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Travel

AUSTRALIAN TRIP

AMANDA HUNTER:
FROM BRISBANE TO TASMANIA
ON A PIAGGIO BEVERLY BV 350

(Amanda Hunter rode from Queensland to Tasmania with her Piaggio Beverly).

MORE THAN 6,400 KILOMETRES IN 16 DAYS. SHE TELLS US ABOUT HER PASSION FOR SCOOTER TRAVEL AND FOR THE ITALIAN BRAND.

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A great story showing how a scooter can improve your life. It comes from Amanda Hunter, who lives and works in Brisbane, in the Australian state of Queensland. At the moment, she tells us, she is an admin officer at the “Queensland Fire and Emergency Services”; previously, she was a motorcycle mechanic in the Australian Army for 15 years, and enjoyed riding sports bikes. After a knee injury, Amanda left the army and, since she loves riding two-wheelers, decided to buy a scooter (the riding position is comfortable for her knee), the ideal vehicle, she says, for going to work every day and for traveling around in her free time.

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Amanda continues: “My first purchase, in 2011, was a three-wheel Fuoco 500cc scooter. Then I bought the Beverly in 2013. I love riding the scooter: nearly everything I need fits below the saddle or in the top box, and off I go, free of cumbersome bags. I love the comfort, quality and technology of the Piaggio maxi scooter, with ABS/ASC and 12 volt jack, and I’m thinking about the Piaggio Multimedia Platform for my next purchase. I keep up with technological advances and the new models on the Piaggio Group websites, so I’m always up to date.”

Wineglass Bay, Penisola di Freycinet, Tasmania.

As she wrote all this in a message to the Wide Piaggio Magazine staff, Amanda also told us about the great trips she’s made on her scooter: the latest, this year, from Brisbane to Tasmania. In 16 days, she made a round trip of more than 6,400 km, admiring stunning scenery and visiting place of historic and cultural interest (read her day-by-day account in the side-box). And now Amanda is already planning her next scooter trip. to Longreach, in central Queensland. Vai Amanda, vai!

THE ITINERARY DAY BY DAY

Amanda Hunter on her Piaggio Beverly during the trip to Tasmania.

“There was a whole group of us, with six two-wheelers, motorbikes and scooters, I was on my Piaggio Beverly BV 350cc. Day 1 – From Brisbane to Narrabri, 596.2 km, a temperature of 43°C with warm winds. Day 2. To Wagga Wagga, 680.31 km, a little chilly (16°C) and damp. Who would have thought it would rain here! After leaving at 8 in the morning, we had a pleasant ride with the GPS which takes us wherever we want to go. We reached our destination on schedule, but encountered some rain. For this trip I added a deflector to my Beverly, which I then put below the saddle. (Take a look at the photos Amanda sent us, ed.).

Day 3 – On the Victoria state border: light rain, cool and damp; we take the road for Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport (465.11 km); then the ferry to Tasmania, with a calm crossing. Day 4 – From Devonport to Strahan Village 239 km. A great walk to Cradle Mountain, in Tasmania’s National Park. After the heat of the hike, you feel the cold, so I quickly had to buy a jacket (and a souvenir).

Cradle Mountain, National Park, Tasmania.

Day 5 – An exploration of Strahan and Queenstown, this is the site of the West Coast Wilderness Railway: www.wcwr.com.au

Day 6 – From Strahan Village to Bruny Island, 379.65 km, an excellent climate for riding.

Strahan Village - Accommodation in Strahan, Tasmania

Day 7 – From Bruny Island to Port Arthur, 188 km. Fantastic weather and what you see in this photo was a delicious fish lunch for AUD $ 26.

Day 8 – A visit to Port Arthur, and a lot of walking! Day 9 – From Port Arthur to Swansea 201.85 km, the weather held, even in Swansea Caravan Park. Day 10 – Exploring Swansea Bay of Fires and back, 366.84 km.

EAST COAST TASMANIA – BAY OF FIRES

www.eastcoasttasmania.com

Day 11 – Our last day in Tasmania, from Swansea to Launceston for the morning tea break, 315 km. Then on to Pipers Brook Winery for lunch. Then we go to the ferry terminal in Devonport, to cross back to the mainland.

Devonport: the “Spirit of Tasmania” ferries linking the island with Australia.

Day 12 – Australia, Melbourne; to Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road and “12 Apostles”, 309 km. Website: www.visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/
Day 13 – From Apollo Bay to Wangaratta, 434 km. We flew down the Tullamarine airport road, with a stopover in Seymour Victoria, which has memories for us army veterans. I was a motorcycle mechanic and my husband was an electronic engineer, and this is where we worked when we were sent to the area. We then passed through Glenrowan (www.visitglenrowan.com.au/) to reach Wangaratta, where we stayed the night.
Day 14 – From Wangaratta to Bathurst, 525 km. We stopped at the “Holbrook Submarine Museum”, and then at “The Dog on the Tuckerbox”, in Gundagai (New South Wales), an internationally famous Australian attraction.

A break for lunch in Cowra, where we visited the Japanese Garden.

After leaving Cowra, the Beverly (which has clocked up 36,500 km) had a problem with a sparkplug, which we sorted out as best we could… Day 15 – From Bathurst to Telegraph Point, 553 km… the Beverly was running at only 75% of power, but this was more than enough to complete the journey. We rode through the spectacular Upper Hunter Valley (www.visitnsw.com/destinations/hunter/upper-hunter). Telegraph Point is an interesting place too, with its Stoney Park waterski park. Day 16 – From Telegraph Point to Brisbane (and home!), 558 km. Today felt like the hardest day, joints and muscles have had enough. We got home in the afternoon, despite the traffic and roadworks along the Pacific Motorway…
P.S. Day 17 – The Beverly goes to “Brisbane Motorcycles” for a well-earned check-up and a new cable wire for the sparkplug. It now has more than 38,000 km on the clock: I bought it new in September 2013; we’ve done some great trips together: in 2014, from Brisbane to Tenterfield, Armidale and Coffs Harbour via Waterfall Way (www.visitnsw.com/things-to-do/drives-and-road-trips/waterfall-way), 970 km; in 2015, from Brisbane to Mitchell and back www.outbacknow.com.au/index.php/towns/detail/queensland/south_west/mitchell), 1,200 km; and from Brisbane to Canberra and back (Wall to Wall Remembrance), 2,600 km”.
(By Amanda Hunter).

Brisbane, Australia.