Day 2: Maria Island - 45.8km

Sunday 19th December 2021

What a day this was!

I caught the 8:30 ferry in the morning from Triabunna, which was conveniently just across the road from my hotel, the Spring Bay Hotel. The sun was shining, the winds were down (although the waves were still up) and the ferry trip took about half an hour to get over to be the gorgeous Maria Island!

I spent the day riding down the west coast of the island, stopping and taking in some of the glorious views on offer, especially the coastal views. A mountain bike would've definitely been more suited for the dirt roads on the island, but my bike just about handled it.....for the most part. As I was getting closer to the spit, the track/road turned into sand. Knowing it wouldn't really work, I still attempted to ride my bike on the sands, but ditched the bike a few hundred metres in. I then proceeded to head further south on foot. Realising that if I wanted to see all that I wanted to see on the island, walking wasn't gonna be fast enough! So my trip down to Haunted Bay was a mix of walking at pace and jogging, and man was it worth it! Stunning lookout, made all the better knowing that not too many people would make the effort to get down this far south on the island. After taking in the views. I headed back north. Again jogging and walking at pace until I reached my bike. Walked it up the sand road, until I reached the dirt road....and then it was pedalling all the way north baby! By the time I got back up to the north west of the island, I had enough time, before the ferry would depart, to finish off the day riding around the Fossil Cliffs Circuit.... again taking in the stunning views. Finishing my day, just before the short, but heavyish, shower passed through.... happy days.

And I promise I will try to try to make all future videos shorter than this one….let’s see what happens there.

Also the bit at the end of this video where I nearly crashed into the barrier/chain was definitely not intended or planned, I genuinely didn’t see it…..the joys of living with nystagmus.

And don't forget, it's not too late to donate here.

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