Sometime in mid-summer, sick of days too hot to climb and even too hot to go to the beach, we decided to take our bikes on the ferry across to French Island. We planned to cycle around the island and stay at Tortoise Head Lodge, which is only a few hundred metres from where the ferry docks. The location is idyllic – the beaches are deserted and this quiet, together with the fact that mangroves still exist, lend the impression that you are days from the city, rather than an hours drive and a ten minute ferry ride.
We didn’t manage to ride around the island as the roads are really bad (deep – 10-15cm – corrugations interspaced with sand) but we rode far enough to find new views. There were also narrow, flowing paths though the trees behind the sand that were fun to ride.
Tortoise Head Lodge was pretty fun too – much more of a homestay than a hotel. But good food and heaps of local knowledge.
By the time we came home, it felt like we’d been away for a week, which is as much as you can ask of a weekend!