Blue Derby, TAS
- Thread starter andy t
- Start date
downunderdallas
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I haven't done it (flew from Perth) but surely cheaper to Ferry if you have the time. No car rental or shuttle costs in Tassie I would think the big saver, no parking at Tullamarine or trip to/from airport if you do it that way also would add up. You guys are lucky to have good trails in Vic plus Tassie so close!
Not done, but planning it. There’ll be four of us. We’ll be doing ferry. We can get a cabin that sleeps four and we can all fit in one car. No hire car. No boxing bikes. And cost of a cabin (split four ways) is much much cheaper than flying. Only drawback is a longer drive - ferry goes to Devonport not Launceston.
Hey Andy,
Did the Ferry with 4 guys and a car in December 2016.
We took the night boat which worked well as we arrived early the next morning and with no bikes to put together we were riding the trails by early afternoon.
Definitely get a cabin, the cheaper seats area would not be easy to get a good nights sleep.
Can’t remember cost comparison to flying but this was definitely a more convenient way to do it with no hassles of hire cars ,bike bags,excess luggage or having to pack light.
Also having our own car allowed us to visit other trails in the area and have control over our schedule.
Enjoy the trip...
Did the Ferry with 4 guys and a car in December 2016.
We took the night boat which worked well as we arrived early the next morning and with no bikes to put together we were riding the trails by early afternoon.
Definitely get a cabin, the cheaper seats area would not be easy to get a good nights sleep.
Can’t remember cost comparison to flying but this was definitely a more convenient way to do it with no hassles of hire cars ,bike bags,excess luggage or having to pack light.
Also having our own car allowed us to visit other trails in the area and have control over our schedule.
Enjoy the trip...
rextheute
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I go to Tassie every year - I love Tassie !
My tips , get a cabin , do the night sail ,you will be biking by lunchtime .
Book earlier is better , if you and 3 mates can cope with a bunk room - do this ( no beers or burgers prior ...)
Easiest way is off the boat , do not stop for brekky in Devonport , continue to Elizabeth Town Bakery @ Elizabeth Town - approx 30 -40 mins drive ,great coffee and breakfast !
Now the next bit will offend someone .....
You CAN find the trailer without having to pay for a shuttle , it is signposted and the roads are ...just roads . A normal car will be fine .
( It is pushed fairly hard that the shuttles provided are “ necessary “ - I appreciate that it’s a business , but don’t try to stitch me up .)
BUT , it may be easier to pay for the shuttles depending on how motivated and or time constraints .
Personally , I would do Atlas first and experience a long fantastic descent into Derby , spend the arvo doing the close to town trails .
Next morning do the run into weldborough pub for lunch , shuttle this one as it’s easier from a logistics point of view .
The trails are fantastic , their is very good eating options , but not much else in Derby - this is the drawcard tho .
It would be easy do do Hollybanks as an afternoon adventure on either the way to or home from Derby
I haven’t been to Maydena , will hopefully give it a whirl early next year .
It’s a great trip and Tassie is beaut , the food is top notch - there is interesting crafty beers and spirits also . In my situation as an older fat wanker it’s heaven !!
I drove my other half insane as if not biking it in Derby , it’s a bit of relaxing .. but quite nice .
Ps the bakery / pie shop in Scottsdale does pretty good coffee and very nice pies - remember I’m fat and as such an expert in pies !
PPS , I also came off , Derby has tasted my blood - no one saw which was disappointing as it would have looked awesome .
I had two punctures so take tubes patches etc - the vertigo shop is fairly well stocked tho .
Go for it , it’s Great !
My tips , get a cabin , do the night sail ,you will be biking by lunchtime .
Book earlier is better , if you and 3 mates can cope with a bunk room - do this ( no beers or burgers prior ...)
Easiest way is off the boat , do not stop for brekky in Devonport , continue to Elizabeth Town Bakery @ Elizabeth Town - approx 30 -40 mins drive ,great coffee and breakfast !
Now the next bit will offend someone .....
You CAN find the trailer without having to pay for a shuttle , it is signposted and the roads are ...just roads . A normal car will be fine .
( It is pushed fairly hard that the shuttles provided are “ necessary “ - I appreciate that it’s a business , but don’t try to stitch me up .)
BUT , it may be easier to pay for the shuttles depending on how motivated and or time constraints .
Personally , I would do Atlas first and experience a long fantastic descent into Derby , spend the arvo doing the close to town trails .
Next morning do the run into weldborough pub for lunch , shuttle this one as it’s easier from a logistics point of view .
The trails are fantastic , their is very good eating options , but not much else in Derby - this is the drawcard tho .
