Yesterday I went for a ride around the South side of Bruny Island. The 70 km route took me from Alonnah, on the West coast, down South to Cloudy Bay, and then North East to Adventure Bay, before returning to Alonnah. Bruny Island is quite rural; I struggled to find a good place to park my car in Alonnah, the best choices being in front of the Police station, or at the pub. Thinking of a post-ride pint, I chose the pub.

I headed South to Cloudy Bay, via Lunawanna. Apart from being overtaken by a few cars (while cycling on an unsealed road, it’s like getting dirt thrown in your eyes), the ride was nice and easy going. Cloudy bay provides spectacular views of the points to the East and West. There were some smal, fun looking waves too, leaving me wishing I’d had my surf board with me. I headed back up Cloudy Bay Road, looking for the Staffords Road turn off. While standing at an unsigned intersection, looking at the map, a guy in a 4WD stopped and asked if I needed help; he promptly informed me that I was standing on Staffords Road, so I thanked him and got back on the bike.

Taking Staffords Road, as opposed to returning to Lunawanna and taking Coolangatta, was definitely the more entertaining route to follow. The road quickly turned into a rough fire trail, with a few steep climbs, and fun no-brakes descents. After rounding Mount Banks, it was top gear the whole way to the Mavista Falls picnic area. Mavista Falls was a bit of a disappointment. I rode along the walking track (fun, wide single track) for 5-10 minutes, only to come across a sign informing me that the track had been ‘closed for maintenance’ some time in 2005. So I turned back and headed in to Adventure Bay.

There was only one real option for lunch - roast beef rolls, which was fine by me. I bought a drink and a few bananas for the walk to Fluted Cape, and headed to the start of the walk, in the public beach carpark just before the end of the road. I recommend the Fluted Cape walk; it is a loop which follows the coast line east of Adventure Bay, climbing to 270 metres right along the steep East facing cliffs. Most of the track has a forest kind of feel to it, the only difference being the howling winds, and the sheer 200-300 metre drop 3 metres to the left of the track.

After finishing the walk, I followed the main road back to Alonnah. I decided to head back to the ferry terminal rather than stay at the pub, as I wasn’t sure how long the drive back would be. I did manage to sneak in a schooner at a new looking place about a kilometre from the terminal (it was called ‘BISH’, which stands for something I can’t remember).