With summer upon us, during lunch hour at work, we took a brief recess from checking out the Melbourne CBD eye candy and got talking about our other passion: motorbikes…wow, big surprise! Those with the gift of multitasking continued turning our heads, however that quickly changed once my good mate Eric started talking about this far away land with skin smooth roads, no cars and more twists and turns than a politician during question time…Tasmania.

Most bailed out of the trip for various reasons: bad weather forecast was the most popular excuse. My mate Eric and I planned it anyway for two main reasons: we wanted to and we could…and really, do you need any more than that? Within minutes the trip was agreed. Now, Tasmania usually deserves a week or two of one’s time, but we were “doing it” over a weekend: hence the name “Mad Dash”… Here is the story.

As an adventure traveller there is really one way to get to Tassie: by boat. “The Spirit of Tasmania” goes twice daily and it takes 9-10 hours one way. We took the Friday after work run as it allows a full day of work and we arrive Saturday morning 6:00am-ish.

Here we are waiting to get on board with all the other travellers who take their cars/bikes with one thing in mind: get the hell out of town to enjoy the Tasmanian wilderness.

Getting onboard the Spirit of Tassie

Eric is smiling because because he knows the twisties we are going to ride tomorrow…and he has not yet realised that massive oil patch under his bike.

Once onboard, and checked into our room, there was only one thing to do…check out the bar and enjoy the view on-deck as we say goodbye to Melbourne.

Melbourne...voted as the most liveable city on the planet!

We had barely left the port and Eric already got hold of a map of Tassie…

Eric with a map of Tassie...

Yes, an actual map of Tasmania. What were you thinking of? This is not the 80’s anymore…

“Manhug”, totally unaware that we had pre-ride helmet hair…(WTF?)

what the fox a comb?

But enough about Eric, back to me…

WOW! KTM Racing enduro jacket...

Hurry up! I cannot hold my stomach in any longer…

just smile and don't breathe...

Soon our attention turned to the weather ahead…perhaps the boys were right, but we did not care as we had wet weather gear…and it was too late to bail out…

I want go home...NOT!

As the weather turned sour, we took one more picture of slowly disappearing Melbourne;

the most liveable city...but not in the next few hours...

And we headed inside to the warmth of the ship’s bar and restaurant serving our phenomenal dinner…

Over a bottle of wine…

hands are in line, it's the picture and the boat that is out of whack....

Eric explained that the rocking we are feeling side to side is the copious amount of alcohol at work not the waves hitting the boat as “it has a massive gyroscope in the bowl to offset any external…” you get it… he’s a smart boy this Eric!

Post dinner foolish behaviour…

...red rag to a bull...

 The ship is safer already…

Stay tuned for next post: just how bad will the weather be? are we going to freeze in the wilderness? Get shot for trespassing? You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly cry… because you weren’t there 🙂