It would be easy do do Hollybanks as an afternoon adventure on either the way to or home from Derby
I haven’t been to Maydena , will hopefully give it a whirl early next year .
It’s a great trip and Tassie is beaut , the food is top notch - there is interesting crafty beers and spirits also . In my situation as an older fat wanker it’s heaven !!
I drove my other half insane as if not biking it in Derby , it’s a bit of relaxing .. but quite nice .
Ps the bakery / pie shop in Scottsdale does pretty good coffee and very nice pies - remember I’m fat and as such an expert in pies !
PPS , I also came off , Derby has tasted my blood - no one saw which was disappointing as it would have looked awesome .
I had two punctures so take tubes patches etc - the vertigo shop is fairly well stocked tho .
Go for it , it’s Great !
rstim
Likes Dirt
Juggernaut should have had an upgrade by then too, closed at the moment due to some logging in the area. But has some money allocated to some long overdue maintenance.
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ozzybmx
taking a shit with my boobs out
Were heading back again in Jan, 3 weeks of travelling about and 80% MTBing this time, Bruny island for 2 nights and back to Cradle as its awesome, the rest is the missus shuttling us on the trails. Maydena is different as its shuttle only but we'll try and include the old girl as she like to be involved.
Ferry at night is the way to go, arrive in Devonport at 7-8am, then head towards Launceston.
There's a place on the road out of the ferry called Argosy Motor Inn (Tarleton st, just before the freeway turn off), we got flyers on the boat, it was a $10 full brekky with Continental free, tea, instant coffee, fruit juices, cereal... plus your full cooked brekky, was a great feed for $10 each, then charged us $7 for each of the skids for the Continental brekky (cereal and orange juice). All 4 of us stuffed and set for the day for $34. Then grabbed some proper Coffees in the next town...
My only tip is, check your car length on ferry checkout, IIRC putting my camper in as 5.5m length instead of 5.4 was $150 extra each way and nobody checked it, also if you specify your vehicle as higher than 2.2m it was more expensive than the bike rack on the caravan making it 2.5m. Have a play with the settings before booking. If you camper is 2.5m, it really doesn't matter if the car is 2.49m... but they charge you extra.
Ferry at night is the way to go, arrive in Devonport at 7-8am, then head towards Launceston.
There's a place on the road out of the ferry called Argosy Motor Inn (Tarleton st, just before the freeway turn off), we got flyers on the boat, it was a $10 full brekky with Continental free, tea, instant coffee, fruit juices, cereal... plus your full cooked brekky, was a great feed for $10 each, then charged us $7 for each of the skids for the Continental brekky (cereal and orange juice). All 4 of us stuffed and set for the day for $34. Then grabbed some proper Coffees in the next town...
My only tip is, check your car length on ferry checkout, IIRC putting my camper in as 5.5m length instead of 5.4 was $150 extra each way and nobody checked it, also if you specify your vehicle as higher than 2.2m it was more expensive than the bike rack on the caravan making it 2.5m. Have a play with the settings before booking. If you camper is 2.5m, it really doesn't matter if the car is 2.49m... but they charge you extra.
ktastrphe
Likes Dirt
I am heading over east from Perth end of August and was planning on stopping in at Derby for 2 days of riding. I however just spoke to one of the shuttle companies and they said they shut down in August because Blue Tier can be closed for most of that month due to rains.
Is it worth going just to ride the trails closest to Derby or should I reschedule to get the full experience (that is what my brain is telling me to do!)
cheers
Is it worth going just to ride the trails closest to Derby or should I reschedule to get the full experience (that is what my brain is telling me to do!)
cheers
rangersac
Medically diagnosed OMS
Virgin. Have used them getting bikes to and from NZ with no dramas.
The Derby side of the hill has plenty of awesome trails so if you are coming anyway just go and ride them. If you can reschedule to ride the whole lot then obviously that's preferable, but you'll still have a cracking time regardless.
Yet1
Likes Dirt
I did the sums and for us (4 blokes coming from Melbourne) - it was cheaper to fly and rent a 4x4 tray back ute than to take a car on the ferry. For us, a dual cab ute with a rack plus a cabin on the boat was excessively expensive compared to $59 flights to Launceston they had on at the time. Plus saved a day either side of the trip for not being on the boat. We were able to self shuttle at derby (except the Blue Tier/Atlas trail). Flown across a few times and never had a drama with my bike bag (Jetstar each time).
Cheapest option (going the other way) was always one car on the boat and the rest fly, but it depends a lot on timing and where you are coming from. In summer there is also the option of a day sail, but you would be in for a long day getting all the way through to derby (2 - 2.5 hours drive from Devonport via Launceston airport)