Day 346, Wednesday, 10 March, 2010

Distance travelled – 74.0 km
Avg speed – 15.0 kph
Max speed – 46.2 kph

Merimbula to Bermagui

As we left Eden yesterday we had a very steep hill to contend with and the same was the case this morning on our ride out of Merimbula. However, neither of these two climbs have anything on the climb from the Murrah River halfway between Tathra and Bermagui. Other than the road out of Corinna on Tasmania’s west coast this is the first hill that Denise has found she could not ride up. As we both began to climb this hill we found ourselves zig zagging to keep our balance and our speed quickly fell below 5kph. It became a real effort to maintain our balance and keep turning the pedals and as we got further up the hill our cadence became slower and slower. Finally a voice called from behind me “Sorry, I am going to have to stop” and this came from the person who usually rides past me as I take a breather. I am still unclear on why Denise was sorry.

As we sailed from Melbourne to Tasmania we read a brochure on cycling around the state that said Tasmanian hills had a brutal reputation. The person who wrote that has obviously not ridden up the south east coast. These hills are far more brutal and challenging than anything we found in Tasmania.

The countryside between Tathra and Bermagui is exceptionally lush and green, perhaps the greenest country we have seen on our trip. There is also evidence along the road of recent storm damage. Large trees have fallen across the road and only been partially cleared. The drains beside the road, particularly on the hills, have been deeply eroded and on the river flats there is clear evidence of flooding with many fence lines covered in debris. Up until this morning the road was closed between  9.00am and 3.30pm to allow urgent repair work to one of the bridges, so the storm that came through here must have been something to be seen. From what we can find out the storm occurred in mid February so the lush growth we are seeing is the positive outcome of this damaging event.

 

 

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

 

Historic Tathra Wharf, Tathra

It is extremly green here, Tathra - Bermagui Road

Cresting another hill, Tathra - Bermagui Road

This was our audience for lunch

Murrah River Bridge, Tathra - Bermagui Road

Denise taking photo, Cuttagee Beach, Tathra - Bermagui Road

Denise's photo, Cuttagee Beach, Tathra - Bermagui Road

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