it enhances the enjoyment of the cruise being able to hear about road hazards and join in on the social chatter.

5. Please turn up to the meeting points with a sufficient fuel in your tank and enough time before the departure time.

6. Onus is on the owner/driver to ensure their vehicle is safe to drive on public roads and meets State road traffic authority laws.

7. Please ensure you have a contingency plan if you have a breakdown or unnecessarily delayed. e.g. Roadside Assistance or a mate in another car who is willing to stay with you if necessary.

8. This cruise is not to be advertised on any other media or websites or social media sites without prior agreement from the cruise organisers.

9. By attending this cruise you agree not to hold FordXR6Turbo.com, it's Administrators, Moderators, Cruise Controllers, or Owner responsible / liable for any damage and / or grief sustained (simply; you are responsible for your own actions).

EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

RACT ph 13 27 22

Police ph 000

Ambulance ph 000

Fire ph 000

Wildlife

Roads Hazard

Hospitals

Tow Trucks

 

CRUISE LIST:
1. Rab & 2 mates VIC (ship and accommodation)
2. EvilDaifu VIC (ship and accommodation)

3. k31th VIC (ship, accomodation and car!)

 

Maybes:

1. PookeyMaster NSW

2. Her XR6 Turbo TAS

3. Demon1300 VIC

Everyone is welcome and it's a good way to meet your fellow FordXR6Turbo.com enthusiasts from interstate and enjoy the rush of rumbling through in a line of XRs 

[k31th]

interested

 

My car won't be registered by then... but I'll find a way to join in

[ROB83R]

I'd love to do this. Love the roads down there. 

I went 10/10ths in a hire Kuga last October from Longford to Bicheno via Hobart and the Great Lakes in a day. That was a mission. Made the Mrs sick. I intended to go to Tarraleah but I didn't fancy cleaning up spew. 

 

I'm going to be down there in October unfortunately. 

[EvilDaifu]

Be good to get some other guys along - chance to meet up with some of the others on the forum in real-life 

[Rab]

On 04/09/2016 at 1:14 AM, ROB83R said:

I'm going to be down there in October as well. 

 

FTFY

 

[ROB83R]

Thanks Rab. By unfortunately I meant I'll be missing the cruise. 

[Rab]

Yeah - I got that.

 

That's why I fixed it for you

 

[ROB83R]

Ahhh I'll just go uppercut myself. Might wake up then. 

[EvilDaifu]

Spirit of Tasmania is booked    Special deals on right now that finish end of this week on Sep 10 - cost me $694 for return trip including 4 bed sleeping cabin and vehicle.

 

Will start looking around at accomodation now that suits our route.

 

C'mon fellas - the roads in Tassie are absolutely fantastic 

[Rab]

Can recommend Mason Cottages near Eaglehawk Neck for the Port Arthur night.

 

http://www.booking.com/hotel/au/masons-cottages.en-gb.html?aid=344323;label=metatrivago-hotel-1136182_xqdz-b60aec3741b80c752b33b98ed4707d30_los-1_nrm-1_gstadt-2_gstkid-0_curr-aud_lang-en;sid=8784fd810037300ee6418b5048a5addc;checkin=2016-09-25&checkout=2016-09-26&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&sb_price_type=total&show_room=113618202_88831912_2_0&type=total&utm_campaign=au&utm_content=los-1_nrm-1_gstadt-2_gstkid-0_curr-aud_lang-en&utm_medium=meta&utm_source=metatrivago&utm_term=hotel-1136182&

 

About 10-15mins from Port Arthur.

 

Probably worth doing the Ghost Tour and grabbing dinner at the bistro at the Port too (not much else for food down that stretch from what I can recall)

 

If people don't want to do the night tour/feed maybe a BBQ at the cottages that night? I think there was a pub down the road which may/may not have done meals)