I drove the Triumph down to Hobart from Brisbane last week - 2,400km exclusive of the ferry trip across the Bass Strait. I had a great time. The drive from Brisbane to Melbourne was fairly boring - long straight roads with little traffic apart from Road Trains.
I won't say much about it though, as I intend to do a little article for Club Torque.
I had an overnight stop in Parkes ... very appropriate as it is the sister city to Coventry. About as memorable as Coventry, too.
Once in Tassie it was all change, though. Lots of twisting roads, and beautiful scenery. Also the opportunity to 'race' with local drivers along very enjoyable roads, and the car behaved magnificently ... even with its ful load.
I had a quick peek in the Launceston Motor Museum - saw a TR5 . I then took the long route down the east coast and camped for a couple of nights on picturesque beaches. Superb fun. 28mpg was pretty good for a long cruise (with intermittent bursts on the twisty roads), and less than a litre of oil.The only issue with the car is a badly scrubbed front tyre ... some adjustment needed here I think.
Here's the undercover parking available when camping in Tasmania:
I didn't see a single Triumph on the road on my way down, but on a half hour walk around Hobart the day after I arrived I saw three 6-pot Saloons. Since then I've seen two of them driving around a fair bit. I've also seen a white Stag, and tonnes of other old cars. Although the weather's a lot cooler here, the humidity is very low, so it seems that the old cars survive well - I've never seen so many old Fiats and Alfas ... even in Italy!
The most exciting 'spot' so far has been by eagle-eyes Ella. Around the back of a house, under a tree in the garden she saw a red Mk1 GT6 - it looked to have wires on it, and considering it appears to be 'unloved' in surprisingly good condition. I have a feeling I will be knocking on the front door one day and asking whether they want to get rid of the manky old sports car rotting in their back yard...
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