Day 1. Palmerston North to Launceston

We had the alarm set for 4:30 and the taxi booked for 5. Robyn glanced over at my watch, leapt out of bed and raced into the shower.  It’s 1/4 to five she cried… it wasn’t….1/4 to 4 actually. Oh well, I had time to make us breakfast which was a bonus.




Easy flight to Auckland but we could feel the stress levels rising, Auckland airport processing is a disgrace, over an hour and a 1/2 to make it through customs and security. 
The flight to Melbourne began to get very bumpy about an hour out from Melbourne, Robyn who is normally a good flyer felt a bit nauseous, reckon it might be the mask wearing, we should have canvassed the other two people on the plane who were wearing them!
A bit of a wait in Melbourne but finally the short hop over the Bass Strait to Launceston. 
Sigh of relief as we collected our bags from the carousel and a shuttle bus to our hotel and an entertaining driver kept us amused on the 20 minute drive.


First impressions of Launceston are favourable. A really well kept place with lots of historic and beautifully restored buildings. We had a wander about and our first taste of Tasmanian seafood for dinner…scallops, veges and chips, yum.
We’ve been awake nearly 20 hours so it’s an early night for us.
We collect our bike in the morning at 9, the depot is 100 metres from the hotel.
We’ve sorted out our route for tomorrow and can’t wait to get started. 


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