Edge of the West (Video)

Words and video by Mick Turnbull, photos by Danielle O’Hara

Tasmania’s West Coast really is the end of the line. As the official West Coast website says, “Round here, things aren’t like they are on the mainland.” It’s rough, isolated, and has abundant birdlife, apocalyptic dunes, and rugged coasts. Wetter and colder than anywhere else on the small island of Tasmania, it’s beautiful and raw—a wild place for a bike ride. Edge of the West, which you can watch below, expands on the route created by Tom and Sarah (@bicyclenomad) here on this site.

Our original plan for the ride was a 6-7 day, roughly 400-kilometre loop starting in Strahan, using packrafts to cross several rivers before linking up with Tom and Sarah’s route. However, our optimism was no match for the West Coast. After travelling just 80 kilometres in the first two days with soft sand, headwinds, river crossings and rough tracks, only to be met by a windy Pieman River crossing that had the potential to blow us out to sea, we abandoned the original plan and instead decided on two separate three-day trips.

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Packing in diverse terrain, the trip took in beach riding, 4WD tracks, coastal heath, gravel roads, several river crossings, and an 18-kilometre packraft down the Pieman River. Fat bikes are best for the coastal section, but plus bikes are okay if you don’t mind a bit of hike a bike! It’s a trip easily thwarted by tides, soft sand, wind, or rain, but if you like riding through the untouched and untamed, it’s a proper adventure.

The Route

You can find our original route via Ride with GPS below:

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