Day 13: Phillip Island to Melbourne
24 October 2016
Click on the image for a detailed map
It was a gloomy sort of morning—cloudy, cool and a bit unappealing. But at least it was dry as we packed up our camp and made ready to go our separate ways. Noroomtomove who, by my reckoning, had done a sterling job not to flee to the comforts of a mud-free hot shower and a comfy bed the evening before, was first to roll out. Pterodactyl and I left a bit later and made our way to San Remo for a cup of coffee.
After that we separated; him to return to Sydney; me to head to Melbourne to jettison some gear and collect Mrs Cormanus from the airport. To my considerable delight she had agreed to join me for the next leg of the trip which would take us across Bass Strait on the ferry to Tasmania. While most of our attention would be on catching up with family and friends, I planned we’d cover a bit of ground together on the bike.
I was a bit nervous about how it would go. Mrs Cormanus comes with me on the bike occasionally and enjoys it very much, but she is given to getting restless when she has to sit still for too long. Frequent stops are necessary, so she would not enjoy my usual touring schedule. So I wasn’t sure how she’d go spending too much time perched on the back. Still, I was delighted she was coming with me and that it would be in Tasmania which we both love.
The ride to Melbourne was uneventful. Straight roads, freeways, police officers, motorcyclists heading back from a weekend on the island, increasing traffic. Same old, same old. The Tom Tom app on my phone took me where I wanted to go without fuss and I took all my gear off the bike before heading to the airport to meet my wife.
We were staying with my niece and her husband who had kindly agreed to store gear for us while we were in Tasmania, so we made our way there. They took us for a walk through Footscray past the Flemington Race course where Australia’s major horse race, the Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday of every year. The entire country stops to stuff itself with chicken and champagne and watch it on the television.
A great, authentic and inexpensive Vietnamese meal and a comfortable bed capped off the day.
