7 Day Tour - Ultimate Plus Tour (SOLD OUT)
- Duration: 7 Days (approx.)
- Location: South Hobart, TAS
Overview
The Ultimate Plus Tour gives you 7 days of awesome riding with one of Australia’s best MTB coaches on some of the worlds best trails! Tasmanian Mountain Bike Adventures welcomes Jodie Willett to the team for this tour. Jodie is highly experienced and currently the most Qualified coach that Australia has! She holds the Level 2 UCI mountain bike accreditation, which she gained at the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland during 2014. Jodie has been Australia’s National Development Coach and is a regular podium finisher both Nationally and Internationally.
“Jodie’s a passionate, excellent teacher who has a talent for explaining and demonstrating skills in a way that is easy to put into practice…”
Tasmanian Mountain Bike Adventures focuses on providing an experience that you will cherish for a lifetime.The company’s owner, Phil Exton, will ensure that everything runs smoothly, and you only have to focus on improving your riding skills while enjoying some of the world’s best trails.
This is an all-inclusive tour with the exceptions of: evening meals (we organise a venue for us all to eat, drink and be merry every night); flights and bike hire (we can help organise bike hire at a discounted rate from one of our partner businesses if required).
“Amazing MTB tour – Went for a week with riding buddies and Tasmanian Mountain Bike Adventures took care of us the entire time, bending over backwards to ensure our trip was as enjoyable as it could be. Friendly and professional, these guys gave us the trip of a lifetime, I would highly recommend them.” Adam, Brisbane.
7 days and nights of Tasmanian Mountain Bike Awesomeness! Ride breathtaking and well-crafted trails on Mount Wellington; The maze of mountain bike madness at Meehan Range; Magnificent Maria Island; Blue Derby’s world class trails and probably the best flow trail on the planet at Blue Tiers!
You will be accommodated in quality Airbnb’s in Hobart and Derby. You will travel in a late model 14 seater Toyota HiAce with a custom made enclosed, lockable bike trailer. As well as riding, you will have opportunities to experience some of Tasmania’s amazing wilderness, food and cultural attractions. All breakfasts and some lunches are provided, and suitable venues will be chosen for all other meals.
Your friendly and knowledgeable travel guide Phil, and coach Jodie, will make sure this is one of your best adventure holidays ever!
- Airport pick up and drop off (Pick up Hobart. Drop off at either Launceston airport or Hobart accommodation)
- All breakfasts
- All lunches
- Accommodation
- Transportation
- Tour guide
- Professional coach
- Shuttles
Itinerary
Afternoon/Evening Night One ( Saturday 3rd November, 2018)
Fly into Hobart International Airport. We will be waiting to collect you at the Oversized Baggage Pick Up Point. From Hobart airport we will drive for approx. 30 min into Hobart to your accommodation to settle in and reassemble your bike (if bringing your own). For those arriving before dinner, we will have a dinner destination organised, so we can all eat together.
Day One – Mount Wellington and The Meehan Range (Sunday 4th Nov)
Start the day with a hearty breakfast at Ginger Brown in South Hobart (one of Hobart’s best cafes) before we take you to the top of Mount Wellington to take in the views (clouds permitting). We then descend a few hundred meters to ‘The Springs’ to commence riding the North-South track (approx. 12km). This purpose-built trail is suited to riders of moderate ability but has lots of extras for those wanting greater challenges. Jodie will use some of these features for coaching, so you can become more confident in successfully riding different challenges. The forest, views and riding terrain are constantly changing, and few go home disappointed! The trail concludes at the Glenorchy Mountain Bike Park where you will have more opportunities to practice some new skills.
Phil will have the bus and trailer ready to rack the bikes and lunch together. After lunch we will shuttle you back up to the Springs, so you can either re-ride the North South Track all the way through or just to the Junction Cabin. From here we will drop down into South Hobart (SOHO) on a few of Phil’s favourite local tracks.
After a late lunch, we will head over to the Meehan Range to ride a few very cool trails. You can expect a big view of Hobart, the Derwent River and Mount Wellington from Cliff Tops, which will make the climb up there totally worthwhile! Then you can descend all the way back to the car park either via K’s and the XC downhill trail or take the wild and faster route down Corkscrew. There’s also jump lines, pump tracks and wall rides to finish the day with for those that are interested!
We will rack the bikes ready for tomorrow’s adventures!
You will then be taken back to your accommodation late in the day for a freshen up before re-joining the group for dinner and drinks to help celebrate Phil’s birthday at Salamanca on Hobart’s waterfront.
Day Two – Hobart to the West Coast (Monday 5th Nov)
We will aim for an early departure so we can travel from the east to west coast of Tasmania in the morning. We will have breakfast and morning tea on the way.
Passing through the beautiful Derwent Valley we travel through the quaint rural villages of New Norfolk, Hamilton and Ouse before starting our climb up to Derwent Bridge which is nestled between the Franklin-Gordon World Heritage National Park and the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. We will stop for morning tea along the way and if it’s clear admire Frenchman’s Cap (1443m) and the famous Franklin River before dropping down into the frontier like township of Queenstown for lunch. Depending on the weather, we will most likely set up camp at Granville Harbour, Zeehan or on Lake Murchison.
