<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div></div><div>I visited Queenstown in November 2014 and did the train ride. In the Spring it doesn't go all the way to Strahan though, so we just did the out and back. I blogged it if you want to judge whether it's with the trip: <a href="https://www.web-goddess.org/photo/trip-to-tasmania-november-20-30-2014/13">https://www.web-goddess.org/photo/trip-to-tasmania-november-20-30-2014/13</a></div><div><br></div><div>I'm glad we did it, but TBH there's not much else to do there. </div><div><br></div><div>Kris</div><div><br>On 8 Jan 2017, at 10:27 am, Marc MERLIN <<a href="mailto:marc@merlins.org">marc@merlins.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>On Sun, Jan 08, 2017 at 09:41:54AM +1100, Christopher Neugebauer wrote:</span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>You should do the full trip, one-way to Queenstown (if you can), and</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>take a bus back to strahan.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>I didn't even consider that it was an option. Let me look into it.</span><br><span>But you're saying visiting Queenstown isn't worth it?</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>The Rack and Gorge has more interesting rail technology. The river and</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>rainforest has more interesting scenery. Take your pick if you can</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>only do the half-day.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>Gotcha.</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>Don't say I didn't warn you :)</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>Ack.</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>Add 50% over the times that you see. The roads are narrow and</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>dangerous, and because it's summer, they'll be full of tourists who</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>cannot drive nearly as well as you claim to be able to.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>That last bit is more my concern. Every time I end up on a mountain</span><br><span>road, my biggest issue are the people in front of me that I can't pass</span><br><span>easily, or at all in places, and that won't pull over.</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>The roads are narrow. You can very easily get stuck behind people who</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>are less capable than you, with no overtaking opportunities for 40-50</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>minutes. Especially in summer, we're talking about heavy caravans and</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>the like. And rental cars that aren't suited for Tasmanian roads.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>Yeah, that worries me a lot more. Sadly, I assume it's unavoidable. All</span><br><span>I can do is make sure the rental car has some engine power so that I</span><br><span>have a fighting chance to pass other cars in areas with a bit of room.</span><br><span></span><br><span>On Sun, Jan 08, 2017 at 10:15:21AM +1100, Kathy Reid wrote:</span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>Just to echo Chris' sentiments, and because I've done the drive, twice.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>The drive to Strahan is dangerous, requires advanced driving skills, is</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>fatiguing and has a high degree of difficulty. In a manual vehicle,</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>expect to be in first gear for a lot of the turns. In an automatic rent</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>a vehicle, you will find controlling the turns-on-inclines even more</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>difficult.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>I'm not driving to or from Strahan to/from Hobart. It's not that I can't</span><br><span>do it, but that it's long and tiring and I'm not really interested in</span><br><span>doing this, especially if I'm going to be stuck behind other cars slower</span><br><span>than me.</span><br><span>Looks like right now my best option is to take the 16:30 Strahan to</span><br><span>Hobart bus back.</span><br><span>As for Cradle mountain to Strahan, if it takes 3H instead of 2, so be</span><br><span>it. There isn't much else I can do about it.</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>If you do drive, allow 50-100% extra time than indicated. Chris is not</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>being dramatic here, he is being cautious and concerned for your safety.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>Understood.</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>If you do go, be prepared for additional patience, keep your fuel tank</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>as full as possible (as lower gear, higher traction, slow speed consumes</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>more fuel) and pack a first aid kit, extra water and food.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>I was the first responder on scene when a lady slid off the Cradle Mt</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>road in snow in 2013. It wasn't pretty, but I learned valuable lessons.</span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>Ack. My worst issue so far we doing a similar drive in Taiwan (east cost</span><br><span>to west coast, 3000m peak, crappy rental car), and some asshole that was</span><br><span>blocking me on the way up and when I finally found a spot where I could</span><br><span>pass, he tried to run me off the road by moving into the opposite lane</span><br><span>and pushing me into the shoulder.</span><br><span>Another stupid driver with no skill and too much ego to let someone</span><br><span>faster pass, I hate those :(</span><br><span>(but yes, I completed the pass, and after 2 turns he was nowhere to be</span><br><span>seen in my rear view mirror, as expected)</span><br><span></span><br><span>Marc</span><br><span>-- </span><br><span>"A mouse is a device used to point at the xterm you want to type in" - A.S.R.</span><br><span>Microsoft is to operating systems ....</span><br><span> .... what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking</span><br><span>Home page: <a href="http://marc.merlins.org/">http://marc.merlins.org/</a> | PGP 1024R/763BE901</span><br><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Chat mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:Chat@lists.lca2017.linux.org.au">Chat@lists.lca2017.linux.org.au</a></span><br><span><a href="http://lists.lca2017.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/chat">http://lists.lca2017.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/chat</a></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>