Riding: 39 mi 63 km

Meal: LD

We get straight into the action with a departure from Launceston today. Note that if you want to arrive on the day instead of staying a night in Launceston, we can arrange for a pick up at the airport and a transfer directly to the start point of today's ride.

The day starts with a 1-hour transfer to start our ride in Railton. This town prides itself on an expansive collection of topiary, the decorative art of hedges. From here, we ride along a 12km section of the Tasmanian Rail Trail which is an unpaved section through some lovely scenery of farmland and native trees. The next town that we pass through, Sheffield has a large collection of street art murals that we can take time to appreciate before moving on through a very special route on a mixture of backroads and trails through private properties passing by fast-flowing streams and lush greenery.

The agriculture in this area is renowned for growing fresh, high-quality products and this evening we will get to sample some of that. Our destination is the town of Deloraine, a historic town, with a heritage-listed hotel where we spend the next two nights.

Just before sunset, we will join our host the publican at the Empire Hotel, for a walk along the Meander River to look for members of the platypus colony. There are at least six of these unique animals living here and sighting is highly likely.

Riding: 22-38 mi 35-62 km

Meal: BLD

The riding today is split into a morning ride and an afternoon ride, so you do have the option to choose one or both. The morning ride takes us on a route that skirts the Great Western Tiers mountain range with stunning scenery out over the countryside with the dramatic escarpment of the tiers. In Westbury, we visit the John Temple Gallery where the photographer specializes in panoramic images of Australian landscapes. Then it's back to Deloraine for lunch before an afternoon ride to visit some local artisans and a salmon farm. 

The salmon perhaps is an iconic product of Tasmania, but the ginseng that is grown at the farm on our afternoon ride may come as a surprise. Both products are exported and considered to be very high quality. Our next stop is the home and studio of local silversmiths/artisans the McLachlan. The studio is set on their beautiful 50acre property on the Meander River. We will stop in for a cup of tea, a chat, and a walk around their studio and the sculpture garden.

A diverse day of activities and visits concludes at a winery specializing in the Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grape varieties. After a chat with the winemaker and a modest sampling, return to Deloraine by bike, possibly with some less modest samples for the evening.

Riding: 20 mi 32 km

Meal: BLD

A 1.5-hour van transfer takes us to a slightly different landscape where we start riding on a peaceful, paved road through a wide expanse of grassland with hills in the distance. Then we get into a narrower valley and then a gorge with dry eucalyptus forests surrounding us. We stop in at Hardings Falls and take a 20-minute return walk to see the impressive multi-tiered falls on the Swan River.

From here, we take a van transfer of around 45min to reach oldest vineyard on the east coast of Tasmania. Here, after lunch we don gumboots and take a walk to learn about the heritage of the property and to hear about what makes the wines here so special. Naturally, we finish with a tasting and then transfer to a truly unique accommodation, the Freycinet Lodge, overlooking Coles Bay.

Meal: BL

Today we switch out bikes for boots (walking shoes will suffice) as we embark on a hike to see the Freycinet Peninsula's most iconic beaches, Wineglass Bay (obvious name provenance) and Hazards Beach (named because of the Hazard Ridge, not because it is hazardous). We use an Aqua Taxi to provide us with a range of walking options so you can do the long, more challenging hike, a slightly shorter moderate hike, or a light hike that still takes in the key locations of Hazards Beach and Wineglass Bay. 

The full walk takes us all the way down to the end of the peninsula but skips a section using the boat, so we get all the best bits and keep the walk achievable, finishing mid-afternoon so you can enjoy some downtime at the lodge. 

The lodge includes a library and a lounge with wifi access and also offers therapeutic massage. Additional excursions from the lodge are also possible if you have the energy. One of these is a gentle twilight kayak paddle on Coles Bay, an activity that can be a really special experience if the weather is right. Enquire with our team in the lead-up to the tour if this is of interest to you. Dinner is not included this evening so you can dine at your leisure.

Meal: BLD

We head south to the historic Port Arthur today. Rather than drive all the way up the peninsula again, we will take a shortcut by boat. We shuttle over the bay and up the Dolphin Sands Peninsula to an Oyster Farm and take a tour with the farmer to understand how this iconic Tasmanian product gets from the estuary to your plate. By the time we are done learning about oysters, it should be a reasonable time of day to eat some of them, so we'll do that at the Oyster Shack before we take a drive south.

The transfer is around 2.5 hours. After checking in at our Port Arthur accommodation, we'll set off on a walk through the UNESCO heritage listed site to understand its dark history, the story of the convicts and how their labor built the site. A brief intermission back at our nearby accommodation, then we head back into the site for dinner at the restaurant 1830 after which we will take the ghost tour.

Meal: BLD

14km / 9mi walking
This morning we shuttle a short distance from the accommodation to reach the trailhead for Cape Raoul. This is one of the capes visible on the famous, Three Capes Hike and is a moderately challenging walk with beautiful scenery as the reward for our efforts. The walk is on an unmade trail and features some climbing and descending. The cape is just incredible with geological formations like you've never seen and waves crashing away down below. Looking out over the ocean, the next landmass is Antarctica and the cold wind coming off the water will usually remind us of that. We return on the same trail in time for lunch back at the accommodation and then some downtime.

Meal: BL

For our final day of adventure, we have a really special activity and that is sea kayaking on the Tasman Coast. We put in at Fortescue Bay and paddle along and between the towering cliffs that make for an amazing site and a dramatic backdrop to what is actually a sheltered area almost year-round. We will be on the water for around 3 hours but will have stops and snacks during that time.

Lunch will be packed sandwiches, wraps, and local cheeses, had by the water with some of those amazing views. We will then make a brief stop in a local motel for showers and to get changed before traveling onto Hobart. We can take you to either the Hobart Airport or into the city as the conclusion of the tour.