Queenstown and beyond

Helena suggested that I take in Queenstown slowly, and so I did just that. Meandering up to the lookout, then walking through the neighborhood and along the river. A very mellow day of strolling around. Saw a couple walking out of the hospital with two fully loaded bikes so I went to visit with them, my first touring cyclists I've seen aside from the guy going up the hill on my way to Tullah. They were very friendly, yet going the opposite direction of me, but have had about enough and are catching the bus to Tullah. Also saw my first Aussie snake today, well the tail end of it anyway. Well, maybe its my second sighting...some of the Oteshans and i thought we'd seen a snake on the night ride up to Mt. Leura in Camperdown, but whether it was a stick or a snake we'll never know.

So Dianne took down the following notes for me regarding my 80-90k ride to Lake St. Clair tomorrow:
Three major climbs.
1) Leaving Queenstown you can see the road climbing mercilessly up. (Go for a warm up ride along the river before attempting this first thing in the morning) 2) Victoria Pass starts immediately after the Nelson Falls carpark. 4.5 km climb. Gradual but becomes steeper.
Undulations along the Collingwood River Valley until the Franklin River.
Jacket off, banana and chocolate in.
3) Mt Arrowsmith. Climbs 9.5 km from Franklin River until King William saddle. Steady, not brutal. Then 15km gradual downhill (yippee, woohoo) until Serwent Bridge, turn left, then 5km flat to Lake St. Clair.

Yikes! So needless to say, when she mentioned that she was heading to Hobart on Wednesday and could take most of my stuff and drop it off along the way, I agreed to the offer. I left most of my gear with her yesterday, but will leave every last, unnecessary drop with Raymond and Helena for her to collect. I'm sure those mountain passes will be barely noticeable with just food, water, bike maintenance and rain/emergency warm gear! Ahem, right.