Today’s ride will either be the spectacular Mount Sterling Valley track or Climbes Track (Trial to Granville Harbour) depending on where we camp. These are both around 2-3 hour rides.
We will also head into Zeehan and ride to and through the Spray Tunnel. This 100-metre-long abandoned railway tunnel use to lead to the Spray Silver mine. Once we are through the tunnel, you will see lots of reminders of the West’s mining heritage with abandoned boilers and building to find. For those interested in mining history, Zeehan has a lot offer.
We’ll head back to camp before heading out to dinner at a local establishment.
Day Three – West Coast Riding (Tuesday 6th Nov)
We’ll start the day with a hearty camp breakfast before riding either Mount Sterling Valley track or Climbes Track (whichever we didn’t ride yesterday). Morning tea we will have on the trail while taking in the magnificent scenery. We will be back at camp for lunch and if it’s hot, you might fancy a swim to cool off in either a river, lake or ocean.
After lunch we will head for Melba Flats. This is the beginning of the 4wd and mountain bike trail to Montezuma falls. These falls have the longest straight water drop of any waterfall in Tasmania. It’s a 30 km return ride with perhaps the biggest reward you will ever get on a MTB ride. The falls are well over 100 metres high and we will go over a swing bridge beneath them to get the maximum vantage points. We will have morning tea at the falls before either riding back to Melba Flats or onto Roseberry. Once the bikes are racked, we will head back to our camp site before heading out for dinner.
Day Four – Dial Ranges to Derby (Wednesday 7th Nov)
We will pack up camp and head to the Northern part of the state where we will ride some trails in the Dial Ranges near Penguin. Hopefully, we will be able to organise a local guide and trail builder (Marchello) to join us on these rides.
After lunch we will head for Derby. Depending on time, we may well stop for a quick spin at one of the many riding options around Launceston-Kate Reid, Trevelyan or Hollybank. We will have dinner on the way before arriving at our accommodation in the early evening.
Day Five – Derby (Thursday 8th Nov)
We will start with a hearty breakfast at our accommodation before heading out for some coaching and exploring the Blue Derby network of trails with Jodie. All of these trails conclude in Derby, very close to your accommodation where we will return to for lunch.
In the afternoon you will have a 3 hour shuttle ticket to the Black Stump. If you go hard and have safe runs, you can get 3 rides in (especially if you save Return to Sender for last, as it takes the longest). This will be a great chance to practice some of the skills you have done with Jodie in the morning.
Rack the bikes and shuttle you to the Blue Tiers trail head which is about a 50 minute drive. For many riders this is the best trail they have ridden anywhere in the world! Jodie will get the group together at various locations to coach you through some of the ‘A’ lines. It is about 20 km in duration and you may well want to ride this one again before heading home. For those with the legs for it, ‘Big Chook’ is on the menu before racking the bikes and joining the others for dinner and drinks at Weldborough Hotel.
Day Six – Derby/East Coast (Friday 9th Nov)
An early breakfast at our accommodation before packing up and heading to the top of the Blue Tiers trail head which is about an hours drive. For many riders this is the best trail they have ridden anywhere in the world! Jodie will get the group together at various locations to coach you through some of the ‘A’ lines. It is about 20 km in duration.
The bus will be waiting for you at Weldborough, where we will have morning tea before heading to the East Coast to set up camp and explore!
Dinner will be at one of Tasmania’s beautiful east coast beach side towns.
Day Seven – Depart East Coast Camp Site for Maria Island (Saturday 10th Nov)
An early start to the day, as continue down the East Coast to Triabunna. We will stop for breakfast along the way. There we will catch the ferry to Maria Island with our bikes to explore this beautiful island (check out Flow Mountain Video for details). Maria Island has no public vehicles, so it’s a rider’s heaven with abundant flora, fauna, history and wilderness. Depending on the weather, you might wish to take your bathers for a swim in the crystal-clear waters surrounding the island. Expect to get up close and personal with the local wildlife as wombats and wallabies cross your path on a regular basis. On low tide the painted cliffs are a must visit for us.
By exploring the island on bikes, we can experience so much more in a day. The Mountain Bishop and Clerke is one of Australia’s best short walks. We can ride up about 2/3 of it before hiking the last 1/3. On most days you will be rewarded with spectacular views along the East Coast all the way to Freycinet Peninsula. When back at the bikes, the ride down is a blast! Depending on time, we can choose to explore Darlington, The Painted Cliffs, go for a swim or ride out to Frenches Farm and return via Middle track. The group can possibly break into two to accommodate everyone’s desires! Some shoes other than clip ins will be required for the last part of Bishop and Clerke.
By late afternoon we will be back on the Ferry and continuing our journey down the East Coast to Hobart. We will return you to your accommodation for a freshen up before we have our final evening together at a restaurant in Hobart.