Posted By Evan on Apr 8, 2012 | 2 comments

Tour day 3 started with a brisk Launceston morning, and a drive to Longford – site of a major road racing circuit from 1953 until 1968.  Part of our route took us along the Longford ‘Flying Mile’, and then along the highway past remnants of the circuit and bridgework which was familiar to me from period photographs.  From Longford we followed some sweeping country roads into the Central Highlands and began to climb.  Soon we were into switchbacks and climbing rapidly, then once above the snow line it opened up into some brilliant sweeping and fast corners.  As we hit the plateau the roads were fast, sweeping, and once clear of a little traffic allowed for a very spirited drive with some technical corners and great visibility.  The lunch stop came almost too soon at Bothwell – apparently the site of Australia’s first golf course.

The lunch stop was intended to attract some attention from locals and passers-by although we didn’t see too many, the weather was closing in pretty quickly and we were getting cold.  Some good light for taking car photos though…

One tour member is having a bit of a ‘busman’s holiday’ and can occasionally be seen under bonnets, dashes, tuning carburettors, testing brakes.  I think he is owed a few drinks at the end of each night…

The next section was again brilliant – much less switchback mountain pass, more open country roads with a combination of fast sweepers and tighter corners with changes of elevation and camber.  Very entertaining driving, ending in the picturesque town of New Norfolk on the Derwent river.  We didn’t stop for long however as it was getting quite cold, and Fiona had the excellent plan of getting us to the MONA in Hobart (Museum of Old and New Art – mona.net.au/) to warm up with some culture.  An excellent gallery if you have the chance – I love a place where you can drink beer and listen to Jazz while boggling your mind.  I’ve included a couple of pictures of car-related-ish exhibits…