ly means that some of the most important people in the
world have decided that somewhere is one of the most
special places in the world and needs to be protected so
it can stay special for the whole world to enjoy for even
longer. Yep, that’s a big chunk of Tassie. World class awe-
some-ness.
There are no concrete jungles down here, but even
if you do find yourself in the ‘city’ streets - you’re never
stuck for long, and back to open nature goodness within
minutes.
And yet for all its natural beauty, the bits of the island
that have been covered in bitumen are mighty fine. It’s al-
most as if Tassie roads were designed for riding. The con-
victs, loggers and miners who actually paved those roads
may not necessarily have had two wheeled machines in
mind - but by happy coincidence, they managed to create
the ultimate riding tracks – winding roads through moun-
tains and along the coast, with ever changing scenery, el-
evation and aspects around each of the many twists.
And with such a small population, chances are you’ll
have most of these roads all to yourself, with the freedom
to take your time (or hustle), travel at your own pace, and
move (and stop) to your own schedule.
Sounds perfect for Harleys – can we rent them?
Funny you should ask - you sure can. Southern Riders
Tasmania was created because we asked the exact same
question – but couldn’t find any.
A few years ago we were living a pretty typical big city
- rat race – life. Living in Sydney, working crazy hours,
mortgaged to the hilt – too much time in the office, not
enough time for nature and adventure. So we decided to
sell our house, quit our jobs and travel around Australia
for a year.
It was the adventure of a lifetime – with our three kids
we spent a year climbing mountains, camping by the
beach, 4WD-ing through the red centre, exploring the Top
End and Kimberley and snorkelling in the turquoise wa-
ters off Western Australia. Then we hopped on a boat to
Tasmania … and never left. After exploring this amazing
country, we discovered that Tasmania is one of THE most
amazing spots of all – and are very happy to now call Ho-
bart home.
Sam has always been a motorbike and particularly Har-
ley-Davidson fan. During our trip, Sam was lucky enough
to score the dream job of doing Harley tours around Uluru
– which helped cure his riding and Harley cravings for a
few months, and also piqued our interest in seeing stun-
ning landmarks from a different perspective. But having
discovered this untouched riding paradise, we couldn’t
find anywhere in Tassie to hire a Harley. And surely, we
weren’t the only visitors to Tasmania who wanted to expe-
rience some world heritage action on a Heritage Classic?
TRAVERSE 57