The Phoenix Tour

Riding to Geelong was long and tedious. As expected. Seemingly never ending concrete freeways that feel like a continuous copy-paste for 700 odd kilometres….

Getting to the ferry terminal was pretty painless. Check in supposedly began at 4:15. I was ahead of schedule and was prepared to have to wait the 45 minutes if needed, happy to just lie on the grass somewhere and stretch my various bits out… As the terminal came into view, however, cars were already lined up and going through the quarantine checks. So, I joined the queue. A team of very efficient, friendly folks directed traffic with all kinds of pointing, arm waving and what looked like interpretive dance until all the hundreds of vehicles were neatly distributed into the correct lanes waiting to board.

We then had a shortish wait until the Stevedores were ready to load us on.

As all the car, motorhome and truck drivers sat determinedly in their vehicles, eyes forward, poised and ready to crank the engines and take off the moment they were given the green light, all the motorbike riders took the opportunity to hop off and walk up and down the line of bikes, chatting and admiring each other’s rides. I met a few different riders and had a great chat with two guys from the US (Nebraska and Colorado). They regaled me with travel stories and made me wish even harder for that lotto win….

Up and into the bowels of the ferry. Again, easy and streamlined. Hopped off and walked away as the stevedores anchored the bikes in place.

First stop, my cabin to drop off my stuff. Comfy and 4 beds to choose from!

Next, headed through the maze of corridors and dead ends to explore the facilities and pick up a parks pass and find a drink.

Early night after a long day. Sea was pretty calm but did roll a bit just as I was going to bed,

I have decided that the cure for my insomnia is the rocking of a boat. I need to find an adult sized rocking cradle when I get home…